Pastoral Sabbatical Announcement

 

Joel McCarty, our Pastor for Preaching, is beginning a sabbatical in November. The sabbatical will last through the end of January. Continue reading to learn more.

WHAT IS A SABBATICAL AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?

WHAT IS A SABBATICAL?

In short, a Pastoral Sabbatical is an extended time for a pastor to step away from their normal week-to-week pastoral responsibilities. During this time, the goal is to have extra time and energy to rest and commune with God and their family. The church members and other leaders will take care of those responsibilities during this time.

This is different than just a periodic break from preaching sermons. The goal is a full release from the weight of all pastoral ministry.

WHY DO SABBATICALS MATTER?

Sabbaticals for pastors (or anyone) are not commanded in the Scriptures. However, the pattern of rest and renewal is rooted all throughout the sacred text, beginning back in Genesis when God rested on the seventh day after creating the heavens and the earth. The Old Testament rhythms of Sabbath and Jubilee moved forward this idea and served the people of God as they pushed back against self-reliance and the idols of production, luxury, and comfort.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus Himself modeled rest and retreat, as he escaped away to commune with His Father, trusting that the work would still continue, even while He rested. 

“So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
— The Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 3:7)

First Sunday in The Garden in fall of 2021

We fully believe that Jesus is the true Sabbath and the final rest that the people of God enter into. This means that the idea of sabbath is not any more or less spiritual than the idea of work. Because Jesus has accomplished the greatest work ever, and because He has promised to complete the work, we are free to use wisdom in the rhythms of work and rest that best suit our churches and families.

As elders, we believe that a time of sabbatical is essential for not only Joel, but the entire New Eden Church family as well. As many studies have shown, a Pastoral Sabbatical often serves to strengthen the entire church body, along with the pastor and his family.

To learn more about sabbaticals, please visit the following links:

THE DETAILS OF THE SABBATICAL

START DATE • NOVEMBER 1, 2025
END DATE • JANUARY 31, 2025

The other New Eden elders (Mark Carpenter, Kevin Perry) have expressed the following expectations for Joel, his family, and the members of New Eden during this time.

EXPECTATIONS FOR JOEL & HIS FAMILY

SUNDAY GATHERINGS

There is no expectation for Joel or his family to attend New Eden or any other church. They should feel fully free to visit any church services or gatherings they would like to, or to go nowhere at all.

CONTACT & COMMUNICATION

Joel should not respond to any New Eden or pastoral-related contacts or questions. If it is important, he will forward them to one the other elders.

DO

  • Relax, refresh, and unplug as desired.

  • Trust God to take care of New Eden while away.

  • Feel free to reach out to anyone in New Eden as desired for friendship, encouragement, or updates.

  • Be available for contact from one of the elders if something unexpectedly tragic or important arises.

DON’T

  • Do not feel any pressure to check in or reach out to anyone in New Eden on church-related matters.

  • Do not think or worry about the day-to-day needs of New Eden.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE MEMBERS OF NEW EDEN

SUNDAY GATHERINGS

Sunday Gatherings will continue as normal. We will proclaim the gospel, we will sing gospel truths, we will rehearse the gospel through communion, and gospel fellowship will take place. If there any gaps noticed, or if you want to help plug in and serve during this time, please reach out to an elder, prospective deacon, or service leader to bring it to our awareness.

GENERAL NEEDS & PASTORAL CARE

Please reach out to Mark Carpenter or Kevin Perry if you have any pastoral or ministry-related needs. We also encourage you to serve one another within your Serve Teams, Community Groups, Bible Studies, Growth Partnerships, and other organic avenues of connection.

WHO DO I REACH OUT TO?

All contacts are listed below, but here are the best places to start if you have questions during this time.

GENERAL CONNECTION QUESTIONS

  • Want to get connected? Please start by filling out a Connect Card on a Sunday morning, or reach out directly to Sarah Wilbourn or Mark Carpenter.

PASTORAL QUESTIONS, PRAYER, OR COUNSELING

  • Have doctrinal questions, need prayer or counseling? Reach out to Kevin Perry or Mark Carpenter.

