by Sam Brock

We drove away from camp on September 11, 2009, and traveled 9,971 miles around America for 56 days. Upon our return in early November, we had officially experienced a sabbatical. What was it like? Was it worth it? What did we learn? Why did we do it? How did we do it? To some, it just looked like a long vacation, but a sabbatical should be so much more. As we travelled, I was surprised how many people wondered if everything was okay. Everything was fine! This trip was on purpose—not because I was 40 and needed to find myself.

First, I would highly recommend a sabbatical to anyone that has been in the same ministry for the past 10 to 20 years. Making it possible takes a great deal of work—at times, it will seem like too much work. For us, we started over a year in advance setting aside dates and communicating our plan to the staff. We chose a time that would have the least impact on our ministry and then listed all the responsibilities that needed to be covered during that time.

The next step was to put someone else’s name next to each responsibility and then work to get others ready to do my job. It does you no good to go on sabbatical and come back to a 56-day pile of work. The goal of your team is do all of your job. Your goal is to teach them all of your job. This is a huge task, but part of what makes a sabbatical worthwhile.

After going on the sabbatical, I can honestly say it is worth it. It was harder than I thought it would be. It is hard to have someone else take care of all your e-mail. It is hard to not know the details of the ministry. It was hard to come back and feel like a visitor instead of one of the team. But even though it was hard, I loved the fact that I didn’t know about the urgent and could just focus on the important. I loved the fact that my kids had a new appreciation for our home, our ministry, our friends, and our church. I likewise came back knowing that I didn’t want to be gone for so long for a long time.

The extended time allowed my family to do things that we have never been able to do. Visiting colleges and churches, as well as seeing old friends, distant relatives, and unique places was something we may have done for a few days on vacation, but on a sabbatical you get to do it for a couple of months.

This sabbatical was very much about our children (four colleges, Washington DC, New York City, Mall of America) experiencing new things and learning about our country. The next one we take, in another 10 years or so, will most likely be without kids and will probably take a little different perspective. The next one is planned to be 12 weeks, and I know we’ll need to have a project that we can concentrate on.

The policy below helped us narrow down what we could do, and the benefits were helpful to us and our staff.

Benefits to the Staff Member

• Extended time free from work responsibilities giving the staff member major amounts of time to invest in relationships with immediate family and God.
• Gone long enough to appreciate home, neighbors, desert, and work.
• Gives the staff member the option to do something that an ordinary vacation does not (e.g., college tour, mission trip, travel, visit all supporting churches).
• Extended study of one book of the Bible.
• Keeps the staff member from getting into a deep rut of the same thing every year.
• Gives the staff member something to look forward to, plan for, and save for.

Benefits to the Ministry

• Pushes staff member to teach work areas that only he/she knows.
• Gives team appreciation for the staff member’s contribution—cannot be taken for granted and is missed . . . hopefully.
• Staff member learns from other ministries’ experiences and knowledge.
• Refreshed, rejuvenated staff member—helps longevity.
• Reminds staff member that no one is indispensable and reminds the team that the staff member is invaluable.
• Allows extra responsibility to be given to other staff members for a short time, giving them a sampling of what that work would be like.
• Provides a camp tour Morning Meeting of a camp that we probably couldn’t visit as a staff team.
• Allows for an “itch” (interest or need) that may require longer than a month to be “scratched” (done, tried, experienced) without losing the staff member permanently.

Sabbatical Policy

On occasion, it is helpful to step back and take stock of your life. Sometimes the busy schedule, hectic plans, and constant interruptions do not allow staff members the extra time to study, pray, fellowship, and rest. The hope is that a sabbatical

▪ is a refreshing time in which staff members do something new or go somewhere that would not be possible on a normal vacation or break;
▪ that they will immerse themselves in the Word of God and use this time to grow in their spiritual walk;
▪ that staff members will come home energized to do the work at hand, thankful for the home and desert we live in, and closer to God.

▪ Mini Sabbatical

– Sometime during a staff member’s 11th to 20th year
– 5 weeks that can be added to another 3 weeks of break or vacation for a maximum of 8 weeks
– All paid time
– Tour 1 camp
– Study a book of the Bible

▪ Major Sabbatical

– Available every decade of service beginning with your 21st year
– 8 weeks that can be added to another 4 weeks of break or vacation for a maximum of 12 weeks
– All paid time
– Tour 2 camps
– Study a book of the Bible
– Less than one-fourth of it should be taken at a staff member’s home at Ironwood.
– Less than one-half of it should be taken with a staff member’s extended family (those who don’t live at a staff member’s home at Ironwood).
– Less than a one-fourth of it should be used to work where a staff member gets paid.
– If a staff member were able to be a camper at one of the camps that attend Tweakage, the ministry would work to make that cost free.
– A sabbatical should not be used in conjunction with a move or change in employment: it is not a severance package.
– Seven or more years should separate all sabbaticals.
– A sabbatical must be approved by the directors with plenty of advance timing. Special attention should be made to schedule a sabbatical in a way that has as little negative impact as possible.
– A staff member may use less than the allotted time, but it does not roll over or split up.
– Husbands and wives may take a sabbatical together or separate.
– A staff member should be prepared to take a morning meeting (about 20 to 30 minutes) to share what he learned on his sabbatical.

▪ Scheduling a Sabbatical

– Because of the possible burden of substitutes, job requirements, and school, sabbaticals may take up to two years of advance planning.
– Sabbaticals must receive approval in both a Calendar Meeting and a 21-Out Meeting (directors & team leaders).
– Staff members gone on sabbaticals count against black-out day numbers.
– Rarely would it be possible for two staff families/individuals to be on a sabbatical at the same time.
– Priority of scheduling a sabbatical is by seniority.
– When staff have not come at the same time, sabbaticals are figured by the staff member who has been here the longest (as with vacation). In figuring when a staff member is eligible, go by the same method that vacations are computed.

Feel free to e-mail me or call with any questions if you are considering this benefit in your ministry. This is a benefit that is not cash rich but rather quality-of-life rich. In the end, the trip was invaluable and something no raise in salary could have accomplished. I challenge you to make a sabbatical possible in your ministry.