Sabbatical Leave

1. Sabbatical Leave Jon D. Allen Commander, US Coast Guard (Retired) Member, Faith Lutheran Church (FLC) Penfield, NY Member, Eastern District LCMS Board of Directors Extracted/adopted from presentations to the New England District and to Community Lutheran Church, South Burlington, VT by Dr Wayne Misselbeck

2. Two truths Atop Mt Suribachi (standing near where the famous flag raising picture was taken) (1985) White House Christmas Reception (1992) State Dinner for Queen Elizabeth (1991) The VIPs for the 40th Anniversary of Iwo Jima (19 Feb 1985)

3. Brief Bio • Church Experience • Grew up as a Missouri Synod Lutheran in CT and VT • Principal male soloist and cantor at various churches in VT, CT, FL, OK, VA and NY • Former Chairman of Admin Board of Elders, Faith Lutheran Church • Founding member of FLC Praise Team and active in music ministry • Member, Eastern District LCMS Board of Directors • Education & Work Experience • US Coast Guard Academy honors graduate with 20+ years of active duty service • US Navy Post Graduate School honors graduate • George Washington University post graduate school • Retired from Xerox Corporation after 18+ years of service (2017) • Professional Certifications/Expertise • Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (MBB) • Project Management Professional (PMP)

4. Agenda • The Problem • Definitions • Biblical Basis • Benefits & Possible Downsides • A Process (From Concept to Execution) • Final Thoughts

5. The Problem (1999) • A clergy shortage study for the LCMS Board of Higher Education in 1999 found: • 20% of pastors are severely depressed, highly distressed, and experiencing advanced burnout • 20% more are moderately distressed and are approaching burnout.

6. 1Ministry Burnout Statistics (2018) • 72% of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week. • 84% of pastors feel they are on call 24/7. • 80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor's children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents. • 65% of pastors feel their family lives in a "glass house" and fear they are not good enough to meet expectations. • 23% of pastors report being distant to their family. • 78% of pastors report having their vacation and personal time interrupted with ministry duties or expectations. • 65% of pastors feel they have not taken enough vacation time with their family over the last 5 years.  • 35% of pastors report the demands of the church denies them from spending time with their family. 1Pastoralcareinc.com 2018

7. 1Ministry Burnout Statistics (2018) • 24% of pastor's families resent the church and its effect on their family. • 22% of pastor's spouses reports the ministry places undue expectations on their family.  • 66% of church members expect a minister and family to live at a higher moral standard than themselves. • 95% of pastors report not praying daily or regularly with their spouse • 57% of pastors believe they do not receive a livable wage. • 53% of pastors are concerned about their future family financial security. • 75% of pastors report significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry. • 80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses have felt unqualified and discouraged as role of pastors at least one or more times in their ministry. • 52% of pastors feel overworked and cannot meet their church's unrealistic expectations.  • 54% of pastors find the role of a pastor overwhelming. 1Pastoralcareinc.com 2018

8. 1Ministry Burnout Statistics (2018) • 40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once in the last year. • 80% of pastors expect conflict within their church. • 75% of pastors report spending 4-5 hours a week in needless meetings. • 35% of pastors battle depression or fear of inadequacy. • 26% of pastors report being over fatigued. • 28% of pastors report they are spiritually undernourished. • Over 50% of pastors state the biggest challenge is to recruit volunteers and encourage their members to change (living closer to God's Word). • 70% of pastors report they have a lower self-image now than when they first started. • 70% of pastors do not have someone they consider to be a close friend. • 84% of pastors desire to have close fellowship with someone they can trust and confide with. • Over 50% of pastors are unhealthy, overweight, and do not exercise. • The profession of “Pastor” is near the bottom of a survey of the most-respected professions, just above “car salesman”. 1Pastoralcareinc.com 2018

9. Sabbatical Derived from Sabbath. The setting aside of 1/7th of our time for re”creation” and restoration.

10. BiblicalBasis • Genesis Chapter 1 • God paused and ultimately rested, making the seventh day, a day of REST. • Exodus Chapter 16 • The people of Israel are taught to rest on the seventh day, SABBATH. • Exodus Chapter 20 • The SABBATH day is holy, rest! • Exodus Chapter 23 • Six years of sowing crops, seventh year is unplowed.

11. Biblical Basis (cont.) • Leviticus Chapter 25 • Verses 1-5 The land must observe a SABBATH of rest. • Verses 10-12 Jubilee years proclaimed • Matthew Chapter 14 • Jesus went to be ALONE to pray • Mark Chapter 1 • Jesus goes to a solitary place to pray. • Luke Chapter 5 • Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

12. Conclusion • Pausing, resting, renewing, praying are GOOD! • Even required.

13. Benefits to the ClergyFrom the Southeastern District, LCMS • A needed break from long hours, high pressure, personal sacrifice, and the 24/7 nature of a ministry. • A time for prayer, rest, study, decision making, and travel. • A change of scenery and place which can help prevent burnout • An opportunity for the clergy to discover the importance of doing what they do because of who they ARE rather than because of what they DO.

14. Benefits to Clergy (cont.)From the Southeastern District, LCMS • The opportunity to develop greater self-awareness and spiritual growth. • A time with family and friends, to renew and strengthen those relationships. • The opportunity to develop new programs or approaches to one’s ministry. • It is not VACATION!

