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IntroductionA Word of EncouragementGreetings fellow traveler and welcome to the "Sabbatical Handholds" Solomon page. If you're here, you are most likely considering or requesting a sabbatical. Our hope with this document is that we could provide some "handholds" for you as you begin the process of dreaming and discerning with the Lord what your sabbatical season should be like. As you read, please keep this important thing in mind: no two sabbaticals will look exactly alike, so feel freedom to renew in your own way! During a sabbatical, your "role" is to rest in the Lord, and as long as you're accomplishing that goal, you will find some modicum of success! Below you will find a collection of tips and suggestions which we hope will help you as you plan. Proverbs 16:9 tells us, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." During the planning and execution of your sabbatical, keep this verse in mind and be willing to surrender your plans to the Lord as He establishes you during this time of renewal and recovery. We hope and pray you sense the Lord and His Spirit during this process, and we ask Jesus to guide you as you plan. God bless! A Special Note to Potential Sabbatical Advisors/CoachesFirst off, thank you for considering or agreeing to be a sabbatical advisor to our staff. As you can imagine, a sabbatical is a unique and powerful opportunity to hear from God. However, potential “downsides” do exist – people have experienced discouragement, loneliness, isolation, and loss of perspective. A significant part of the solution to avoid these pitfalls is a spiritual friend, and that's one of the most succinct ways to describe a sabbatical advisor. The primary role of the sabbatical advisor is not teaching or even directing, rather they take the initiative to come alongside and listen, clarify, suggest, and possibly protect. A sabbatical advisor shepherds the staff through the sabbatical process, helping them achieve their God-directed goals. The content below could be helpful for you to read, so you have a sense of what our staff will be walking through. If any questions come up along the way, please don't hesitate to reach out to our liaisons below | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sabbaticals are an important part of the life and career of a healthy pastor or ministry worker. Having a suitable sabbatical plan can help contribute to field staff being refreshed and refocused. It can also help field staff remain in the field long-term, giving them time for refreshment and reflection regarding their ministry path. Greetings Fellow Traveler!Sabbaticals are an important part of the life and career of a healthy pastor or ministry worker. Having a suitable sabbatical plan can help contribute to field staff being refreshed and refocused. It can also help field staff remain in the field long-term, giving them time for refreshment and reflection regarding their ministry path. A Word of EncouragementSabbaticals are an important part of the life and career of a healthy pastor or ministry worker. Having a suitable sabbatical plan can help contribute to field staff being refreshed and refocused. It can also help field staff remain in the field long-term, giving them time for refreshment and reflection regarding their ministry path. I've Been Asked to be a Sabbatical Advisor/Coach?Sabbaticals are an important part of the life and career of a healthy pastor or ministry worker. Having a suitable sabbatical plan can help contribute to field staff being refreshed and refocused. It can also help field staff remain in the field long-term, giving them time for refreshment and reflection regarding their ministry path. Overview of a SabbaticalWhat is a Sabbatical?A sabbatical is an extended time of spiritual rest, renewal, rejuvenation, reflection, and refocus. It is not a vacation or Paid Time Off (PTO), nor is it only continuing education. It It is a guided process where one deliberately trusts God for the outcome as they disengage from normal ministry responsibilities and leadership involvement for study, rest, renewal, and evaluation of life and ministry. This can include reading books, attending seminars, studying, writing, prayer, etc. A A sabbatical has an intended purpose and plan at the outset. This plan and purpose should be agreed upon between the local church leadership or ministry and the employee. At the conclusion of the sabbatical, individuals will be expected to give an account of their sabbatical time to both their local ministry leadership and to Reliant. Why Offer Sabbaticals?They're a Tool for Longevity: As many of you know, much of ministry is accomplished from the inner life, and many of the challenges and difficulties faced in the field often take a toll on this inner life in unique ways. Sabbaticals provide field staff with an opportunity to stop, assess, and reflect on how their own walk with Christ is going and this space for a season of respite from the unique physical, emotional, and spiritual demands of ministry can lend itself to renewal. In some instances the sabbatical can even help staff recover the personal message of the Gospel of Jesus for themselves. This renewal and recovery help foster longevity in some of the most effective ways that we've seen. They're a Safeguard Against the Cult of Personality: Sabbaticals also offer It'sa safeguard against the cult of personality
