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Sabbaticals score


big MARK HIRSCH


Survey finds leaders’ minds, bodies and spirits improve By Sandra Guy


A


s the technology age puts ever-increasing pressure on ministers from congregants who expect constant access, immediate feedback and wide-ranging emo-


tional empathy, a survey shows that well-planned rest and renewal are a necessary balm. Two surveys, one of congregational leaders and a second answered by 48 of 52 Lutheran ministers who received matching grants from Wheat Ridge Ministries for sabbaticals, produced a ringing endorsement of the practice. “It’s a tough environment to be a pastor, with our soci- ety more narcissistic, financially driven and constantly pressured than ever before,” said Brian Becker, vice presi- dent for ministry programs for Wheat Ridge, an Itasca, Ill.-based, Lutheran nonprofit that supports health and human care initiatives. “And people tend to connect with the pastor only in the extremes of really bad and really good times, such as upon a death, a divorce, a cancer diag-


Guy is a lifelong Lutheran, ELCA member and reporter at the Chicago Sun- Times. She is a frequent contributor to The Lutheran.


nosis or the birth of a baby. That can really be draining.” The ideal relationship between pastors and their con- gregations is one of mutual understanding and apprecia- tion for their distinct roles, the Wheat Ridge study stated. “They see ministry as a partnership; pastoral leadership supported and affirmed by lay leaders actively engaged in the work,” according to the study. “Inspired ideas are cul- tivated into new ministries—ministries that are pursued with an expansive sense of stewardship and trust in God’s provision.”


Besides, experts have recommended for decades that pastors take better care of themselves, and Jesus spoke of the need to be alone, to fast, to pray and to get away from the crowds, Becker noted.


Another plus is that sabbaticals don’t have to be expen- sive, he said. “Pastors and congregations can accomplish this for $10,000 to $15,000,” Becker said. “If the church will discipline itself to put away a couple thousand dollars every five to seven years, they will have the funds.” Barbara J. Rapp, pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Scales Mound, Ill., said she quite pos- sibly would have left the ministry if not for her sabbatical. “I think I’d no longer be a pastor if I hadn’t had that expe-


30 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


Barbara J. Rapp, pas- tor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Scales Mound, Ill., said she quite possibly would have left the ministry if not for her sabbatical.


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