Studies show that time off does not create a reduction in production but just the opposite.
The Rationale for a Pastoral Sabbatical
It costs far less to retain a faithful, long-term pastor than to go on a pastoral search for a year.
The Fallow Field
In the Old Testament, there were numerous applications of the Sabbath principle.
One related to how farmers were to work their fields.
Since soil can be overworked and depleted of the minerals that keep it producing healthy, life-giving produce, God instructed the Israelites to care for their land by giving the earth its own time to rest and be renewed. Therefore, once every seven years, a section of the field was to lay fallow, allowing time for the soil to be refreshed for the next six years of production.
Eventually, academic institutions picked up on this principle and began giving professors fallow time, not merely as a break, but as an opportunity for growth so that the university would benefit. A report from the Trustees of Columbia University in 1907 says: “The practice… of granting periodic leaves of absence (Sabbaticals) to professors was established not in the interests of the professors…