, because it requires key leaders and key up-front teachers to step away for an extended period of time. Pragmatically this requires pulpits to be filled, responsibilities to be covered, and information to be de-centralized. All of these things create opportunities and latitude for other leaders to step up and take on various responsibilities. And it also gives great opportunities for the congregants to be impacted by other leaders from up front. They Create a Helpful Leadership Vacuum: From this, Sabbaticals also create a natural leadership vacuum for younger leaders to be inspired to step up into. Multiplying skillsets into younger staff doesn't happen organically, and by stepping away for a season, your leadership roles can become new opportunities for excited young staff to sink their teeth into. There are loads more reasons to offer and take sabbaticals, but in short, they're good for the staff, and they're good for the ministry at large, and we hope by offering them, our partner ministries will embrace and institute a rhythm of sabbatical into the lives of their organizations. Testimonials
How to Communicate with Donors
There is no magic formula to this specific letter. Best practice is to be honest, be helpful, and offer handholds for how they can partner with you and pray for you during this time. Below you will find some examples:
Typical Phases of a SabbaticalThe timeframe below is based on a "6-month" sabbatical. Depending on your eligibility, local church/ ministry policies, or circumstances, your sabbatical may be a shorter length. If so, just adjust the timeframes to fit time frame.
Scaffolding for your SabbaticalHave you ever seen a historical building being renovated? The first step to this restoration process is for scaffolding to be constructed around the edifice. This scaffolding provides support and access as artisans and restorationists do the heartfelt work of bringing out the beauty beneath the layers of time. Your Sabbatical in many ways is a restoration project and the Holy Spirit is the our gracious artisan doing the healing work of renewal. During this process you'll want scaffolding around you so you have the support in place for the Holy Spirit to do His work. Below you'll see three primary modes of scaffolding. These are just starting points – feel free to add in any further supports that will help you find success. Sabbatical AdvisorA sabbatical advisor can be a trusted friend, mentor, counselor, or spiritual director. It is not a formal role and they don't need to be affiliated with Reliant or an employee with Reliant. The main qualities you'll want your advisor to meet are:
Sabbatical RhythmsSabbatical rhythms are daily, weekly, and monthly practices that can act as anchors in your schedule. Many staff have reported feeling unmoored as they stepped back from their ministry duties. Establishing some rhythms in your schedule can help you with this feeling of drift. Sabbatical rhythms will also require some experimentation as you figure out what works and what doesn't work during that first month. Feel free to cast aside any planned rhythms if they end up not serving your sabbatical practice. Here are some examples of the various rhythms. These are just a starting point; feel free to use different rhythms that may work better for you.
Optional Sabbatical Support GroupAnyone taking a sabbatical is in danger of experiencing lack of community, loss of perspective, and a sense of isolation. While we all need times alone, we live and minister in community. To meet this need for community you may find it helpful to establish a sabbatical support group. Ideally, this group consists of 3-5 people who have a good relationship with you. This group meets with you (and your spouse if married) each month to help process your journey in a safe environment. You facilitate the meetings, sharing first your current progress and then asking for input. (If possible, your sabbatical advisor can participate in the group.) Caveat: The Sabbatical Support Group is optional and may not serve every person's sabbatical. Consult with your supervisor and sabbatical advisor on whether or not a sabbatical support group would serve you during this season. Here are some handholds for what you should be looking for in a support group. Ideally, the people in your sabbatical support group should meet the following criteria:
If people in your support group are looking for further handholds on their roles, feel free to share the list below with them:
Goals & ObjectivesGoals and objectives are similar to sabbatical rhythms in that they can provide some structure and a point on the horizon for you to walk toward as you battle feelings of being unmoored. Goals and objectives need to be approached with caution as they can often become surrogates for "work." As you create a list of goals and objectives, be sure to share them with your sabbatical advisor and support group (if applicable) to help vet them and ensure that they will serve you in your sabbatical project. Setting Up an Away MessageEmail is often the enemy of rest and can be a temptation to re-engage with ministry during this season. As a final step, you'll want to safeguard your sabbatical season by setting up a clear, direct, and helpful away message for all of your email inboxes. Below you will find some real-world example messages that you can feel free to copy and customize to your context. Sample 1:
Sample 2:
Sample 3:
What is Reimbursable?
