The Church During Sabbatical

One of the benefits of Ministry Renewal Leave identified by the Alban Institute is the opportunity for the church to "develop skills in self-sufficiency" in the absence of the pastor.

It is so important for church members to feel the sense of ownership that is made easier when the pastor is out of the office--not only making way for new experiences in worship, but also leaving the administration to those who are on the scene. I'll only be out for two months, at a time of year that should cause as little disruption of the regular schedule as possible, so a great deal of the administrative work will have been arranged in advance. In fact the office has already been in preparation for several months.

But I remember the extraordinary lay leadership I found when I first arrived at CBPC in 2000. The members of the Session knew that, in program areas such as Worship & Music, Fellowship, Outreach, and Christian Education, as well as the support structure such as Buildings & Grounds and Budget & Finance, if things were going to happen, it was going to be up to them. There was no artificial sense that things would be taken care of by the pastor, because for a short time between the interim and my installation, there was no pastor. The church had come together in an amazing, healthy way--and that can continue to be the case as, among other sabbatical benefits, I get out of the way for a few weeks this summer.