T. Allen Burr Ministries

Pastor, you need to take a sabbatical. Most pastors hear this term and think of it as being put on administrative leave or as throwing in the towel, but that simply is not the truth. The truth is more than a third of pastors have thought about quitting over the last year. According to Lifeway Research, approximately 10% say they have thought about it at least “fairly often.” In 2023, Barna polled senior pastors of different ages and denominations and found that one-third of pastors thought about quitting ministry and 60 percent “significantly doubted their calling.” Alarmingly, Barna also found that “[n]early one in five Protestant senior pastors in the U.S. (18%) say they have contemplated self-harm or suicide within the past year.”

Why is this happening? This is occurring because the Church, and ministers especially, aren’t putting enough thought and effort into taking care of the mental health of the clergy. Pastor, I’ll say it again, you need to take a sabbatical. It is unbiblical for you not to. God commanded His chosen people to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, yes. But did you realize that there is also an additional Sabbath commanded by God?

While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said to him, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the LORD every seventh year. For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the LORD’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year.

– Numbers 25:1-4, New Living Translation

This directive served as a measure to ensure the rehabilitation of agricultural fields that would be depleted of key nutrients and minerals due to consecutive years of cultivation and harvesting. You work day-in and day-out for the church. There is no downtime in ministry. Very rarely do pastors get to “take off the hat,” so to speak. You are on call 24/7. And Pastor, that can be exhausting. I’ll go on record as vehemently disagreeing with Bernard Kelvin Clive who wrote: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Hogwash. Every job becomes tiresome at some point – even jobs we love. We’re only human, after all.

You have been furrowing the fields, planting seeds, and harvesting the increase for years, sometimes without a break at all. Research from Barna and Lifeway suggests that many pastors go four or more years without every taking any kind of vacation. This is a recipe for burnout and, at the risk of sounding a little melodramatic, disaster. Without extended periods of rest, your vision becomes clouded, your focus narrows to “just doing the task”, and your personal relationship with God suffers. When you are so focused on caring for the spiritual wellbeing of your flock, it’s easy to forget to take a look at your own spiritual wellbeing.

Ultimately a pastor must be disciplined to establish a rhythm of rest…

– Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research

Pastor, in order for you to build up your endurance and run the race, you have to develop, as Scott McConnell said, a rhythm of rest. One day a week isn’t enough. One week every now and again isn’t enough. You need a hard reset every so often in order to help you recenter your mind and life on Christ and for you to regain your bearings. Why is that important? Aaron Earls of Lifeway Research wrote that “pastors who can take time away from the everyday busyness of ministry are more likely to stick around.” According to their research, pastors who take sabbaticals are nearly twice as likely to remain in ministry. It’s important because it helps build your endurance.

But what is a sabbatical, exactly? A sabbatical is a board-approved time away for a pastor to rest and reset. The particulars look different from person to person and church to church, but a key attribute of a sabbatical is that the pastor is not called upon to handle day-to-day administration and another minister is brought in to do pulpit supply ministry. During the sabbatical, it is vital that the pastor is given the space and liberty to focus on their own spiritual, emotional, and educational development. During this time, while, yes, they are recharging, the pastor is also inactively preparing for their next season of ministry. Brett McNeill, an Orthodox Reformed Presbyterian minister, wrote the following on the topic:

Pastors need to find a way to slow down so they can reflect, pray, meditate, repent, and heal.

– Brett McNeill, Reformation Presbyterian Church in Olympia, Washington.

In order to keep running the race set before you, Pastor, you need to learn how to rest. In my personal blog, The Liturgical Pentecostal, I wrote two blog posts about keeping the Sabbath, and I believe this section goes hand-in-hand with what I’m talking about here today:

Bishop Michael Curry’s Way of Love teaching is inspiring. When I started listening to it, I began with the episode discussing the practice of rest. This is one of the least practiced spiritual disciplines and perhaps one of the most important. I have to share this one quote that struck me:

“Put down your crossword, drink your cup of coffee, and just be with Jesus.”

– Kyler Oliver, co-host of The Way of Love podcast

– The Liturgical Pentecostal

Put down your crossword. Put away your sermon notebook. Drink your cup of coffee and just be with Jesus. Be with your family. Just be. The purpose of the Sabbath, and the sabbatical by extension, is rejuvenation. The practice of observing the Sabbath is meant to rejuvenate us—body, soul, and spirit. Pastor, you have to learn to do the same thing. But, what does that look like practically?

As I already mentioned, the pastor is approved by their board to step away from their ministerial duties for a predetermined period after a specified length of time. The standard length of service required for a pastor to take a sabbatical is seven years, according to Number 25. A sabbatical is not intended to use your vacation hours nor is it supposed to replace your vacation hours. It is an entirely separate practice. Many pastors and churches view sabbaticals as administratively impossible because of the financial impact. That said, numerous Christian organizations and foundations offer grants and funding opportunities to pastors and churches looking to take a sabbatical or send their pastor on one. Organizations like the Lilly Endowment and the Louisville Institute offer grants for sabbaticals. 

That brings me to an important point, many pastors feel as though they can’t take a sabbatical because of the financial pressure they would feel due to not working. As a standard policy, Renew.org recommends that “the church will provide continued salary and benefits to the pastor while on sabbatical leave. To help cover the pastor’s costs while on sabbatical leave, the pastor is encouraged to apply for financial assistance (e.g. fellowships, grants, and scholarships)…” This provides some level of incentive for the pastor to put in some effort on their end to help cover costs and make the experience more affordable for the church.

Sabbaticals, like people, come in all different shapes and sizes. The length of the sabbatical is something that your leadership team should thoughtfully and prayerfully consider prior to implementing it. Each church will have different circumstances and needs that will impact the body’s ability to function without the pastor at the helm. Renew.org in their research concerning sabbaticals found a wide variety of sabbatical formats – from four weeks all the way up to six months! Again, the length of your sabbatical will depend heavily on the needs of your church, the strength of your leadership team, and other factors.

Lastly, many pastors feel as though they can’t take a sabbatical because they don’t have staff members to preach in their stead. Many denominations have resources and contacts to provide you with the names and contact information of pastors whose sole ministry is pulpit-fill (or pulpit supply, if you will). Another option available to you is reaching out to other pastors in your denomination or fellowship who you are familiar with and ask if they have a staff member or two who would be willing and able to fill the pulpit in your absence. Nine times out of ten, most pastors are willing to lend a hand however they can.

Remember, taking a sabbatical isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of wisdom. Working 24/7, 365 without any breaks or vacations or rest periods isn’t something we should admire. It’s something we should lament. Even if you don’t burn out, what does a lack of Sabbath keeping and sabbatical taking lead to? Jeff Duerler of Renew.org had this to say:

Even for those who stay faithful, the strenuous nature of commitment can lead to a dulling of passion, stagnation, and unintentional repetition.

– Jeff Duerler, Renew.org

Pastor, I’ll leave you with this: The best thing you can do for your church is to take a sabbatical. As I said, many pastors and churches are hesitant to enact sabbatical policies because they don’t know who would fill the pulpit. That is what my whole ministry is in this chapter of my life. So, if you need pulpit fill in order for you to take a sabbatical, contact me.