Why Take a Sabbatical?It's good for you. It's good for the church How to Communicate with Donors
Typical Phases of a SabbaticalThese are just “typical” it’s okay if your sabbatical doesn’t follow this. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phase | Timeframe | Description | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phase 1: Preparing to Off-Ramp | 5-6 months before sabbatical begins |
| Phase 2: Rest & Recovery | 3 months | Phase 3: Reflect & Refocus | 4 months | Phase 4: Preparing to On-Ramp | 6 months | Phase 5: Re-Entry or Exiting |
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- Share the Sabbatical Request Form with your program team once completed
- US Program: us@reliant.org
- Collegiate Program: collegiate.program@reliant.org
- International: international@reliant.org
Sabbatical Handbook
- We are working on a Sabbatical Handbook to be released at a later date
- Until then, please reference this resource from Navigators:
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Sabbatical Proposal should include
- Reason for requesting the sabbatical
- Proposed dates of the sabbatical
- Potential benefits to the individual
- Potential benefits to the church or ministry
- Plan for covering job responsibilities during the sabbatical
- Specific goals and objectives for the sabbatical (books to read, travel involved, journaling, etc.)
- People you are supervising/coaching
- A summary of any anticipated reimbursements related to the sabbatical
- For more detail on what expenses qualify, please review the Reimbursements and Expense Recovery page on Solomon
- Proposal should ideally be submitted at least 3 months prior to beginning of the requested sabbatical
- Reliant's approval process for proposals generally takes up to 2 weeks
Post-Sabbatical reports should include
- Spiritual benefits gained from the sabbatical
- Personal benefits gained from the sabbatical
- Benefits to the local church or ministry (if applicable)
- Summary of how well you met your goals and objectives for the sabbatical
- Summary of how your sabbatical went from your spouse's perspective (if applicable)
- Reasonable expenses for travel, meals, and lodging for the employee to participate in activities in which the intent is for training, mentoring, intense study, meditation, and reflection or similar purposes
- Vacation expenses are not reimbursable during a sabbatical. Vacations are personal in nature and it is expected that PTO is used for those types of travels.
- If you're having trouble discerning if a trip is a vacation or a retreat, please reach out to your supervisor to discuss.
- Meal per diem can be given for significant time away from the home. See See Per Diem - U.S. for further details
- Spousal and family travel, meals, or lodging expenses must be deemed reasonable and necessary and are taxable if approved
- Books, conferences, study courses (Reliant Education Reimbursement Program may may apply)
- Reliant sabbatical approval is required before any expenses can be reimbursed
- Please inquire with the Reimbursements Coordinator at reimbursements@reliant.org before making major purchases and plans to ensure the costs will be eligible for reimbursement
Reporting Abuse
- Any abuse or misuse of an approved sabbatical granted by Reliant should be reported directly to the Program Team lead. This could include an employee returning to work during the time or simply treating the sabbatical like an extended paid vacation
Other Resources
Confessions of a Former Sabbath BreakerResources
Books and Articles
by Eugene Peterson- Planning Sabbaticals
- by Robert C. Saler
- Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide To Sabbatical Planning
- by Richard Bullock & Richard J. Bruesehoff
- Confessions of a Former Sabbath Breaker
- by Eugene Peterson
- Sabbatical Guidelines
- Resource from the Navigators that we referenced for our handholds above
Retreat Centers & Programs
We do not currently offer any official recommendations for retreat centers or programs at this time.
Credits
Many thanks to the following people:
- Steve Brown at Navigators for sharing their Sabbatical Handbook, which provided much quotes, inspiration, and guidance for the handholds above.
- Gaia Stanley at New Life Church for her wisdom and insights on how to sabbatical well.
- Eugene Peterson for advocating for pastoral balance and rest during his time on earth.
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