Sabbatical Reflections Part II, The Studying
For the next few weeks, I decided to use this time to share some of my experiences on my recent sabbatical.
One of the main intentions of my recent sabbatical was to spend a focused amount of time researching and writing my doctoral dissertation. For those of you who don't know, in September of 2004 I started working on a Doctor of Ministry degree in leadership and spiritual formation at George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. I always knew I wanted to continue on with my formal education, and George Fox had the school, the program, the professors, and the location that made a lot of sense for me. So rather than waiting too long, my family and I decided to jump in. The first two years were a wonderful adventure, with classmates that I resonated with, and a program that taught me a lot and encouraged me to keep learning. At the end of those two years, I started working to craft a dissertation topic that I hoped would be helpful for me, as well as helpful for the church I pastor. Finally, I settled on "making disciples in an affluent church environment" as there was much I felt I still had to learn about helping people risk fuller disicpleship amidst great wealth.
This sabbatical came at the exact perfect time, as thinking about trying to write a major paper amidst full-time ministry and family seemed impossible. So for the first 5 1/2 weeks of my sabbatical, I worked all day during the weeks reading, taking notes, and finally writing my dissertation. Sounds like a drag -- but I had an amazing time.
First off the locale -- most mornings after my Bible reading (see below) and getting my kids on the bus, I went to Starbucks to read, take notes on my computer and organize my work. For one, this was tons of fun because sitting at Starbucks is one of my favorite things to do in the world. But secondly I felt like I was out in the community that I was trying to write about. For some of us, atmosphere is really important, and sitting at Starbucks added the atmosphere I needed (and the coffee wasn't bad either!). I read everything from Plato to Michael Novak to The Prayer of Jabez. Quite an eclectic mix -- but so interesting to see how the world (and the church) views wealth and how we might teach discipleship in the midst of affluence.
In the afternoon, I would hit the local library, where I did much of my writing in their wonderful study cubicles. I haven't studied in the library since seminary, so it felt like the good-ole days packing up my bags of books and spreading out there. I tried to keep this schedule up monday through friday, making sure I was home at the end of the day to get my kids off the bus. I had a few nights of editing and finishing up chapters to submit, but besides that I tried to have this not ruin my family life, and I believe I succeeded in that. In short at the end of the day I finished about 85 pages (out of 130 or so), completing in draft form 3 of my 6 chapters. My plan is to have the rest finished up by the end of this month. Then the editing begins...
What have I learned from this process? For one thing, I learned how refreshing and important it is to have time to focus on one topic for a prolonged period of time. The nature of pastoral ministry is that every day is a variety of opportunities and interruptions, which makes every day an adventure. Yet I believe it is also valuable for the church to have its pastors spend time focusing on one thing -- both for their spiritual benefit, as well as for the church's benefit. I also learned how much I like studying and writing. I hope that this won't be the last time I get to take on a project like this.
After the first 6 weeks, I put the writing aside. While I read a lot on the second half of our sabbatical, it was time to take a break. I'll let you know when I finish it up.
jeff
One of the main intentions of my recent sabbatical was to spend a focused amount of time researching and writing my doctoral dissertation. For those of you who don't know, in September of 2004 I started working on a Doctor of Ministry degree in leadership and spiritual formation at George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. I always knew I wanted to continue on with my formal education, and George Fox had the school, the program, the professors, and the location that made a lot of sense for me. So rather than waiting too long, my family and I decided to jump in. The first two years were a wonderful adventure, with classmates that I resonated with, and a program that taught me a lot and encouraged me to keep learning. At the end of those two years, I started working to craft a dissertation topic that I hoped would be helpful for me, as well as helpful for the church I pastor. Finally, I settled on "making disciples in an affluent church environment" as there was much I felt I still had to learn about helping people risk fuller disicpleship amidst great wealth.
This sabbatical came at the exact perfect time, as thinking about trying to write a major paper amidst full-time ministry and family seemed impossible. So for the first 5 1/2 weeks of my sabbatical, I worked all day during the weeks reading, taking notes, and finally writing my dissertation. Sounds like a drag -- but I had an amazing time.
First off the locale -- most mornings after my Bible reading (see below) and getting my kids on the bus, I went to Starbucks to read, take notes on my computer and organize my work. For one, this was tons of fun because sitting at Starbucks is one of my favorite things to do in the world. But secondly I felt like I was out in the community that I was trying to write about. For some of us, atmosphere is really important, and sitting at Starbucks added the atmosphere I needed (and the coffee wasn't bad either!). I read everything from Plato to Michael Novak to The Prayer of Jabez. Quite an eclectic mix -- but so interesting to see how the world (and the church) views wealth and how we might teach discipleship in the midst of affluence.
In the afternoon, I would hit the local library, where I did much of my writing in their wonderful study cubicles. I haven't studied in the library since seminary, so it felt like the good-ole days packing up my bags of books and spreading out there. I tried to keep this schedule up monday through friday, making sure I was home at the end of the day to get my kids off the bus. I had a few nights of editing and finishing up chapters to submit, but besides that I tried to have this not ruin my family life, and I believe I succeeded in that. In short at the end of the day I finished about 85 pages (out of 130 or so), completing in draft form 3 of my 6 chapters. My plan is to have the rest finished up by the end of this month. Then the editing begins...
What have I learned from this process? For one thing, I learned how refreshing and important it is to have time to focus on one topic for a prolonged period of time. The nature of pastoral ministry is that every day is a variety of opportunities and interruptions, which makes every day an adventure. Yet I believe it is also valuable for the church to have its pastors spend time focusing on one thing -- both for their spiritual benefit, as well as for the church's benefit. I also learned how much I like studying and writing. I hope that this won't be the last time I get to take on a project like this.
After the first 6 weeks, I put the writing aside. While I read a lot on the second half of our sabbatical, it was time to take a break. I'll let you know when I finish it up.
jeff
Labels: Sabbatical
posted by Jeff Lincicome at
12:21 PM
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