The Solution for an Unsustainable Pace
Every now and then I will hear a leader say, “I am absolutely out of gas! I’m going to ask my board for a sabbatical.” I’m hearing it even more often in these current trying times.
The idea is that by taking some extended time off, one’s physical, emotional, and spiritual tanks can be topped off for another extended run.
The problem is that…
(1) Typically, a sabbatical is a rare occurrence. Not many organizations will regularly grant 1-3 months off…and…
(2) Taking a sabbatical periodically usually doesn’t provide the restoration that’s needed. By that time, you have moved beyond the need for rest to the need for recovery. And that can take a lot more time and a lot more therapy than the typical sabbatical provides.
Just as the solution to binging on food isn’t found in going on a starvation diet, so the solution to overwork isn’t found in taking a sabbatical.
Just as the solution to binging on food isn’t found in going on a starvation diet, so the solution to overwork isn’t found in taking a sabbatical.
I see a lot of people head toward a sabbatical like it’s the super cure, the ultimate antidote, the answer to all that ails them. And yet when they come out of it, not only has that restoration failed to happen, the resulting depression puts them into even a darker place.
Carey Nieuwhof put it this way: “A sabbatical isn’t the solution for an unsustainable pace. A sustainable pace is the solution for an unsustainable pace.”
“A sabbatical isn’t the solution for an unsustainable pace. A sustainable pace is the solution for an unsustainable pace.” - Carey Nieuwhof
The Solution of Sabbath
That sustainable pace will be found through faithfully honoring a practice that God both modeled and mandated. That is keeping a weekly Sabbath – a holy day, literally “set apart” where you genuinely unplug and recharge. Twenty-four hours of renewal and restoration.
The best book on Sabbath I’ve ever read (indeed it’s one of my favorite books on any topic) is The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan. Subtitled “Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath,” Buchanan posits that what we’ve forgotten is the ancient wisdom rooted in God’s own rhythm of work and rest.
He writes, “Sabbath is elixir and antidote. It is the gift for our sanity and wholeness – to prolong our lives, to enrich our relationships, to increase our fruitfulness, to make our joy complete. Sabbath restores our bent and withered parts.”
Far from being a dour day only to be endured, Sabbath truly kept is delightful. While it might well involve some praying it should also contain no small amount of playing.
It’s one day in seven when you get to move from “I have to…” to “I get to…” And that “get to” carries all sorts of restorative power.
The Sabbath of Sabbatical
As for a sabbatical? That extended time off may still hold some value. In fact, I strongly recommend that pastors take an annual renewal and study break. (see related blog posts)
But, as Mark Buchanan put it so well, “I don’t think it’s possible to benefit from a sabbatical if you’ve never learned to keep Sabbath. Sabbatical is just doing daily, for several months of days, what you’ve already learned to do weekly for many years of weeks.”
You don’t need a sabbatical for God to restore you, or else most everyone is in trouble. Sabbath will do. It is the key to a sustainable pace.
You don’t need a sabbatical for God to restore you, or else most everyone is in trouble. Sabbath will do. It is the key to a sustainable pace.
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