HOSPITALITY OR BENEVOLENCE NEEDS

  • Have a need or want to help meet the needs of others? Reach out to one of our prospective deacons.

SERVE TEAM QUESTIONS

  • Already on a Serve Team? Please start by reaching out to your Serve Team lead.

  • Want to join a Serve Team? Reach out to Sarah Wilbourn.

COMMUNITY GROUP QUESTIONS

  • Already in a Community Group? Please start by reaching out to your Community Group leader.

  • Want to join a Community Group? Reach out to Kevin Perry or Mark Carpenter.

NEW EDEN KIDS

  • Have a question about New Eden Kids? Reach out to Sarah Wilbourn.

FACILITIES

  • See an issue with the building? Reach out to Clint Dunlap.

  • Want to reserve the building to use? Reach out to Anna Bailey.

OTHER QUESTIONS

  • Have questions about something else? Reach out to one of the elders or deacons and they can point you in the right direction.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Here is contact information for our other elders, prospective deacons, and staff.

ELDERS

Kevin Perry
kevin@newedenchurch.org

Mark Carpenter
mark@newedenchurch.org

PROSPECTIVE DEACONS

Christina Doerter
christina.doerter@gmail.com

Clint Dunlap
cdunlap02@gmail.com

Sarah Wilbourn
sarah@newedenchurch.org

Stephaney Carpenter
stephcarp99@gmail.com

STAFF

Anna Bailey
anna@newedenchurch.org

Jared Bailey
jared@newedenchurch.org

A LETTER FROM JOEL MCCARTY TO NEW EDEN CHURCH

This last Sunday, Joel read a letter to the New Eden family before he begins his sabbatical. You can watch the video or read the letter in it’s entirety below.

watch on app
watch on youtube
 

Dear New Eden Church,

As many of you know, I am taking a 3-month sabbatical from my pastoral responsibilities from the months of November through the end of January. As I have planned and prayed toward this time, I have had the joy and privilege of reflecting on the journey of New Eden, a beautiful local expression of God’s global church.

I want to start by simply expressing gratitude for each of you that consider New Eden your church family. From the beginning (over five years ago), my family and I have been cared for in countless ways. We can truly say that we love being a part of this body.

Often, when pastors talk about the need for sabbaticals, one of the main factors cited is the challenge of “dealing with the members of their church.” The reality is, I don’t relate to this as one of the reasons a sabbatical is necessary. For sure, we have dealt with our fair share of challenging pastoral situations, but these are normal expectations for any church culture that cultivates honesty and openness about struggles and sin. Even in these moments, I can largely say that I have been privileged to shepherd and “keep watch over your souls” with joy and not with grief.

From before New Eden was even a reality, we prayed that we could be a part of establishing a community of saints who actually believe that the good news of Jesus - His life, death, burial and resurrection - was enough to sustain us through this life and into eternity. To this end, we have sought to teach faithful gospel doctrine, faithfully expounding and examining the sacred text of the Scriptures, showing us how it consistently points us to Christ. And we have also sought to live out and cultivate a faithful gospel culture, one that is in line with the message that is being proclaimed. One of the fruits of this has been that we have often heard that New Eden has become a place where skeptics and saints alike have been able to simply exist, breathe, rest, and behold the beauty of Jesus.

Launch Sunday in fall of 2020.

We are intentional to not use any language that could guilt or shame anyone - member, first-time visitor, regular attender, or somewhere in between. We want the rest that Jesus says can be found in Him to be tangibly felt within the rhythms of our church. And we hope that has been the case. As I have thought through this upcoming time of sabbatical, if I’m being honest, I simply need the same thing from our body that we have been blessed to give so many - a time to breathe, rest, and behold the glory of Jesus.

If you know me, you know that I don’t say many things about myself with any level of confidence. But one thing I believe I can say, in good conscience, is that I (along with the other elders) have conducted myself honorably and have been above reproach in my pastoral responsibilities within the life of our church. With trembling and humility, I can say that I have served each of you, in one way or another, not perfectly, but faithfully. Through tears, through sleepless nights, through attacks from the evil one, through incredibly exhausting and challenging situations, through the weight of consistent gospel proclamation each Sunday, and many other burdens - I believe I have given to you my very best. I know I have done and will do things wrong, but I hope that your experience has been that my heart is for you and your good.

