Sabbatical Interview with New Denver's Stephen Redden
Bob Hyatt
November 9, 2015

Stephen Redden, one of the pastors at Ecclesia church New Denver, recently returned from a sabbatical. We had some questions for him!
1. Stephen, you recently got back from a sabbatical. How long was your sabbatical, how did you spend your time and what are your brief thoughts/reflections from it as you return?

Our elders created a policy that every employee of NDC will take a sabbatical week each year (beyond ‘vacation’ time), and every seven years they will take 12 consecutive weeks of sabbatical. I just returned from my first “seventh year” sabbatical. I was on sabbatical for 12 weeks – from early May to early August.

My brief reflections are that this time was first and foremost a gift – certainly from God, but also from our elders and my fellow staff who made it possible. Looking back I don’t know if there’s anything I would change or do differently. My primary goal was to disconnect from my regular routine and engage in activities that would help me to rest and replenish my soul. By that measure the time was incredibly fruitful and successful. I wrote up some extensive reflections on my blog for anyone who would like to read more.

2. We know that New Denver Church has a strong culture of taking care of its pastors, including having regularly planned and expected sabbaticals for its pastors. How did the concept of sabbatical become a regular part of your culture? Where did that come from?

It began as a part of developing our discipleship culture a number of years ago. At an Ecclesia Gathering in 2010 we were challenged by a session Doug Paul and Ben Sternke did on building a discipling culture within your church. One of the concepts they introduced us to that was core to the approach to discipleship they were teaching (which we later learned was from 3DM) was the idea of creating a rhythm of life that oscillated between work and rest. As pastors we began to see how we had neglected the practice of Sabbath in our own lives and began to pursue healthy rhythms daily, weekly and seasonally that would help us experience the freedom and life of honoring Sabbath. As we did that and began to share this idea, both through discipleship groups, leadership gatherings, retreats and Sunday messages, we began to see other people trying to bend their life around sabbath as well. Around that time (sometime in 2013) within the context of a discussion about ensuring the health and well-being of pastors and staff, our elders suggested coming up with a sabbatical policy. It started out as something for pastors only but they eventually decided to extend the benefit to all full and part-time employees of the church.

3. What expectations did you have going into the sabbatical?

Honestly I think most of my expectations were negative! This was the first time I’d ever taken more than a week away from work, so I expected to go through some frustration and withdrawal from being productive. I expected to struggle with my sense of identity and value apart from work. Certainly I experienced some of that but not nearly to the degree that I expected. For the most part I was able to give myself fully to each day and let go of anxiety about being away from work when it did pop up.

I don’t know if I’d call it an expectation, but I did wonder – “Is God going to drop some big revelation on me?” It’s funny how much that’s an expectation that’s built into an intentional spiritual practice like sabbatical. Fortunately I talked with some people I respect who’d done sabbaticals and wrestled with not having a “burning bush” moment so that helped temper my expectations a little that I wasn’t “doing it wrong” if that didn’t happen. But I was certainly open to it.

4. What surprised you the most your time?

I think I continue to be surprised at how “noisy” my everyday life is and how “quiet” it was during sabbatical. I was fortunate to get to travel, either on my own or with my family, for most of the time of my sabbatical. Getting away from my everyday context and disconnecting from meetings, emails, and even our regular social schedule with friends helped me to see how full my life is. It’s full of great things that I’ve intentionally chosen, but nonetheless it’s full. And that fullness creates noise and often distraction. It was striking how life-giving it was to step out of that noise for a little while. What was surprising about that is I’m an extrovert and have always lived for experience and interaction with others. I’ve thrived within the fullness of life that I’ve pursued. But pulling away afforded me an ongoing sense of connection and dialogue with God by his Spirit that I’d never experienced before and have longed for since being back to my regular routine these last six weeks. I guess I discovered my introverted/contemplative side during sabbatical!

5. How did the Lord meet you in this unique time where you were given permission to pause, stop, rest and reflect?

The primary way I perceived the Lord was through an ongoing sense of his presence and communion with me throughout the day. In a typical day my mind jumps from thought to thought, consumed with whatever is before me that day. “I’ve got a meeting in 30 minutes. I’m teaching this Sunday so I need to organize my thoughts on this topic or passage of Scripture. I need to return so-and-so’s email/phone call/text message.” And on and on. Once those things are taken away or significantly reduced, there’s silence and space to allow your attention to turn Godward. What was remarkable about these experiences was how unremarkable the “content” often was. I liken it to that point in marriage when you realize you can just be with another person without the need to say or do anything. That’s how many of my days felt during sabbatical. There was this tangible unmistakeable sense that God was with me in the moments of my day, but most of the time we didn’t have the need to tell the other anything or ask anything of the other. We just enjoyed each other’s company. This was a new experience for me.

