By Mark Dance • Director of Pastoral Wellness, GuideStone Financial Resources
I virtually blew my very first sabbatical. The stakes were high because if I did it wrong, I was setting myself, as well as subsequent ministry staff, up for failure.
If you’ve never had a sabbatical, you’re not alone or even in the minority. But please don’t give up on the idea prematurely. Three in 10 pastors (32%) say their church has a plan for the pastor to receive a sabbatical. For those who don’t have a sabbatical plan in place yet, applying for your first sabbatical is worthwhile and will benefit both you and your church.
Should you get the opportunity to take a sabbatical, please learn from my mistakes, as well as from some others I’ve observed in the last 20 years since my first sabbatical. These mistakes are in no particular order:
• Working too hard. The idea of a sabbatical in the first church I requested one from was met with tentative curiosity. This didn’t surprise me since no members had firsthand knowledge or experience with sabbaticals, except for a few tenured college professors.
I didn’t have the benefit of articles like this, so I free-styled my first sabbatical and scheduled 14 interview appointments with pastors who had successfully led their churches through a relocation. Half of them were in the metro Atlanta area and half in the metro Dallas area. At the end of those first three weeks of my first sabbatical, I was completely exhausted.
I never stopped working, which was antithetical to the intent of a sabbatical. Even though the root of the word “sabbatical” is “stop,” I did the opposite. Instead of having my soul restored and recharged, I limped into the final sabbatical week physically sick and emotionally drained.
• Resting too little. Looking back, I think I underestimated my personal need for rest. I tried too hard to ensure that my sabbatical didn’t come across as a personal vacation or that I didn’t appear like a ministry tourist. Motivated by vanity, insecurity and naiveté, the outcome was still exhaustion.
It was in that last week that I learned the true benefits of a sabbatical. The entire week was spent alone in a mountain cabin with just my Bible, computer and a blender for the juice fast I would take. I knew about as much about fasting as I did sabbaticals, but God did a mighty work in my life.
The Great Commandments came alive to me in a way I didn’t expect, which eventually led to the message that would guide my life and ministry moving forward, as well as inspire my book “Start to Finish.”
That breakthrough not only impacted my ministry as a pastor, but it has dominated my ministry to pastors for the last 11 years — all because I took the time to stop and listen to God.
My next sabbatical came five years later, and I booked cabins throughout the Arkansas Ozarks every week. Just as the first sabbatical informed my first book, that second sabbatical informed my second book about “Sabbath — The Time of Your Life,” releasing in June 2026.
• Becoming too accessible. Perhaps the most common sabbatical mistake I see is pastors making themselves accessible to too many people. Pastors feel guilty making a hard stop for an extended period of time, so they leave their door open through social media, email, cell phones or even showing up on Sundays.
Boredom plays a small part in this lack of discernment, yet insecurity plays a much bigger part. They don’t need us as much as we need them. They will move on with their lives and ministries just fine without us if we give them a chance.
• Lack of purpose. There are basically three kinds of sabbaticals: forced, formal and informal. Forced sabbaticals are unwanted gifts from well-meaning members who care for their pastor after a ministry or personal meltdown. This intervention should involve credentialed counseling at the least.
Formal sabbaticals are part of a proactive, prevention strategy of pastor wellness. Prevention is always cheaper and less painful than a cure. They are typically requested in writing by a pastor and approved by and supported by a local church or Christian foundation.
A formal sabbatical proposal should have a clear, simple plan that can be easily understood on the front end, as well as easily remembered on the back end. If you plan too much, you come back more stressed than when you left. If you plan too little, the church may think you squandered their investment.
Summarize your purpose in a couple of sentences and make sure that summary is repeated for a few weeks before your sabbatical and every week during it — both in writing and on stage. Clarity is the key to consistency, and brevity is the key to both.
Informal sabbaticals are initiated and paid for by the minister who understands the importance of extended time off the field, but doesn’t serve in a church that has the means or will to support him.
Like David, who “refreshed himself” (II Sam. 16:14 NIV), pastors in this position have embraced self-care strategically. String together all the holidays and vacation days you can to create enough space for a long vacation.
Some pastors take the month of July off every year or two to three Sundays off every summer to recharge their souls and reconnect with their families. It’s usually the least disruptive month to be away for consecutive Sundays.
• Ingratitude. Nothing will slam the door on future sabbaticals faster than an entitled minister who flaunts vacation-type pictures during a sabbatical.
A lack of discernment, humility and gratitude will not escape your congregation’s notice, so make time during the morning worship service that follows your sabbatical to warmly express how thankful you are and a few ways you benefited from it.
Since sabbaticals are not directly connected to our call in Scripture, you should treat one as a privilege instead of a pastoral perk. Nobody owes you a sabbatical, so if you get one, make sure your whole church knows how much you appreciate it.
Also, let them know how you and they will benefit from it. As I mentioned, my second sabbatical focused on Sabbath rest and resilience, which eventually led to a book. However, I preached a six-week series on rest and resilience shortly after the sabbatical was over, thus giving them an immediate return on their investment.
Don’t be discouraged when you make mistakes, especially if you’re the first pastor in the recent history of your church to take a sabbatical. Grace abounds, especially when you work closely with your family, staff and lay leaders on implementation. The biggest mistake is to not try at all.
— This article was first published by Lifeway Research at research.lifeway.com/2025/06/10/5-ways-to-mess-up-a-sabbatical/ and is shared with permission.
