Every church wants a BETTER pastor. Even churches with great pastors would like them to be better.
One of the best things a congregation can do is to encourage their pastor to be – and to continue to be – a learning pastor.
A pastor who is learning and growing in their faith, is also learning and growing as a pastor, preacher, guide, and leader. And growing pastors tend to lead growing congregations.
The congregation I serve – Spirit of Joy! Lutheran Church – is committed to having a learning pastor. And to that end, the lay leaders and the congregation have encouraged me to take a mini-sabbatical this year.
What is a Sabbatical
A sabbatical is a time of renewal and learning. It is related to the word “sabbath,” meaning a time of rest and renewal.
Sabbaticals are not vacations.
Vacations are primarily about rest, enjoyment, and time away. These things are important! Every pastor should also take vacation time, in addition to any learning time.
Sabbaticals are about learning, renewal, and rest. There is some overlap — it is hard to learn when you are tired! And often learning means time away from the ordinary tasks of ministry. But the focus in a sabbatical is on how we learn to grow in our faith and ministry.
Traditionally in both the academic and church fields, sabbaticals follow the biblical pattern of 7s. For every seven years of service, a period of sabbatical is given. It doesn’t always work out that way — practicalities in ministry mean that a congregation may not be able to afford a sabbatical, or a pandemic might happen!
So after eleven years at Spirit of Joy!, and a total of 19 years in ministry, I am taking my first real sabbatical this year.
Race and Faith
Several of the defining moments of my ministry have been around how race affects congregations. Events in the world cannot help but ripple into the life of congregations and church members.
The election of our country’s first Black president.
The election of our country’s first Black vice-president.
The killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Elijah McCain, and Breonna Taylor.
Closer to home, the death of Sandra Bland.
The Black joy of Lemonade and Kendrick and Amanda Gorman and Wakanda.
And of course, the widely televised murder of George Floyd and the resistance of the summer of 2020.
How do people of faith talk about race? How do our views of race effect the ways we talk about God? What do liberation and redemption look like in a culture that is often defined by racism?
I have lived in the South for over 30 years, and how we tell these stories of our shared history matters. How we think about our neighbors matters. How we build reconciled communities matters.
A Civil Rights Pilgrimage
To that end, I am spending three weeks on a pilgrimage of prayer and learning – immersing myself in the history of the Civil Rights Movement across the deep South.
My goals are to
- Learn more of the stories that are untold – and “undertold” – about race in America
- Explore how faith helped to motivate the Civil Rights Movement
- Explore how the Christian faith was distorted to allow for chattel slavery and Jim Crow in self-professed “Christian” communities
- Remembering and honoring those who risked their lives for justice, while learning about the work of justice still happening today
As I mentioned, I have lived in the American South for 30+ years. I have been around this history the majority of my life. But during these three weeks, I am slowing down at these locations and spending time absorbing them. Check out the locations on my itinerary.
Festival of Homiletics
At the end of my journey, I will be in Atlanta, Georgia.
Once there I will be participating in the annual Festival of Homiletics. The FOH brings together some of the best preachers of the country from a variety of backgrounds, and allows congregational pastors to experience their preaching and teaching. These three days will be a marathon of listening to sermons and lectures.
The theme of this year’s FOH ties directly into my Sabbatical: “Preaching to Heal the Divide.” They organizers say of this year’s theme:
“Preachers today carry the weight of proclaiming the Gospel and helping their communities navigate through deeply divisive times. They need resources, wisdom, and support to serve as agents of healing and reconciliation. The 2025 Festival of Homiletics aims to provide exactly that—practical tools, theological frameworks, and spiritual nourishment for the vital work of bridge-building through preaching.”
How You Can Help
You can help? Yes! You.
The Christian life is not something we do alone — even when we are off on a time of learning and prayer. Here are some concrete ways that you can support this time of renewal:
- Pray. Please pray for my safe travels, my learning, and the renewal of my faith.
- Worship. If you are in the area, worship with my friends at Spirit of Joy! – gather to hear the guest preachers there during this time, and experience the joy of that community.
- Support. Sabbaticals are not cheap. There are travel costs, meals, event registrations and museum tickets, and the cost of guest preachers while pastor is gone. Please consider a gift to Spirit of Joy! Lutheran Church to help offset the costs of this sabbatical.
- Read. Want to learn with me? Pick up a book on race and faith in America and learn along with me. Here are some recommendations for places to start reading.
- A little more. Speaking of support – not all of the expenses on a trip like this are “official” expenses. A stop at a local coffee shop. A meal with a friend. Snacks for the road. If you would like to contribute to my “fun money” for this trip, you can make a gift via Paypal: @revdavid or via Venmo @rev_david