15. Benefits to the Congregation • A Pastor who returns with renewed energy and rediscovered zeal for ministry • An opportunity to develop lay leadership and to come to a greater understanding of the congregation’s ministry by assuming some of the pastoral duties during the interim. • An occasion for the congregation to reflect and assess their partnership with the Pastor and ways to strengthen and improve ministry. • Congregation gets a new initiative (whatever the clergy focused on during sabbatical)

16. Sabbatical Benefits • 87% of pastors reported it significantly renewed their commitment to ministry • 94% of congregational reps perceived their pastor refreshed or re-energized post sabbatical • 75% congregations report it tangibly benefited the life of the church • Many reported new ministries resulting from sabbatical • Solid majorities reported sabbatical had positive impact on congregational attitudes to pastoral sabbaticals, mobilized a continuing increase in lay involvement in church leadership and generated a discernable increase in the overall enthusiasm for ministry among congregational members. 2008 Louisville Institute Reports from surveys of Sabbatical grants given by Lilly

17. Possible Downsides • Separation • Inertia • Falling membership • Loss of income to the ministry

18. Preparation • Plan, “When” and “How long”. • Years before, bring the congregation into the process and explain the benefits. • Begin to budget • Begin to line up coverage

19. Early Role of Laity • Would be best if the laity were the source of this initiative (we want to offer our clergy this opportunity) not, pastor saying, “I want more time off”. First fruits giving. • When broad support from the congregation drives it, the preparation is easier and feels better as several people own aspects of it. Many hands make light the work! • Can be a rallying point in the congregation. • Oh, yes… it causes us to honor our commitment when we called the clergy! Get out the Divine Call document and read what we committed to!

20. SabbaticalEarly On • Pastor meets with elders and key leaders • Prepares leaders and educates showing benefits to all • Develop a sense of a full, three month sabbatical or something else to begin with • Present materials and beneficiaries of sabbatical to gain understanding and show how attainable it is

21. SabbaticalFirst Things • Seek approval from whomever (Voters, Council, whatever); needs to be have some explicit understanding as this is usually a year or two in the making and recollections get muddled and boards and committees change • May want to commit to the general concept of sabbatical and then seek to decide the particulars as a process • May want to get one or more years of post sabbatical pledge

22. SabbaticalFirst Things • The salary and benefits must continue for the clergy (though not ideal, maybe at a reduced rate) • The parsonage is not vacated or available to the congregation (clergy can certainly be gracious if they are exchanging pulpits with a colleague) • The pastor, in sabbatical, is not available to the congregation

23. SabbaticalFirst Things • Decide how long it will be (eg. 7 weeks, 12 weeks, 3 months). • Some of this is financially driven, but ideally would not be. • Short timeframes lets the congregation try it out, but doesn’t allow for the full expression and development of a new initiative. • The time away can be challenging for both pastor and congregation

24. SabbaticalFurther Along • 1-2 years before the sabbatical, prepare the congregation with frequent reminders and communications that further develop it and shows that this is not scary, but is well in hand. • Updates to Voters, Council, newsletter articles, etc. • Should ideally be the laity and leaders doing it. (pastors can assist, but should not visibly be in charge)

25. SabbaticalFurther Along • How to pay for sabbatical; how much will it cost • Clearly, it depends on how long and the ambition of the congregation. • At a minimum, $ for pulpit supply (honorarium + mileage) • Might need $ for hotels if clergy will stay over to do shut in visits and bring the Sacrament • $ for pastor to travel and take courses (begin Doctor of Ministry?)

26. SabbaticalContinuing Efforts • Start saving by including it in the budget for a few years directly and indirectly. • Look at finances of the congregation to see if there are usable funds (memorials, scholarships, etc) • Seek out those who might fully/partially fund it from within the congregation • Dedicate memorials, fund raisers, etc to sabbatical • Consider grants.

27. Possible Sabbatical Resources • The Lilly Foundation • https://lillyendowment.org/for-grantseekers/renewal-programs/pastors/ • Thrivent for Lutherans • Wheat Ridge Ministries • https://weraise.org/crowdfundingupdate/ • Alban Institute • Ministry Sabbatical Resources • https://ministrysabbaticalresources.com/sabbatical-resources • The application processes for grants are not trivial, begin early

28. Other Denominations

29. SabbaticalContinued Work • Pastor clergy proposes the sabbatical agenda • Church leadership “approves” the sabbatical agenda • Sabbatical could be: • 1/3 family • 1/3 self • 1/3 congregation (new initiative)

30. SabbaticalNearing Time for Sabbatical • Arrange pulpit supply • Get laity doing the things they will do in sabbatical while clergy are there to assist and mentor • Prepare a Sending and Receiving Ceremony

31. Sabbatical • Do the sabbatical • Might have some letter from pastor read during a service as an update • Only one person should feed information to the pastor to keep him appraised of developments • Communicate to the congregation how things are going, what is happening and BE POSITIVE! 31

32. SabbaticalAfter the Event • Take time to finish the effort • Intentionally reintegrate pastor back into the parish • intentionally survey the pros and cons with pastor, leaders, congregation, etc (survey monkey, etc) • share the information • have the clergy give a report on their sabbatical 32

33. SabbaticalLet It Live On • Seek to institutionalize it with a vote from the Voters • Seek to lengthen it • Seek to fund it better • Use the benefits and remind people of this • Continue to use the laity in appropriate ways with their new skills into the future 33

34. Blessings • By being faithful to the Word of God, we derive many benefits: the continuance of His Grace, freely given in Christ Jesus. • We owe this to our Pastor(s) and ourselves! This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

35. Back Up Slides

36. Some Resources from Alban Institute (available thru Amazon.com) • Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide to Sabbatical Planning by A. Richard Bullock and Richard J. Bruesehoff • Journeying toward Renewal: A Spiritual Companion for Pastoral Sabbaticals by Melissa Bane Sevier • Why You Should Give Your Pastor a Sabbatical by Roy M. Oswald