One Year Later: Living by a Different Rhythm
People occasionally ask me what changed during those months away.
Sometimes they expect me to talk about books I read, a course I took, a book i wrote, a new vision for ministry, or ideas that will make the church healthier. Those things certainly played a part, but they weren't the greatest gift of my sabbatical.
The greatest gift was learning to live by a Rule of Life.
For much of my ministry, my schedule was shaped by what needed to be done. Sermons to prepare. Meetings to attend. Emails to answer. Problems to solve. None of those things are wrong—in fact, they're part of the calling. But I slowly realized that if I wasn't careful, I could spend my life working for Jesus while neglecting to simply be with Him.
During my sabbatical, I sensed God inviting me to a different rhythm.
Not a life of doing less, but a life of living differently.
I built a simple Rule of Life around Jesus' own pattern of growth in Luke 2:52: growing in wisdom, in physical health, in relationship with God, and in relationship with others. Rather than becoming another checklist, it became a way of ordering my life around the things that matter most.
Looking back over this past year, I can honestly say it has changed me.
One of the biggest changes has been learning to protect margin. Earlier this year, I stepped away from social media for 30 days. At first, it felt strange. Like many of us, I had become accustomed to filling every spare moment by reaching for my phone. What I discovered instead was the gift of quiet. More space to pray. More space to think. More space simply to be present with God and with the people around me. When I returned online, I wanted social media to become a tool—not a habit that quietly shaped my attention.
The Rule of Life also shaped how I approached one of the most significant moments in our church's journey this year.
As Greenbelt Church prepared for our Church Vitality Consultation, I chose to spend the week fasting and praying. My goal wasn't to convince God to bless our plans. It was to posture my own heart—and hopefully our church—to listen. I was reminded again that spiritual leadership isn't primarily about having the right answers. It's about depending on the One who does.
That same posture carried into our work of renewing our church's vision.
As exciting as it is to work on that, I kept coming back to a deeper conviction: vision statements don't transform churches. People transformed by Jesus do.
And that transformation begins with leaders who are willing to be transformed first.
Has the year been easy?
Not at all.
There have been difficult conversations, disappointments, unexpected challenges, and plenty of weeks where I felt stretched beyond my comfort zone. There were also moments when I failed to keep the rhythms I had committed to.
But that's another lesson the Rule of Life has taught me.
It isn't about perfection.
It's about returning.
When life becomes busy, the Rule of Life gently reminds me where life is found. It calls me back to prayer. Back to Scripture. Back to Sabbath. Back to exercise. Back to relationships. Back to quiet. Back to Jesus.
I've also noticed something unexpected.
Slowing down hasn't made me less effective.
It's made me more present.
I'm less hurried in conversations. More attentive to God's prompting. Better able to listen before speaking. More aware that ministry isn't something I carry alone—it's something Christ invites me to join Him in.
I'm still learning.
I still have days when my calendar wins. Days when I neglect the very rhythms that have brought me so much life. But those moments no longer leave me defeated. Instead, they remind me that the Christian life is always an invitation to come back.
One year later, I'm convinced that my greatest responsibility as a pastor isn't simply preparing sermons or leading a church.
It's becoming the kind of person who increasingly looks like Jesus.
Because people are shaped as much by the life of their leaders as they are by the words of their leaders.
As I look ahead to another year of ministry, my prayer is simple.
Lord, keep forming me.
Help me to lead from abiding rather than striving.
From Your presence rather than my own strength.
May my ministry never become more important than my walk with You.
If that's true a year from now, I'll consider this coming year well lived.
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