Now that I’m on this side of my first sabbatical, I have some reflections on sabbaticals, both from my vantage point as a pastor, and from the vantage point of a church whose pastor is on a sabbatical. And I want to help you think through these last few months, consider the benefits and disadvantages of a sabbatical in the life of a church, and ultimately to better appreciate the normal rhythms of a church that God has ordained.
During sabbatical, we got the opportunity to visit a number of other churches, both locally and when we were away. I looked forward to this as an opportunity to see how other churches gather, experience what it’s like to come into a church as a visitor, and hopefully to take some ideas away for our church. Of course, it’s very rare that I get the chance to visit another church on Sunday morning. And there were certainly some benefits to this.
However, it became quickly apparent that regularly visiting different churches that are not your own, in many ways, is a less-than ideal experience. What I mean is that there is so much about the life of a church that you cannot see and do not experience by visiting one Sunday. While I believe Sunday mornings are the most important gathering of the church, and what we do in our gatherings is foundational to our being a church, it’s also true that if that is your entire experience of a church (and you only visit once or twice), there are many important things you won’t know: Does this church genuinely love and care for one another? Are they actually living out their faith in and obedience to God, or is it just a Sunday morning ritual and show? Do they seek to encourage and exhort one another in practical ways? Do they enjoy one another? Do they love their neighbors? Are their leaders godly, humble, wise and loving?
No matter how great the sermon and music are, no matter how well the kids’ program is set up, no matter how welcoming a church may be on Sunday mornings, visiting once or twice and not being relationally connected to the life of the church feels a bit hollow. And I think it should. Because God intends for “church” to be more than—but not less than—what we do on Sundays.
This made me think of those who visit our church on Sundays. I wish they could see the love and care we show one another, the ways we live life together and provide for one another. I wish they could experience the difference it makes to gather Sundays with all of this history and experience and depth of relationship. While this can only be experienced over time, I do want to take time in our gatherings to cast a vision for this deeper belonging to a church community, and encourage people to seek it out.
Related to this (and putting myself in your shoes), there is an inherent, unavoidable disadvantage to having guest preachers. By design, your pastor/elders are people that know you, and that you know, at least to some degree. They are called to personally “shepherd the flock of God that is among (them),” “being examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:2-3). And so those that regularly teach and preach the flock should also be those who live among the flock, and their knowledge of the flock should inform their teaching and preaching, as they show the Bible’s relevance and application to this specific group of people, in this time and place.
Well, you lose some of this when someone from outside the church comes and preaches. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with having guest preaches; I’ll speak of a benefit next. But we can acknowledge that you lose some of the knowledge, trust, and affection that flow both ways when a preacher is someone who isn’t known by the congregation (This is why you should not call a preacher you listen to online or on TV your “pastor”).
I experienced the reverse of this in visiting other churches. While I heard some great sermons, I am sure they had more impact on the members of that church who knew their pastor, and could testify to their pastor’s love for them, then they had on me.
On the other hand, we want to also insist that the effectiveness of a sermon is not ultimately dependent on the preacher. While a preacher’s love and care for his flock, and diligence and skill in communicating God’s word are important, and can either support or hinder the message, God’s word comes with power and life, regardless of who is presenting it. Jesus says, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). Paul writes, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). Having guest preachers—or being a guest at a church—is an opportunity to trust the power of God to work through his word, and to correct any trust in any man and whatever abilities he may or may not have. I have long felt that no matter how bad or boring a sermon might be, as long as it directs me to read or hear God’s word, I can benefit from it.
One additional benefit of church sending its pastor on sabbatical, especially when that pastor is the sole staff member of the church, is that the church is reminded that ministry and care for members is the responsibility of the whole church, and not just the pastor/elders or staff. Where a pastor might have previously stepped into a situation, various members instead step in, and the church becomes healthier as members take responsibility for one another.
And by all accounts, it sounds like much of this happened while I was away, and I am greatly encouraged to hear this. This is very much in line with the foundational vision for ministry in Ephesians 4, where church leaders are said to be given by God “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). A healthy church is not one where the leaders or staff do all the ministry, but where they equip the church members themselves to minister, serve, love, and teach one another, so that the “body of Christ” is built up.
I am thankful for the ways in which God has worked in this church while I was gone. I am thankful for this church, and for all of you and your faithfulness to God and his people. I am thankful for your support of me taking this sabbatical. I am also excited to be back and to jump back into preaching, teaching, and shepherding this church, with (I pray) all love and patience.
derek