6. We know you benefitted from the sabbatical, but how did your family benefit from it as well?

The most valuable thing I think we can offer others is ourselves – our time and attention. In the course of our lives, we have to choose where we give our time and attention. I regularly struggle with how to decide how to do that in my everyday life. One of the gifts of sabbatical was the permission – more than permission, the direction – I was given to set aside giving time and attention to pastoral duties. The primary beneficiaries of that surplus of time and attention were my wife and kids. I spent time with my mom and some friends as well, but most of my time and attention during my sabbatical went to my immediate family. I don’t know if I can yet say what the benefit was for them in this. My hope is that the result will be deeper, richer relationships and a greater sense of perspective and intentionality in those relationships going forward. One of the primary realizations I had during my sabbatical was that due to the age of my kids (11 and 8) that I have ten very important years to invest in my kids before they launch out of the nest and ten very important years to invest in my marriage to prepare for life as empty nesters.

7. How are you different now that you’ve come back from it? What rhythms have been included into your daily/weekly life? And are there any things that have been trimmed back or completely eliminated from your life?

It’s a terrible time to ask me that question! It’s been six weeks since my sabbatical ended, and I still feel like I’m in a period of disorientation, trying to get reoriented. Norton, my co-pastor at NDC, took his seventh-year sabbatical last year and warned me that there’s a sense that the learning from your sabbatical continues long after the actual sabbatical ends. I think that’s true. All real learning seems to follow this pattern of disorientation and reorientation. I feel like I have a greater sense of clarity around what I’m supposed to be about going forward, but I’m still figuring out how to move in that direction. That takes time. For now I’m trying to figure out how to hold onto the conscious awareness of God’s presence and give myself fully to the moment each day. That’s much harder now that I’m back in the “noise” of everyday life. Still struggling with that one.

8. What would you say to other pastors who are about to enter into a sabbatical or pastors who might want to think seriously about taking a sabbatical?

First I would say listen to Nike and “Just do it!” I would say that not only to pastors but to anyone open to receiving the gift of an extended period of Sabbath. There are all these barriers and reasons why you think you can’t do it. Some of those are real, but a lot of them are self-imposed. I honestly don’t know if I’d have had the courage to do a sabbatical if our elders hadn’t forced it on us. But now that I’ve done it and experienced the benefit, I would say it’s totally worth it. If you’re about to enter into a sabbatical, seek out the people you know and trust who’ve done it and ask them about their experience (feel free to contact me if you want btw). There’s no “right” way to do a sabbatical, only a “right for you” way, but taking some time to discern goals and how to structure your time is important so that you make the most of the opportunity.
Stephen reflected further on his sabbatical time here

The Magic Power of Encouragement

By Bob Hyatt • January 17, 2025
When I graduated from college, I moved to Alaska and took a job teaching middle school- a job I had zero business doing. I want to give props to those of you who are teachers- it’s a fantastically important job, but also a ridiculously complex one. You must balance pedagogical skills, HOW to teach so others learn, with sociological ones, classroom management, and so much more. It was classroom management where my ineptitude really shone, though. I thought managing classrooms full of middle schoolers would be easy- just call them out when they do something wrong- make sure there are consequences in place, and the place will basically run itself. I learned that year that you cannot punish someone into good behavior. You more often just punish people into stealthier ways of misbehavior. It wasn’t until years later that the light bulb came on for me. I was volunteering in my son’s kindergarten class, and I assumed I was going to be walking into a zoo. Contrary to my expectations, Mr. Waters, the teacher, had that place running like a well-oiled machine. And the most surprising way was how he did it. He called for reading time when all the kids were supposed to get up from their tables and sit on the reading circle. He made this call and like two kids responded. Oh man, I thought- he’s lost the room! Nope. He just stood at the front of the class and said “I see Billy doing what I asked. I see Sienna doing what I asked.” And every time he said that another few kids would look up, leave what they were doing and rush to take their place. In about 30 seconds, he had them all sitting quietly around the circle. Blew. My. Mind. It seemed so simple once I saw it done, but I had never realized just how big a gap there was between trying to motivate with consequences and nagging versus motivating with encouragement. Which is funny, because as I thought about it, I realized my wife had been using this tactic on me for YEARS. I married a woman who liked to dance- swing dance, even. I grew up a Baptist, so… But whenever I would do a little two-step with her in the kitchen or just play-dance with her to music in the living room, she would go OVER THE TOP. “Bob, you are doing that really well! Bob, you’re a great dancer!” I totally knew I wasn’t, but… I sure liked to hear her say it, and so I’d do it more. So, here’s the rule: What you criticize me for, I may stop doing. I may also just try to hide it from you. But- What you praise and encourage me in, I will continue doing. The Apostle Paul was a master at this- just look at 1 Thess. 5:11- ”So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” What is Paul doing here? Yes, he’s encouraging them to encourage each other by encouraging them for how they’ve already been encouraging one another! That’s a lot of encouraging. But he’s doing what he’s asking them to do- demonstrating how it works. I’m sure not everyone in the church of Thessalonica was good at encouraging others- but those who were doing it well were heartened by Paul’s words here, and those who weren’t yet, were… encouraged to be more encouraging. Paul uses the word “encourage” 7 times in 1st Thess. alone. This command to encourage each other is central in the NT. Hebrews 10:24-25 says this: Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 13:11 “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.” How long can you go on one compliment, or one word of encouragement? A few days? A week? Our words have so much power! I once had an orange t-shirt, that had a disturbingly deep V-neck. My co-pastor Dustin would laugh every time he saw me in it. But you know why I continued to wear it? Because it was literally the only shirt I ever owned that had been complimented by a woman I was not married or related to. A barista one time told me she really liked that shirt… So, what I’m saying is, you can get me to do just about anything, if you encourage me. BUT- With great power, comes great responsibility. Notice that these verses on encouragement come in the context of helping others become the followers of Jesus they could and were meant to be. “Encourage each other and build each up.” “Motivate one another to acts of love and good works. Encourage one another.” “Grow to maturity. Encourage each other.” There’s a growth mindset behind the biblical admonitions that we ought to encourage each other. The growth mindset says “I may not be good at this or have mastered it… yet. But if I keep trying…” Unfortunately, most of us get stuck in a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset says “I'm either good at something, or I’m not. So, I’ll give myself only to things where I can show I’m good. If I must work at it, it means I’m not good at it, or smart enough for it, so why try?” Studies have shown that encouragement has a positive effect on performance, while discouragement has a negative effect. Ok- that’s obvious. But… studies have also been done about how TYPES of encouragement affect performance. Encouraging effort, for example, has a positive effect on performance, while praising ABILITY has a negative effect. One study showed that when two groups of students were presented with difficult challenges 90% of the ones who had been praised for their effort embraced the difficult tasks- while the majority of those praised for their ability resisted tackling hard things. I probably don’t have to spell out the leadership lessons here. So, I’ll just leave you with this: I encourage you this season to be thinking about the people you work with and especially those who work under you. They are just as hungry for encouragement as you are. You have the power to give them not only what they need, but through that encouragement to spur them on to the personal and ministry growth you want to see in them. (By the way, while we’re talking about encouragement, if you need some this season, join us Feb 25-27th in Alexandria, VA for this year’s Ecclesia National Gathering . I guarantee you and your team will leave feeling encouraged, equipped, and empowered. And think about how encouraging YOUR presence would be to everyone else!)