The Apostle Paul uses the language of being poured out as a sacrificial offering for the faith of the souls he was ministering to. My prayer is that your faith in the work of Christ has been strengthened and encouraged through the labor of love that has been my pastoral ministry. Serving in this role over the last six years has been one of the greatest joys of my life. However, it has also taken a toll on me and my family.

More recently, my family and I have walked through a difficult and tiresome season. It has not been any one thing, but rather the culmination and intersection of many small things (financial stress, medical unknowns, a growing family, church responsibilities, etc.). For the sake of long-term health for both our family and the New Eden family, we believe (along with the other elders) that now is the appropriate time to take a step back so that we might return rejuvenated and refreshed for the days ahead.

Though I’ve not always felt this way over the last few months, I’m incredibly optimistic and hopeful about continuing to serve in my current role at New Eden for many years to come. I am still passionate about proclaiming Christ through the Scriptures. I still get excited about sending out members of New Eden and getting to be a part of Kingdom expansion. I still find myself in awe that my voice can be used to help people see that Jesus really does love them, that the Father actually desires to know them personally and intimately, and that the Spirit of God is alive and at work in their life.

While I am away, please know that New Eden is in good hands. I can say that with confidence, because it is not my church. Ultimately, Jesus is the one who holds the church in His right hand. And together, we all have ownership and responsibility for guarding and protecting her. On top of that, God has raised up a plurality of elders, deacons, and gifted members to lead this local body - not only during my sabbatical but in the days after as well. We’ve always said that New Eden is not about any one person or group of persons. It is about Jesus, from beginning to end. Each of us will come and go. New Eden will come and go. But the global church of God will go forth. And hell itself can’t do a dang thing to stop it. That’s a vision worth living and dying for.

My ask to you in the coming days is to prayerfully consider how the Spirit might be asking you to take more ownership as a member or someone who regularly engages with New Eden. Seriously, please do not anything out of guilt or shame. One of the reasons I don’t make many clear asks is because I do not want anyone doing something for those reasons. However, I do believe that each of you have gifts for the body. And I also believe that you will find joy in using those for the advancement of God’s Kingdom within the ordinary life of the church. Whether it’s an area of service for a few months, committing to faithful engagement during our Sunday gatherings, giving of resources toward the mission of the church, or any other number of ways, I am simply asking you to consider what that might look like.

I do not think God is done with New Eden. If I thought so, trust me, you would all be the first to know. However, just because I believe that does not mean that each of you are supposed to take the ride forward with us. Your standing before God or spiritual maturity is in zero way tied to your involvement with New Eden. However, if New Eden has been a place for you to belong, and if you want to be connected to the mission and vision of New Eden for the forseeable future, we want you along for the ride. And my only ask to you is to consider what intentional engagement might look like in the coming days, both during my sabbatical and beyond. I understand the irony of talking about this as my family and I are stepping away. 😊 But I have no problem saying it because I trust the Spirit of God in each of you to lead and guide you. Truly.

Lastly, let me again say “thank you”. Yes, for this sabbatical. But more importantly for your commitment to seeing the Kingdom of God advance in our city and beyond through nothing other than the ordinary means of faithful gospel proclamation, simple obedience, gathering to participate in the sacraments of the church, and persevering until Christ returns to make all things new.

Each and every week, I am both challenged and encouraged by your faithfulness. As the apostle Paul said of the church at Phillipi, “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Jesus started this thing, and He’s gonna finish it. It’s always been about Him and we pray that it always will be. I love you, church. I’m grateful I get to have the sacred privilege of knowing each of you. Thank you for allowing me the honor of being a part of your lives.

Let me leave you with this encouragement from the writer of Hebrews: “Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything. And I urge you all the more to pray that I may be restored to you very soon. Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

In Christ alone,
Joel McCarty

 
CommunicationJoel McCartyComment