A Sabbatical for Pastor Kenny Stokes.pdf

One observation that encourages me to acknowledge my own limits and finitude is the fact that Jesus, in his earthly ministry, stepped out of the flow of ministry from time to time, along with his disciples. For instance,

• Jesus personally withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself (Matthew 14:13).
• After the disciples returned from their missionary journey, finding more ministry with the crowds, Jesus told them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while" (Mark 6:31).

You may know that Bethlehem allows pastoral staff a three-month sabbatical after five years of ministry. The statement reads, “Bethlehem wants its pastors to be spiritually and mentally healthy, growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and on the cutting edge of the best biblical and strategic thinking in their particular ministry areas. We desire for our staff to thrive in ministry, find periodic refreshment, and avoid burnout.”

However, in more than 21 years of pastoral ministry (the last 11 at Bethlehem) I have never taken a sabbatical. That is probably more an evidence of a problem than anything else. Observing this among several of the pastoral staff, our “Pastoral Care & Compensation Committee” contacted me and three other Bethlehem pastors within the last few years, encouraging us to take advantage of sabbatical leave.

What is a sabbatical? The background to the word “sabbatical” comes from “Sabbath,” the day of rest on the seventh day of the week. In the Old Testament, every seven years there was a Sabbath year (a year of rest for the soil), and every fiftieth year was to be a Jubilee (also a year of Sabbath rest for the land). The idea of a pastoral sabbatical goes back to the Middle Ages when the university professors and the doctors of the church were one and the same. The sabbatical, granted every seven years, was an opportunity for these teachers and leaders to become regular “students” and “worshippers” for a season.

What does a Kenny Stokes sabbatical look like? Last year, the elders approved the following sabbatical for me:

Time Frame: January 18–April 9; April 21–30. (The purpose of the April 10–20 interruption is to host guest preacher Dr. Steve Childers, participate in the TCT Church Planting Network meeting, and go on the Pastors and Wives Retreat.)

Location: In general, the sabbatical will be spent at home with my wife, Kathy, and family in Minneapolis with a few exceptions. We have invitations to “sabbath” in the Dominican Republic and in Dallas with friends from The Village Church. I also plan to spend time in South Florida during the Northwestern College baseball team’s spring training to divide my study time cheering for one of my sons.

Aims:

Rest and spend extended time in prayer and the Word; I will be seeking the Lord for a renewed sense of his direction for the next season of life and ministry.

• Spend time with my wife and family, including a project to research and compile the Stokes Family History.
• Exercise—I aim to increase my weekly swimming distance and time. (Yes, in an indoor pool!)
• Read, reflect and write on Christian Community (i.e., the “Relational Culture” we are praying to develop more and more at Bethlehem).
• Reflect on and write a biblical theology of multiple campuses (and perhaps church planting, too).
• Capture thoughts from devotions, reflections on racial harmony, God’s sufficient grace, marriage, and personal, corporate, and pastoral ministry on my blog, “Wilderness Mercies.”
• Write six songs (one every two weeks if the Lord wills).
• Write and submit a report to the elders detailing how my time was spent and what was accomplished at the end of the sabbatical.

Thank you, Bethlehem, for the gift of this sabbatical. Please pray that…

• Kathy and I would be spiritually refreshed in our fellowship with God and benefit from physical rest.
• We would be renewed in our marriage and family relationships by the time afforded by the change of pace.
• I might be able to write, blog, and song-write for the glory of Christ in my own heart and for the joy of others.
• In my absence, my colleagues will be covering my responsibilities. Sam Crabtree will be leading the Downtown pastoral staff, Tom Steller will lead the Downtown elders, Ken Currie will lead the Spreading Department, and Mike Tong will chair the Bethlehem Urban Initiatives board.

Spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ,

Pastor Kenny Stokes