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What is a sabbatical anyway?

As we finish up our sabbatical curriculum for our upcoming busy season of hosting ministry leaders from across the country, we realize we have learned so much. 

God called us to start Cedar Creek Ministries. He gave us a vision, mission and direction.  There was still so much we didn’t know!!   The lingo still changes depending on what part of the country you are in or what church people attend. 

Actually, as embarrassing as it seems now I have this memory of sitting with our old church board looking to raise support.  We briefly shared our vision and then assumed they would support us because the Lord has trained us up there for over a decade.  We didn’t share the statistics. We didn’t know the lingo. 

As they asked us why we would do this or what our biblical support was, we just gave the answer of Moses’s arms needing to be held up, not really having looked up a ton of verses at the time. 

Turns out we just didn’t know the lingo!!  Pastoral care and missional care are super common phrases and ministries…we just didn’t know God had called us into a ministry with a name. We went blindly as we walked in faith, knowing what we were called to do even if we didn’t know what it was called. 

And so enters sabbaticals.  We always knew we were going to host personalized sabbaticals for leaders and their families, but at some point we had to say, “Wait, what is a sabbatical and are all Christians defining it the same way?”

Fun facts we’ve learned in the last 4 years of ministry:

Some churches require year (or more) long sabbaticals to keep the church centered on it’s vision and not one man. 

Some leaders have worked 30 years with nothing more than 1 week of vacation each year that they spend working on their “honey-do” list. 

With the upswing in mental health awareness and burnout prevention more and more churches and pastors are talking about sabbaticals, but not necessarily with the same definitions. Like all "Chrisitianese" we find that both regional and denominational differences affect definitions. 

What everyone agrees on:

A sabbatical is a time of stopping traditional work related tasks.

What everyone is still working out:

How long should qualify: It seems a month is the shortest amount of time people take off and use the term. 

What the time should be used for: We had one pastor call us, a little bit confused. His church had given him a 3 month long sabbatical and he was just home working on all the things he’d been unable to fix with his demanding schedule.  He genuinely asked us if this was what he was supposed to be doing.   He had no idea what value was to be found in resting besides the catching up on the life he’d been missing which just so happened to be keeping him as busy as ever!! 

Questions people ask:

Is a sabbatical just another vacation?

What is the point of taking so much time off work?

Won’t it actually be a disadvantage to be away from church ministry that long?

Who will take over my responsibilities while I’m gone?

Will a sabbatical just make me seem replaceable to our church board?

How will I afford to actually get away from life and rest?

Here is where we have landed as Cedar Creek Ministries.  Sabbaticals in general are times of rest geared with the intention to refocus on God’s work in your life, family and ministry.  They are more intentionally purposed for rest and less the idea of a busy vacation. 

The thing with vacations these days is that they aren’t restful either. We visit and new place and travel to destinations we’ve wanted to explore our entire lives and we spend our whole trips tirelessly involved in every aspect of culture and experience we can grasp onto, often forgetting opportunities God may have for us if we slowed down. 

Vacations are not sabbaticals, BUT sabbaticals can be part of your vacation.  If we are really honest, we often need a time of rest from our vacations and retreats!!! 

Personalized sabbaticals as we see them.  A time of rest, away from the busyness of life where you and your family can both intentionally rest and restore family relationships for the purpose of going home with a renewed sense of calling in your ministry vision. 

How does Cedar Creek Ministries accomplish personalized sabbaticals:

• 
  Cedar Creek Ministries offers you a place to rest with your family for 3-7 days. This can fall on your sabbatical from work or during any time off. 
• We leave you sabbatical materials full of encouragement and recommendations for your family on your stay. 
• No busy work allowed. 
• Cedar Creek Ministries offers  an opportunity to have an intentional time of rest with your family to focus on your first ministry with joy and purpose. 
• Our intake form helps you decide what you need most to rest with your family.  All families have different needs and we want to make sure we do everything we can to ensure you get the most out of your sabbatical time.