Pastoral Sabbatical Begins (and a word about the blog)

Dear friends,

This week I begin a three-month pastoral sabbatical (September 1-December 1, 2024) after serving at Eastbrook for fourteen years. I am entering into this sabbatical with great anticipation of drawing near to the Lord in prayer and solitude, making use of some resources for spiritual retreat and mentorship, as well as looking forward to meaningful times of refreshment with Kelly and our entire family. You can find out more about my sabbatical at the Eastbrook Church website or Instagram page, and I’ve included the letter I shared with the congregation below. 

Bottom line: this is a good sabbatical (not one of those sabbaticals that is secretly about something else) and is part of our church’s rhythms of soul care, rest, and renewal for our ministry staff. In fact, when I took my first pastoral sabbatical in 2017, I refused to take a sabbatical unless we developed a sabbatical policy that exists for all our ordained staff at Eastbrook. Soul care for those in ministry is very difficult, but it is important enough that I wanted a sabbatical to not just be for me.

I’ve had a few readers of the blog ask me whether I will continue writing here during the sabbatical. While I do hope to do some writing here, I am giving myself space and freedom not to do so. At the very last, I will take a break for the first two weeks of September for sure. After that, I may resurface with some writing here.

Thanks for your support and for being a regular reader of my blog here at Renovate. Again, here is the letter we sent out to the church about a month ago about the sabbatical, in case you haven’t seen that.

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Dear Eastbrook, 

About ten years ago, an older, seasoned pastor encouraged me amidst all the work I was doing with others to be thoughtful about my own soul care and pace in ministry as a pastor. He wanted to see me in ministry for the long haul and not burn out. Specifically, he asked me: “have you ever thought about taking a sabbatical?” That conversation birthed a process with our Church Council and staff that led to increased thoughtfulness about care for those serving in ministry, as well as development of a pastoral sabbatical policy. Since that time, several of our pastors have engaged in sabbatical. 

As I complete fourteen years at Eastbrook this summer, the Council and I began discussions about the right timing for me to enter a season of sabbatical. We decided that, for numerous reasons, the Fall of 2024 would be the ideal time for me to pursue that, and the Council has approved a sabbatical for me this fall, beginning on September 1 and concluding on December 1. I am thankful for this gift from the Council that we worked on together, and I believe it will be a good thing for me, my family, my ministry, our staff, and our church.

Let me assure you that there is nothing wrong with me, my marriage, my character, or my relationship with the church. We are doing great and I feel like I am in a strong season of ministry. I also believe that as Eastbrook we are at a key moment entering a renewed focus on discipleship and exploring significant capital updates on our campus in the coming year. I believe this time of sabbatical will bring the renewal I need to enter this next season of ministry for us together as a church family. 

Thank you for your support, for your commitment to Christ, and for your commitment to this special, local body of Christ called Eastbrook. I look forward to sharing stories of how I heard from the Lord when I return in December. 

With deep love and prayer, 

Pastor Matt Erickson