Sabbatical is usually rest…relaxation…slowing down…even vacation. I felt going in that this sabbatical was about something different. I told the staff it was going to be different. I feel now that I entered this season one way and I am going to leave another way and FROM NOW ON things will be different. Something in me is being burned away and once it is….I will never be the same again.
WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORDS “FROM NOW ON…” WHAT COMES TO YOUR MIND?
My rhythm has definitely changed, but I cannot say I have yet done a lot of “resting”. The weekend was given to three big events designed to bring “Word from God” into my heart.
The events certainly did their job. I have lots to contemplate over the next 26 days.
I forget between sabbaticals what the first days are like. I am not as disciplined as I should be about resting so when I come to vacations (which I seldom take) and sabbaticals (which I take every two years), the first day or so my body just collapses.
I barely made it through the chores. I had to take breaks between each dog walk and the chicken coops.
My plan was to go to prayer at TWR House of prayer for three hours. The prayer topics were: Braking down strongholds; prayer for the church; Prayer for TWR House of prayer. I knew by 3 P.M. that was not happening.
I had a light supper and I was in bed by 7 P.M. again. I slept until 3:15 A.M. without stirring.
I prayed in the dawn. I am feeling better today, and that is good. It might be sabbatical, but I have some very important places to be tonight and tomorrow.
Monday night is my assigned night at The Worship Room House of Prayer. I lead worship for the first hour and then lead prayer for the second and third hours. The second hour is what TWR calls worship with the word and I call lecto divine.
The verse we meditated on this week was Psalm 27:4
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
As I sit here typing on the eve of my third sabbatical I am captured by the thought of INQUIRING of the Lord.
The wind blowing through the New England tree tops has sounded like a river in Spring, as the first Nor’ Easter of the season makes landfall here in the North East United States. For us in Winchendon it has just been a little wind and rain. It has been far worse for the coastal regions of our country.
I preached my last sermon at Cornerstone this morning. Sabbatical begins on Oct. 1. I will return to the pulpit In November. The purpose for the sabbatical is to take a breather and listen to the sound of the Spirit as He is moving through the world. The sound of Him moving through the spiritual landscape is like the sound of a river in Spring.
It is not hard to hear the sound of the Nor’ Easter in the trees. It is also not hard to hear the sound of the Spirit as He moves through the world. The sound is there for anyone who will listen, but the world is full of sound and distraction, so without taking time to here the sound of a rushing wind… a rushing river… a moving Spirit it all just becomes so much background noise.
A few people have asked me if I am doing anything exciting on my sabbatical. Sabbatical is about taking a pause from the distractions and focusing in on what the Spirit is saying. That is what I am preparing to do. To me that is all very exciting. I desperately want to know what is next.
Sabbatical 2024 is over. I went back in to the office yesterday and began setting in motion some of things that are to begin in 2025 and 2026.
I learned many things during this sabbatical. Many of them were for me and my own personal spiritual growth, but here are four things I learned for the body of Christ.
ETERNAL DEFINITIONS: Our church needs to begin living by God’s definitions of things rather than the world’s definitions of things. We need to bring the definitions of words from eternity into the here and now. We need to begin living by those eternal definitions in the here and now.
CORPORATE SELF-REVELATION: The church needs to have a revelation of itself, a revelation of who we are to Christ, who we are to ourselves and who we are to our communities.
THE NEED TO SEE: We need to see what is coming down the road. It feels like threads are coming together and we are beginning to see the tapestry, streams are blending in a divine confluence. We need to understand our own small part of the stream, much depends on it.
A SEASON OF DELIVERANCE: from OCT. 8….. “The next season will be about deliverance. Like repentance, deliverance is more about what you are moving toward than what you are moving away from. In fact you will never be delivered until you have a firm vision of what you are getting in place of what you are giving up and until you believe that what you are getting is better than what you are leaving behind.”…
From Oct. 28…….”The days ahead are days of supernatural deliverance! The power of the Spirit is going to begin flowing and moving in even more miraculous ways. Generational and ancient strongholds are about to be overthrown, but the ground is going to be hard won. Only the power of the Spirit will avail, no mortal weapons will do in these battles. Yet I counsel you do not look for the dramatic , bombastic, instantaneous deliverances that have characterized the places of so many flashy dreams. Look for the move of small stones. Let there be an embracing of steps that bring compounding glory and progressive deliverance. Expect and do not despise the day of small things. Rejoice in each advance and encourage each other in every setback. Pray the power over each other continually and without ceasing and walk in the Spirit until all that is to be done is done! INch by inch the ground will be won. Do not be afraid!The center will hold until I call you forth.”
I AM VERY EXCITED TO SEE HOW THESE THINGS ARE TO BE BROUGHT ABOUT IN OUR CHURCH.
I am finishing this sabbatical with three days in Plymouth MA. Amanda and I have travelled the two hours down for our annual Pastor’s retreat.
These last three days have been real rest and relaxation. We chose to be very flexible with the schedule, not demanding of ourselves, that we attend every service or network opportunity.
After we checked into our rooms at the 1620 House we took a long walk along the shore
We both went to service that night and I stayed for the chat connection afterwards. Amanda really needed the rest so she stayed for a little bit, then headed off to her room.
The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and met some fellow pastors from Lynnfield MA. Amanda went back to her room to rest while I went on to an interactive service on the abundant life. My conversation group was with our new minister friends from Lynnfield, one of Amanda’s Bible college professors and a missionary from Indonesia.
After that Amanda and I met up for lunch at the Lobster Hut.
We took a turn around The Shoppes and I got some goodies.
Then we took a long walk around the Plymouth Plantation
One of the things that pleased me most was I recognized almost all the vegetables and herbs in the kitchen gardens, even some of the more arcane medicinals. Forest gardening is paying off in knowledge if nothing else.
I have spent long hours in prayer and meditation these past three days trying to encapsulate what I have learned this month.
We will leave this place after communion this morning. I have one more day to sum up all I have heard and seen. That will be tomorrow’s work.
