I received a most incredible gift from Bible Baptist Church a few months ago, a gift appreciated more than any I’ve received in 14 years of serving them. The church regularly includes my whole family in remembering us, but I was the only one who could use this gift. Yet, Lisa was more thankful for my gift than any she has received (and she has received some wonderful gifts from the church). It might be difficult for you to understand how I could consider this the greatest gift they’ve given me, when it was completely gone within 30 days. Even though it was used up by mid-January, several members were still talking about it this week, two months later. Their conversation? It was about what the gift actually had done for them, even though they had given it to me. They’ve said things like, “It changed your preaching,” “Your vision is clearer,” and even “Pastor, you’re smiling more!” One of the most fascinating facts in all of this is that it basically cost the church members nothing.

The gift? Four weeks off in a row. It was only within the last three to four years that I would take two whole weeks of vacation at one time. This time I took a whole month off, but for a different reason. It was more of a sabbatical and, thankfully, had the same effect. The Scripture refers to the sabbatical as “a year of rest” and most people focus only on the idea of rest. Yet, the rest was actually a means to a greater end. The whole point of the rest was to make the land more productive. Captives had a chance to be set free. Sabbatical was eventually followed by jubilee. Mine was, too, and our church could feel it afterwards.

I don’t know whether your pastor will ever entertain such an idea or not, but I am going to try to convince members like you to, at least, make it desirable for him. For your sake.

Our deacons are tasked with taking care of me, as their pastor, so several years ago I asked them to consider budgeting a week for me to go somewhere and study in lieu of a salary increase. They were happy to do so and this eventually became two weeks. I started taking one of these weeks with Pastor Troy Dorrell and these became highlights of the year for both of us. (I have since started taking several pastors on a week of sharpening in order to help them see the benefit.) In January 2012, the deacons came up with a recommendation on their own that I take four weeks straight, an idea that I rejected for several reasons. No way would my travel schedule allow this, and we were starting a $1.5 million building program. During a study week in the summer of 2012, I felt a strong leading of the Lord to cancel my entire preaching schedule for 2013 and focus more on Bible Baptist Church, my family, and writing, a decision that opened up my schedule. Once I told the church about canceling 25 meetings for the year, the men again urged me to take a month off. Their care and foresight were invaluable. There was no crisis that precipitated their request, nor any urgency. By their testimony the preaching wasn’t suffering and my family wasn’t struggling. It had been a hard few years of non-stop ministry, but that is simply a pastor’s life.

After much prayer and convincing by the men, I determined it was the right thing to do. Now, I needed to determine how to tell the church. My number one thought was “How do I explain this to people who deserve this every bit as much as I do?” I have tried to train our people to “weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice,” and I was about to see how much they bought into Paul’s admonition. I knew in my heart that if it were in my power to give them the same opportunity, I would do it. I also realized that if I used the time right, it would be for their eventual benefit, as well. I carefully wrote a letter and read it to them a few weeks before I was to leave. Their response and the support I received left me weeping later that night. I’m experienced enough to realize there were likely some who disagreed and I needed to be fine with that, but even they chose to never let me know or allow it to become an offense. I never heard one negative word.

God led a very kind and generous man to offer me a condo in Florida for two of these weeks, while I spent another with my family at home, then the last away with just my wife. The two weeks alone were initially spent getting rest, mostly outside enjoying fresh air and long walks. Pastoring is a work of the heart and soul, not just the back and hands. Trying to salvage marriages and teenagers, counseling victims of abuse, the challenge of finding God’s intent for every text, attempting to discern the variety of needs of hundreds of people, and countless other acts of pastoring are not something you turn off at night, or ever for that matter. It was several days before I felt ready to take in what God had in store for me. Our staff and church members made it extremely easy for me. Not one time in four weeks did I receive a call or text from someone at the church asking for anything. The staff had the freedom to call in an emergency, and, even though we were in the middle of the building program, they worked with the deacons to take care of everything. If I hadn’t been so grateful and amazed, I would have been disappointed that they could fare so well without me. That was invaluable for all of us. It gave a chance for the staff to shine, while increasing my appreciation for them. It helped some members lose what could be an unhealthy level of dependence on a pastor. It also helped me gauge how well I was training faithful men to do the work.

The benefits are hard to convey in words. Once I had rested for a time, it began to feel like a spiritual cleansing. Free from the daily activities that constantly demanded my heart and mind, I had time to think deeply. I wrote down every role that I had and sought from the Lord a clear vision for each of them. I wrote. I sang. I cried. I bowed. Sometimes, I would sit in silence and wait for the Lord to speak. Without the usual noise, I could hear Him more clearly than ever. The clarity led to several decisions that elevated the value of this time to more than a moment. Because of our conservatism, I preach to our folks constantly about the importance of putting “being” before “doing.” This was a great time of fine-tuning in this area for me, as well. The deacons had wisely declared that they weren’t looking for anything different when I returned; instead, they simply wanted me to rest. That took pressure off of me so I could try to meet the Lord’s expectations, instead of being concerned that I would disappoint them.

I have gone into this much detail in order to help you visualize what this might look like if you did this for your own pastor. Many of you are like our members—hard-working people who would benefit from a sabbatical time such as this. Would you like your boss to come to you tomorrow and say, “I want you to take some extended time off with pay.”? Remember then that Jesus Himself declared that whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. If it would be good for you, it would be good for him. Only small-minded people treat their pastor with the philosophy, “if I can’t, he shouldn’t.” You want the doctor performing your surgery to be well rested before cutting you open. A pastor deals with a part of you even more important than that. You might not even see any evidence that he needs it, but isn’t that the time to provide it?

I want to encourage deacons to take some leadership in encouraging this and providing for it. Our deacons never overstepped their bounds but still made it clear they were serious about my considering it. Church member, if your pastor ever agrees to take such a time, I want to challenge you to be supportive, both inwardly and outwardly. If your critical spirit is the reason he chooses not to do this, your whole church could pay the price. The more support he receives from members, the more benefit he will receive from this time. I cannot describe the humbling effect on me the supportive response of our members had and how much more it drove me to serve them for God’s glory.

Following sabbatical years was eventually jubilee and what an exciting time that was. You had to have the sabbatical before you could have the jubilee. Think about it. Consider it. If your church needs a jubilee, it might not be that your pastor needs to work even harder. It might just be that it is time for a sabbatical.