What is a Sabbatical?
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:3, ESV)
The elders of High Pointe have graciously granted me a sabbatical during the month of July to allow me to focus on research and writing. Since some may not be familiar with the concept of a sabbatical, allow me to explain.
Sabbath simply means rest. We know rest is good because God rested on the seventh day after having created/worked the previous six. God blessed this seventh/Sabbath day and declared it holy (Genesis 2:2-3). The biblical idea of rest is connected with the thought that God invites us to join Him in rest. We enter that rest now by faith (Hebrews 4:1-5), but we are looking for a final Sabbath when we will enter into eternal rest with God (Hebrews 4:6-11).
Throughout the Bible, there have been copies and shadows that pointed forward to that final Sabbath rest. One such pointer was the sabbatical year in Leviticus 25. When Israel entered the land they were to cultivate it for six years, but on the seventh year the land was to receive rest from cultivation and sowing and pruning. This was the sabbatical year. It is this concept that informed the first sabbaticals.
Writing in the Journal of Higher Education in 1978, Bruce Kimball noted that the concept of the sabbatical year was first established by ten American universities in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the first one being Harvard University in 1880. From this early period, sabbaticals were utilized to “render the recipient more useful to the college.” They were seen as an investment by the college “to increase the efficiency of the teaching force.” The recipient of the sabbatical became more useful by being allowed to travel, research and write. This purpose remains today as evidenced by the Harvard School of Public Health’s definition of a sabbatical as “a leave for the purpose of engaging in research or other activities that will advance the faculty member's scholarly achievement or that will enhance the reputation of or otherwise benefit the university.”
This understanding of sabbatical has been utilized in the church as well. Pastors who so desire are granted sabbatical leaves of varying lengths in order to travel, research, read and write. For example, in 2006, John Piper took a sabbatical from March 1-July 31, in order to travel to Cambridge and spend some extended time researching, writing and speaking. Out of that sabbatical came two books: What Jesus Demands from the World and the initial book on the doctrine of justification in response to N. T. Wright.
The purpose of my sabbatical is both similar and dissimilar. It is similar in that I will be away for the purpose of research and writing. It is dissimilar in that I don’t have a book contract; I have a dissertation deadline. When I came to High Pointe in 2005 I had completed the first phase of my PhD program (course work). Since I have been here I have completed phases two (comprehensive exams) and three (approval of a topic). I am now in my final phase (the dissertation). This phase requires that I provide ground-breaking research in my field of study (systematic theology with particular emphasis in ecclesiology: the doctrine of the church). For this reason, the elders have agreed to grant me the month of July to focus solely on research and writing. I ask that you pray with me that the Lord would multiply my time during these thirty days and allow me to bear much fruit toward my dissertation. My work will be intense, so my ability to focus on this project with undistracted devotion will be to great advantage. Thank you High Pointe! Thank you for your love for me and my family and your continual support and prayers. And thank you elders for this great gift.
Love,
Pastor Juan
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