Introductory Post: What am I doing? Camino de Santiago, Summer 2018

A few years ago, I postponed my first sabbatical. I postponed it primarily out of fear. I am made to go to work and to participate in a community with a shared mission. Sabbatical asks me to be different. 

Sabbatical is often misunderstood as time off to catch up on the Netflix watchlist; it is anything but. I am grateful to the board of trustees allowing for sabbaticals and expecting us to refine our work as teachers and leaders for the church. 

Sabbatical isn’t freedom from work but it is the creation of time and space to deepen one’s work. Often I hear professionals say of academics, “Must be nice to have a sabbatical; wish the rest of us could experience such leisure.” I agree; I think more of us need time and place to deepen our work. I enter sabbatical with more fear than freedom, more anxiety than autonomy. More about that later. 

When I decided to take a sabbatical this year, I knew I wanted to explore a learning model for forming leaders. I also knew that this learning needed to provide time to explore important questions and place to distance from the chaos of a digital routine. 

Pilgrimage provides such time and place. Pilgrimage is taxing; it requires the heart, mind, and body to relate in ways that fragmented daily life rarely does. The hope is a deeper connection to Christ, a more integrated and connected person, and a clarity to love and serve the people entrusted to us when we return.

I am doing a 33-day pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago beginning in mid-July. Three friends will join me for the last 10 days. I will have 23 days of pilgrimage when they arrive, so I will carry some understanding of the practice as we begin the walk together. The intent is to practice pilgrimage as leaders in ministry. What happens to us on the Camino? How do we gain clarity through the physical and relational act of pilgrimage? What happens to a body when it walks this far? Most importantly, how do we experience communion with Christ through such a spiritual discipline?

Backdrop:

There are seasons in every leader's life when the routine, the workload, the hyper-connectivity, and the familial expectations make it difficult to get clear on remembering what is important, who we are, and what people need. We end up spinning day-to-day and reacting to our circumstances. The Camino de Santiago, or pilgrimage in general, is an invitation to return to core questions in order that we might lead (and follow) others and form communities and organizations that participate with God in redemptive ministry - this includes our families, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods. 

Desire: 

I believe clear and conscious leaders connect to the deeper possibilities through communion and collaboration. I believe churches and ministries suffer when we are both reactive and lonely. Organizations suffer when connectivity is lacking; ministry suffers when communion is lacking. Pilgrimage seeks connectivity, communion, and integrity. I am reminded of Paul when he recites the hymn in Ephesians, 

            

        “Wake up, sleeper,

        rise from the dead,

        and Christ will shine on you.”

Pilgrimage is a place for the light to shine; a time to wake up. 

The shared pilgrimage is part of a long-range plan is to implement pilgrimage in my teaching and to develop leaders who can create and flourish thriving organizations. I long to lead groups of business leaders, seminary students, and pastors on annual pilgrimages where leaders are deepened in faith and where vocation is clarified. 

The four of us will provide our bodies and an openness to rediscover our calling, which may invite clearer answers or newer questions for the next season. Once my friends arrive, we will spend 10 days walking 10-15 miles each day. We begin walking at sunrise, end near midday, enjoy solitude for the afternoon, and then break the silence with a daily feast.

I covet your prayers as we begin to plan for the journey. Pray for our bodies; they are less young than they once were. Pray for our families; we leave home but the abundance of family life doesn't stop in our absence; pray for our ministries. 

DATES: I will travel July 23-August 25. My friends fly to Madrid August 12/13 and we begin walking August 15/16. We will converge at a meeting point near Le’on, which is roughly 200km (120 miles) from Santiago de Compostela (in other words, the end). We will spend one celebratory night in Santiago and go to pilgrims worship. Then we will send one another home.