A Sabbatical #2: What to do with the time

Whether you have requested a sabbatical or your organisation has insisted that you take one, you will need to decide what you are going to do with your time. A sabbatical is a gift, which gives you a unique opportunity to 'go off-line' and to pursue other goals for an agreed period of time.
Perhaps you will concentrate on studying to gain new qualifications and skills. Maybe you will write a book or travel across the world. Perhaps you just need to step back from the busyness of the day-to-day routine to rest and to find fresh enthusiasm for the task on hand. Whatever your goal, good planning will be key to having a successful sabbatical.

I formulated the purpose of my sabbatical as follows:

1. To be released for a period of three months from ministry responsibilities, in order to hear God’s voice and to re-evaluate my personal calling and how it corresponds to my current ministry* 
2. To halt a cycle which was leading to ‘burnout’ 
3. To rest and to enjoy God and His creation

* (but being careful not to create an expectation that I would make an announcement at the end of the sabbatical) 

It was decided that I should take a period of 3-months as soon as practically possible. As I had the main responsibility to organize a major conference which was happening at the beginning of May, for which I worked considerable hours of overtime, it made sense to commence the sabbatical a few weeks after the conference ended.  

I discovered a friend who was planning to be on sabbatical at the same time, so we agreed to hold each other accountable, to meet up when possible and otherwise to connect regularly by Skype or by phone.

Using the Navigators - '5 Phases of a Sabbatical', I want to show you how I structured my 12 weeks:

Phase 1: Release and Relinquish – Exiting from leadership roles and ministry responsibilities

• During this first phase you disengage from the ministry and leadership responsibilities, and you create an environment were your sabbatical plan can flourish. What 'Phase 1' looked like for me can be read here in my first posting in this series.
• The two weeks after the conference were spent completing the financials, preparing teaching notes and visuals to give to those who would teach in my place, clearing my desk and email-inbox, so that I could turn-off the computer with a good conscience.
• The transition to the next phase was made very smoothly through a special gift from a supporter which allowed us as a family to go on a weeks' holiday. This proved to be a very valuable way to shift into a different gear.

Phase 2: Rest and Recovery – Establishing margin & managing pace of life

• Wk. 1 – Wind-down, reading, tidying, DIY, preached in our church

Phase 3: Reflect and Refocus – Experiencing God and self in new or deeper ways

• Wk. 2 – Visited oneanother.com in England, where with the help of a Christian counsellor, I was able to debrief, face the reality that I was in burnout and look at various options and strategies for the future. This really helped to structure my thinking.
• Wk. 3 – Reading, journalling, listening to MP3 sermons/seminars, running, swimming, 40th birthday celebration 
• Wk. 4 – Meeting with friends in London to attend the EMA conference where we had lots of discussions on theological, church and mission related issues.
• Wk. 5 - Was a guest student at the AWM (Akademie für Welt Mission) in Korntal, Stuttgart.
• Wk. 6 - Studying, prepared and gave a presentation in class, translating, talking with other students, running... completed the AWM course.

Phase 4: Realignment and/or Restoration - Empowering for maximum contribution

• Wk. 7 – Reading, journalling, listening to MP3 sermons/seminars, physical activities, visiting friends
• Wk. 8 – Reading, journalling, listening to MP3 sermons/seminars, physical activities, visiting friends

Here I balanced the time of being alone and thinking a lot with spending time with friends. On reflection, during this phase I was giving particular attention to the areas of mind, body and fellowship.

School holidays commenced

• Wk. 9 – Stayed for a week with our boys at a children's camp in the Black Forest (my wife had this week for herself at home - a kind of "mini-sabbatical")
• Wk. 10 – Day trips with the family in the Black Forest region (including doing activities with each of the children individually) This was a good time of bonding.
• Wk. 11 – Visited my parents in N. Ireland (my father is seriously ill), met up with friends, and gave a brief (almost post-sabbatical) report in my sending church

Phase 5: Re-Entry and Re-Engagement - Engaging at right pace

• Wk. 12 – Reading, journalling, physical activities, visiting family in Germany, first look at my email-inbox since wk. 1, thinking about tasks for the coming weeks and projecting in my mind what needs to be done first.
• Wk. 13 – 8am Monday morning - went to our main office (although I often work from home) and was deliberate in interacting with colleagues and allocating time to catch up with them in their personal lives and ministry. The rest of the week has been spent re-engaging with other colleagues with whom I have a working relationship as well as prioritizing and responding to unanswered emails.

A Sabbatical #3: In the next blog, I will share some practical tips with a list of Sabbatical "Do's and Don'ts".