![]() ![]() ![]() WESLEY: Well, Ailsa, if I can put a little racial spin on it, it is very common practice in our Euro-Caucasian Christian denominations and even within the Catholic traditions to grant that time off. It's not a profession that always ends well, and I'm grateful to have a congregation that said, we want your story to end well.ĬHANG: Well, how common is it for clergy to take time off, to take sabbaticals like this? I can't tell you how many pastors leave ministry or even commit suicide or die in the pulpit. WESLEY: So the congregation was very open and accepting, and I think they saw the long-term benefit of giving breaks and rest as opposed to burning a pastor out. But strangely, the message resonated with so many members who wished they were in a position to take that kind of time off and rest as well. WESLEY: So, you know, I was afraid to share. What happens if they're all right without me? What if they find out, yeah, you know, we really don't need this guy? If I'm gone, what happens if the church doesn't survive without me? What happens if membership goes down? And let's be honest, what happens if people stop giving and then the budget's affected and then we've got to start laying off? I was the scared one, thinking to myself one of two things would happen. WESLEY: You know, I think they were more willing than I was. Well, how did your congregation react when you first said, hey, I need some time off? And I began to wonder, why is this becoming so hard when it was so natural? And why am I not enjoying it anymore? And that just began a journey of self-reflection of kind of realizing I don't feel as close to the God I talk about as I want to be.ĬHANG: Yeah. Shift the movements around and cross my fingers and pray that no one would hear something they already heard that sermon writing would start on Tuesday and by Saturday, I still had nothing on the page. I reached the point where, sadly, Ailsa, I was picking up old sermons and trying to find a way to give them new titles and. And in the sermonic field, as a pastor, there's a lot of creativity required of you. One was starting to lose that joy and that energy for something that I loved. There are a few signature moments that let me know something was a little bit off. WESLEY: Well, I think it began probably a year before announcing the sabbatical. ![]() And I asked him when and how he started to feel that distance. And when I spoke with him in December 2020, a year after he had announced his leave, he reflected on his 30 years of preaching and how he had started to feel distant from God and the congregation he served. And I need you to know, secondly, I feel very distant from God.ĬHANG: Reverend Wesley's sabbatical happen to coincide with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This ain't nothing but intermission, baby. A year earlier, Reverend Wesley had announced to his congregation that he was taking a leave of absence. He's a senior pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va. And today we're revisiting a conversation we first aired back in December 2020 with Reverend Howard John Wesley. Well, faith leaders are not exempt from this. At some point, we all need a break or a sabbatical - you know, some time to recharge our batteries and think about a different way to approach life. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.No profession is immune from burnout. We do not want you to leave today without your sins forgiven and your soul safe and secure in the hand of God. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God has raised Jesus Christ from the Dead you can be saved according to the Holy Scriptures (Romans 10:9). The Good News is that Jesus Christ paid for our sins through his death, burial and glorious resurrection. The bible says In Romans 3:23 that everyone has sinned and the cost of that sin is eternal separation from God. God Loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, but we can never experience God's plan until we deal with our sin problem. If you have never opened your heart to Jesus Christ, you can be saved today. Our church is always open and we greet you today with open arms. We hope that something said or done today will draw you closer to God and allow you to have a more vibrant relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Our mission is to exalt the name of our Lord through worship and godly living, evangelize the unsaved by spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, edify believers to live victorious Christian lives, encourage those who have been through the storms of life, and equip our members with the spiritual tools to be effective and fruitful children of the Most High. At Second Baptist Church we put the Lord first and unashamedly declare that Jesus is Lord. Welcome to the Second Baptist Church of South Richmond.
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