Focusing the Gospel Around the Table is Still Important Today

By J.R. Briggs • November 26, 2024
“Food is just fuel for your body.” When the raw vegan enthusiast in my community said it I knew that wasn’t right. I thought of all the great meals shared with family and friends around tables for Thanksgivings, Christmas Eves, and Easter afternoons – among others. I recalled the verse: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” And I realized that if this was God’s vision for food, then he would have designed our bodies with built-in IV ports where we would hook up pouches of food to our sides and let it drip in slowly to our bloodstreams. And Jesus wouldn’t have given us the greatest experiential metaphor of communion around the table in fellowship with others if it was merely physical and transactional in nature. I get his point: what we put into our bodies matters. Food is for much more than just physical energy. It’s also about connection, bonding, and relationship. Storytelling and laughing and crying and interacting. Like former U.S. President Ronald Reagan said, all great change in America begins at the dinner table. But I’ll offer a rejoinder: all great change – no matter the country – begins at the dinner table. The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has declared loneliness as a public health crisis and an epidemic . 30 percent of adults say they feel lonely., with 10 percent reporting loneliness every day. 60 years ago the average dinner time was 90 minutes; today it’s less than 12. We are more connected to our devices and less connected to others. Almost twenty five years ago political scientist Robert Putnam wrote the popular book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community . Over the summer, the New York Times interviewed him , inquiring if he saw this crisis of loneliness coming. He stressed the idea of “social capital,” saying it comes in two forms: bonding and bridging. Bonding ties us to others like us and bridging ties us to people who are different from us. Meals together with others at tables have the transformative power to do both. They bond us to other people in our church; they bridge us to connect with others who aren’t yet connected to faith. As my next-door neighbor says when we’re trying to find a time to connect for a meal, “Everybody’s gotta eat.” Coffee tables, lunch tables, high top bar tables, card tables, dinner tables – all have the intent to bring us together with others over food and/or drink. It was Len Sweet who wrote in Tablet to Table that Jesus was killed for his table manner and his table company. Later he stated that the gospel message was Jesus eating good food with bad people. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find any gathering in the New Testament that didn’t involve some sort of table. And as Ian Simkins, lead pastor of teaching at The Bridge Church in Nashville, shared with me, the table is the centerpiece by which the gospel is expressed. The church has moved to prioritize the table by asking some key questions: What if we reclaimed the table? What if our tables weren’t for just feeding, but for forming? What if, at the table, foes became friends? What if, every time we sat down, we prayed, “at this table as it is in heaven”? What if we brought the gospel back to the table? These are the questions that must become front and center for the church in North America in the days ahead. In fact, you can view the church’s creative and compelling videos on Instagram here and here . Americans eat, on average, 21 meals a week. Think for a moment: how many meals did you share with others this week? How many meals did you eat alone this week? How many people did you share with those who weren’t your immediate family members? How many of those were with people who are not followers of Jesus? What if the greatest advancement of the gospel in the days ahead occurred not in our churches, but around tables?
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