“For six years you shall sow your area…and collect in its fruits, however within the seventh
12 months there shall be a Sabbath relaxation for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD.”
Leviticus 25:3-4a
Sabbaticals
The aim of the seventh 12 months Sabbath was to supply relaxation for the land and to remind Israel that every one that they wanted was supplied by the Lord. From this biblical Sabbath relaxation got here the fashionable idea of the sabbatical: a time frame away from regular work in order that an worker would possibly pursue issues like research, journey, or common private development. Many firms, church buildings, universities, and organizations at this time present a sabbatical for workers each seven years.
I’m very grateful that my church, College Reformed Church, follows this apply. Having been on employees as Director of Counseling Ministries for fifteen years, I simply had my second sabbatical. Though our sabbaticals are often six weeks, for numerous causes, I solely took two weeks this summer season. I’d wish to share a couple of ideas on what I did and why breaks from regular work or ministry are useful. This summer season, I made a decision on three objectives for my quick sabbatical:
- Refreshing from the Lord
- Reflecting on fifteen years of counseling ministry
- Revisioning for the longer term
Refreshing
In Acts 3:19-20a, Peter concluded an impromptu sermon with this gospel promise: “Repent due to this fact, and switch again, that your sins could also be blotted out, that instances of refreshing might come from the presence of the Lord….” Counseling is tough work, and we want periodic instances of refreshing from the Lord: prolonged instances for meditating on Scripture, prayer, and different studying. I made a decision that every morning, I’d pray by chosen passages. I selected Proverbs (I had executed an intentional research of Proverbs on my first sabbatical), 1 Corinthians 1-3, 2 Corinthians 3-5, and Colossians. I saved a sabbatical journal and wrote down verses that struck me and meditations on them. Then, I prayed these Scriptures and meditations for myself, my counselees, and our church. Three reflections I wrote down that had been useful had been:
- “We’re saved and altered by a weak message (1 Cor. 1:21-25) of a weak Savior (2 Cor. 13:4) delivered in weak phrases (2 Cor. 2:4-5) delivered by weak messengers” (1 Cor. 2:2-3). Enormous implications for all times and counseling! I’m additionally studying a useful ebook on weak spot.[1]
- “Holiness results in wholeness and happiness” (Ps. 23:3, 5 with inspiration from David Gibson and Jonathan Edwards). This can be a counterintuitive however important precept of ministry of the Phrase.
- “Christ is all-supreme, all-sufficient, and all-satisfying in all issues for all individuals.” That is an all-encompassing assertion of remodeling reality!
Having this prolonged time to learn, meditate, and pray was refreshingly good for my soul and useful to my counseling.
Reflecting
I’m 73 years outdated. I’ve been counseling at URC for fifteen years. I’ve no speedy plans to retire, however it’s incumbent on me to organize for retirement and be sure that I depart a robust basis of biblical counseling at URC. So, it appeared like an opportune time to look again on the final fifteen years and consider the well being and effectiveness of the ministry. I did this by sending out a survey to 150 individuals in our congregation—officers and leaders, individuals I’ve recommended and taught, and chosen others. I requested:
- “What ideas, phrases, or pictures come to your thoughts when you consider biblical counseling at URC?”
- “What do you assume we’re doing nicely? What’s working?”
I acquired sufficient surveys again for this to be very useful. The sense of helpfulness of counseling at our church was very constructive. Some reflections/phrases/pictures individuals shared had been:
- Biblical, protected, assured, reliable, loving, gospel-filled, sort, boldness, and compassion
- “It looks as if a wide range of individuals from numerous phases of life and religious maturity search counseling.”
- “I’ve seen that you simply’ve been concerned in nearly all of our hardest shepherding instances” (from an elder).
- “I like this ministry. As a counselee, I felt the necessity for this ministry and skilled the life-giving fruit of it. As a counselor, these two truths have solely grown as I’ve…witnessed the fruit within the lives of these I’ve had the privilege of assembly with.”
- “Folks rising and altering on account of the affect of the gospel and the Bible of their state of affairs.”
Total, individuals had been inspired that we provide free counseling, that many individuals have been helped by our counselors’ clever and compassionate care, that many have been outfitted by courses for marriage, parenting, and general one-anothering, and that some have been outfitted for extra formal counseling.
Revisioning
Our counseling ministries at all times must continue to grow in knowledge, ability, and effectiveness. That is actually true at URC. We’ve got an excellent basis, however a number of issues could possibly be higher. So, within the survey, I additionally requested: “What options do it’s a must to make biblical counseling simpler, useful, and God-glorifying to people and to URC as a church?” There have been many useful options, too many to pursue straight away. After speaking to my pastor, we agreed on these three issues to do that subsequent 12 months:
- Recruit and educate one other one-year intensive to lift up extra referral counselors at URC. Lord keen, this may go from October to Could this subsequent 12 months. I’ll ship out an invite to roughly thirty individuals. I’d be blissful if 10-15 settle for. It will assist meet the counseling wants of our rising congregation. I hope to make use of my present referral counselors (aka “Journeymen”) to assist educate and mentor the brand new recruits.
- Have one among my counseling interns from final 12 months re-up for an additional 12 months. He and I mentioned the internship presumably together with a deeper research of theology, doing extra counseling, creating and managing a biblical counseling hyperlink to our church web site to supply blogs and numerous counseling sources, and doing a little instructing.
- Enhancing communication between me as Counseling Director and our board of elders. Years in the past, I used to go to most elders’ conferences, however that has dropped off. The plan can be for me to return each month or quarter to share what’s occurring in counseling, hear about present shepherding points, and presumably provide counsel. It’s vitally necessary that counseling works hand in glove with pastors and elders.
Two weeks is an especially quick sabbatical, however with cautious planning, I used to be in a position to replicate on fifteen years of counseling, do some vital planning for the following 12 months, and expertise the kindness of the Lord. I’m grateful to the Lord for His grace in giving me this time and for guiding and blessing me in it.
Questions for Reflection
- How typically do you put aside time for refreshing, reflecting, and revisioning? What does this time seem like?
- How do you/may you solicit suggestions on the effectiveness of your counseling?
- What modifications are you considering making within the subsequent 12 months?
[1] Eric Schmumacher, The Good Reward of Weak spot, (Eugene, OR: Harvest Home Publishers, 2024).
