RE: Sabbatical

Today marks 2 months since I returned from my sabbatical. In that time, I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to share with you what I experienced during the 3 months of sabbatical.

Back in March, as I was preparing for sabbatical, I posted: “Please pray that this will be a time of rest and restoration, focusing on my relationship with God, so that I will feel refreshed and ready to resume activities when I return to Romania at the end of June.” As an aside, I also noted: “That sentence has way too many words that begin with the letters RE”. I’ve decided to turn that side comment into the theme for this update by summarizing my sabbatical with words that begin with RE.

REalizing I can’t do it all

Planning a sabbatical is hard because there’s no perfect time to take a sabbatical. There are always things that will be competing for time and attention, events to attend, and problems to solve. But in order to have a meaningful sabbatical, there needs to be a complete disconnect from ministry roles and REsponsibilities. I had to RElinquish control, REmove myself from being in the middle of everything, and REsolve to not check emails while I was gone. I also had to REfuse some really good invitations (attending the Global Theology Conference, being in Romania to help host the first student team from the US to visit Veritas in 5 years, taking part in some important meetings, teaching a course, attending a friend’s birthday…you get the idea!). It was hard to say NO to these good things, but I knew I had to, in order to fully embrace something even better. Sabbatical only comes once every 7 years, and I REcognized that it’s important to be fully immersed in it.

REmove myself from REsponsibilities & REsign from some positions

In the months leading up to sabbatical, I began looking at all of my roles – all the “hats” that I wear – in order to determine who would fill those roles while I was gone. Even before making that list, I REalized that it was way too long – with multiple roles that I had inherited from other missionaries as they left Romania in the preceding 2 years. Even before my sabbatical began, it was giving me the opportunity to REevaluate my priorities, narrow my focus, and step away from certain roles. In January and February, I REsigned from 4 of the many roles I was filling, and I began to think about how I can REshape my approach to ministry after sabbatical.

REst, REstoration, & REnewal

A passage that appeared over and over during sabbatical is Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Note that this invitation from Jesus doesn't offer REst and RElaxation, but REst for your souls – the REstoring kind of REst.

While I was on sabbatical, the pastor of my home church, Stillmeadow Church of the Nazarene, was leading the congregation through a sermon series called “REnew” in preparation for his own sabbatical this summer. It was perfect timing for me to listen to this series of messages about sabbath REst during my own sabbatical and to REceive encouragement and support for my sabbatical from my home church on the several Sundays I was there.

Stillmeadow sermon series “Renew”

REsources for sabbatical

An anonymous donation to Nazarene Global Missions covered most of my sabbatical-related expenses, including a video Sabbatical guide and sabbatical coaching provided by Soul Shepherding. I also used some other REsources from Soul Shepherding, including REading one of their books, listening to some of their podcasts, and attending one of their REtreats.

Speaking of REtreats, I scheduled several different types, scattered throughout my sabbatical, including a silent REtreat at a monastery and a weekend REtreat hosted by the church where my good friends attend.  

The sabbatical grant covered many expenses, but there were also some expenses that I had to cover from my deputation funds. I am grateful for the Mid-Atlantic District NMI and several individual donors for helping cover these expenses. I am also extremely grateful that a member of my home church saved me the expense of REnting a car by lending me their car for 2 months. (Check out this blog post I wrote earlier this summer about how God provided just what I needed to cover sabbatical-related expenses.)

Viewing the solar eclipse in April with friends

REconnecting with friends

One of my sabbatical goals was to REconnect with friends. It’s been almost 15 years since I moved to Romania, meaning I don’t see friends in the US very often. Plus, with the pandemic, my REgular trips to the US were interrupted for a few years. With several people leaving Romania (and the Central Europe Field) in the past few years, I’ve felt more disconnected than normal. Sabbatical was a wonderful time to REconnect with friends. And this part of sabbatical has been SO REwarding. There are a few friends I normally see for a few days each time I’m in the US that I got to spend much more time with this spring. I visited friends from college (some of whom I haven’t seen in 14-15 years!), friends I met in Romania who now live in the US, high school friends and classmates at our 25-year class REunion, and even my best friend from elementary school who I haven’t seen in 28 years! It was so much fun to REconnect, to share memories from the past, and to update one another on what is happening in our lives. 

REading & REflection

I’ve enjoyed REading several books during the past 5 months. Not heavy REading, but books focused on REst, REnewal, and Sabbath-keeping. Someone REcommended that I read Ruth Haley Barton’s book on Sabbath and Sabbatical. I had never REad any of her books before, but something in her writing REsonated with me, and I ended up REading 5 of her books during and immediately after sabbatical!

Sabbatical also gave me time to journal. I don’t REgularly take time for this discipline, but it was helpful to process internally what I was REading and experiencing during sabbatical, as well as to REflect on life and ministry in Romania in the past few years.

Focusing on my RElationship with God

I was asked several times during my sabbatical if I was “doing” anything during sabbatical (like writing a paper or continuing my studies). That’s usually what happens on an academic sabbatical. But a sabbatical for those in ministry tends to be a time of soul care, focusing on one’s RElationship with God. I had 3 months free from tending to other people's RElationships with God so I could take time to step away from the noise and busyness of life and ministry, to quiet myself, and to listen for God.

REaffirmation of my calling

I know some people who have felt during their sabbaticals that God was leading them to a new place of ministry. That was not the case for me. During my sabbatical, I felt very strongly that God has REaffirmed my call to serve in Romania.

REset & REfocus

Indeed, I feel that God wants me to continue serving in Romania, but I can’t do it as I was before. The best part of sabbatical was having a complete stop. That way, coming back has been like a REset button as I ask myself: What am I going to focus on now? I can’t do anywhere near what I was attempting to do before sabbatical. So moving forward, I’m focusing on 3 ministry areas: Romania District Superintendent, REsource Development through Literature (Translation) and Library, and periodically teaching for EuNC. I also have a few continuing administrative roles.

REturn & REorder

To be honest, when it was time to REturn, I wasn’t fully REsted. I wasn’t REady to dive back into everything that awaited me in Romania. So I began working on a plan to REorder life. I realized that no matter the length of sabbatical, I would need to put into practice the principles that I had learned, especially creating healthy rhythms. I need to plan daily breaks, keep weekly Sabbath, and take vacation each year. I also had to REcognize that there will always be more work to do than is humanly possible, so I need to schedule my days better in order to focus on priorities rather than be sidetracked by all the demands that can so easily consume my time. And so far, these simple changes have made a huge difference!

REmembering Sabbatical…

As I was leaving for sabbatical, I decided to use the 1 Second Everyday app to capture a 1-second video highlight from each day. Here's the complete video of my sabbatical: from the day I left Sighișoara until the day I returned.

REcently…

The first thing I did once I REturned to Romania was to go on vacation! I took a few days to visit the REgion of Bucovina and the city of Iași with a friend. It was a nice way to transition out of sabbatical and back into life in Romania before REsuming my REsponsibilities. 

One of the painted monasteries in Bucovina

Palace of Culture, Iași

A month later, I spent a day in nature with another friend.

Since REturning, I’ve done plenty of "normal life" things like going to the dentist and having my eyes checked. I also had my car REpaired and got a haircut. I thoroughly cleaned my apartment and have been learning to live out the new rhythms that I’ve learned on sabbatical, so that I lead from a place of REst rather than from a feeling of exhaustion. 

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support as I was on sabbatical and as I continue ministering in Romania.

Jonathan