I recently went on sabbatical from June to August of this year. It was a time of much needed rest for me. I had felt tired and burnt out. The demands of ministry and life in general had gotten the best of me. I found myself traveling to different cities, teaching, preaching, discipling, counseling, and of course leading. I started to sense that I was losing a piece of myself every time I tired to push or motivate myself to move forward. In all honesty, I was leading on empty and the unfortunate truth is that as a pastor, people just expect you to give all the time. My giving was coming out of the emptiness of my soul and I was in danger. I lost my greatest spiritual gift, which is compassion. I no longer had the capacity to feel or show compassion because I was completely dry.
My sabbatical saved me! If I hadn’t gotten away from ministry I don’t think I could have survived for the long haul. I think it is vital for every church leader and pastor to recognize the importance of taking a sabbatical. My recommendation is that a Lead Pastor should take three months off every three years. I recently spent some time with Dave Gibbons, Lead Pastor of NewSong Church in Irvine, CA, and he encouraged me to take two months off every year. Now I’m not sure if my Leadership Team will allow me to do that, but I do think taking a season of rest is important, because so much of our leading depends on how we are listening and being ministered to by God.
During my sabbatical, I read Peter Scazzero’s book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. 
This book is a must read for every Christian out there, especially pastors. In this book, Scazzero talks about the necessity of becoming emotionally healthy in order for one to become spiritually healthy. You cannot be spiritually healthy unless you are first emotionally healthy. In fact, many Christians try to be more spiritual because they are trying to overcompensate for their lack of emotional healthy. Scazzero, helps us diagnosis our emotional sickness and shares how we can heal and grow into healthy emotional adults. I can’t recommend this book enough. Please read this book and your church, family, and friends will thank you for it.
It has been almost three months since I’ve been back from my sabbatical and I am in a much better place. I have learned to slow down and not take on too much. It is so freeing to have moments in the day where you can stop and pause to reflect on God’s goodness. It hasn’t been all good since I’ve come back. I had to deal with some really difficult things personally, but God has been present and he is not only with me, but he is for me. I’ve purified myself of wanting to be a good pastor, father, or even a husband. We get so tied up in trying to build our identities on these things. My goal in life is to be a seeker of God. This is my identity and what a wonderful identity it is! This is the only thing I can bring with me to heaven. I can’t be a pastor, father, or a husband in heaven, but I can always be a seeker of God for eternity.
I had the opportunity to preach on Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. To listen to the sermon, please click.
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