1. Easier said than done... ... ... The idea of taking a sabbatical is a noble one but getting the rest one needs is another matter entirely. I found that taking leave of church work was replaced with all the “to do” list I had around the house. The first month I shifted from ministry to carpenter/painter. It has been fun to fix things around the house but not quite the unhurried activities that one expects from a sabbatical.

2.Broken arm and pulled back muscle helps get R&R... ... ... In October I went to a missionary renewal retreat. The retreat was about finding God’s rhythm in our live and learning to have quite time and sabbath moments. The retreat helped put a guideline to my sabbatical. I got to spend a lot resting, reflecting, and reading BECAUSE I fell while playing soccer (2nd day) and tore a lower back muscle and stress fractured my wrist. The recovery for the wrist was about 6 weeks but the back has taken almost three months. I learned if you really need some R&R and don’t want to be asked to to anything a torn back muscle will do the trick.

3.Staying locally for a extended sabbatical is hard... ... ... One of the things I learned about taking a sabbatical from ministry is “don’t stay, go away for a time”. When I searched out people to help plan and counsel us through this sabbatical almost without exception they asked “are you staying in Chile?”. At first I thought the question was for planning but as I progress through it, I realized that I was in for a surprise. They were concerned about staying in the same location as my ministry because experience shows it hard to rest around the people that you minister too. This has been a real challenge. In September, we officially started our sabbatical and I stepped back from participating directly in ministry. The difficulty is that 4 of my closest friends and disciples stepped up to begin taking on more responsibilities in leadership along with other ministry leaders and they lost their spiritual guides. They still had questions about interpersonal relationships, Bible, ministry and church so they would come and ask about those things making it hard to fully disconnect from the ministry. They did a great job but it was touch and go for a time until we came to the understanding that “I would listen and give advice but not help them solve their issues”. It has been good for them for me not to be as available as before and helped them see that the future of the church rests in their hands not in the missionaries’. I have learned that if I am take another sabbatical I will have a shortened sabbatical but in a place other than where I am currently working.

4.Best cure for burnout is God’s creation... ... ... During our sabbatical we have had the opportunity to do a little traveling. The first trip we took was to northern Chile. We spent a week in September camping in the Atacama desert enjoying the desert in bloom. It is a phenomena that happens about every 10 years but this year’s bloom had not been seen in 50 plus years. It was amazing to see parts of the desert that is nothing but rocks and sand be transformed into a symphony of colors, shapes, and sized all because of our God. It was a wonderful experience. And then just this month we went to Colombia (I hadn’t been back in 24 years) and experience the beauty of a tropical country. The variety of tropical fruits had the kids on cloud nine. They could play in the rain and not get cold (in Chile when rains it is cold). What a wonderful time. Seeing God greatness through the variety in His creation is a wonderful way to put things in perspective and perspective is the main thing that is lost when a person finds himself in burnout.

5.Regular “sabbath”-taking prevents the need for a sabbatical”... ... ... In the Old Testament record, God rested on the 7th day after creation and he left specific instructions for his people to keep the sabbath to remind themselves of what God had done for them. I think that we, as children of God, need to be “sabbath” keepers. Let me make myself clear...I am not advocating that we keep the sabbath as part of the old law but keep the essence of resting and remembering what God has done. As Christians in a fast paced world we find ourselves time and time again running from one activity to another. We have our children in a million extra-curricular activities, youth programs, youth groups, and time with friends. We spend a lot of time running around doing things. Then you add on top of that work, work events, family events, and church, and your have the recipe for a Christian who doesn’t have time for a relationship with Jesus Christ. Many of us find our value and security in the things we can accomplish, what we do for a living or our relationships and never realize that our value and security can only be found in God. Taking time to have “sabbath moments” in our daily life not only allows us to slow down and prevent burnout but can give us the kind of value and security that only a close relationship with Christ can provide. If we do not slow down, plan for those moments, and take advantage of them we will miss out on the intimacy that a relationship with Christ can provide. God and Christ will not force themselves into our busy schedules so we need to learn how to fill our lives with “sabbath moments” and be Christian sabbath keepers. I have learned that my life has to have sabbath moments in order to please the Lord and grow deeper in that relationship with my Savior.