Summer Sabbatical

The elders of my church graciously offer all full time pastoral staff a six week sabbatical every seventh year. It is hard to believe that as a musician I’ve been able to hold down a job for more than two years, much less seven… But here I am…

 

I plan to spend a week at the beginning and end in solitude, beginning with the Abbey of Gethsemane where Thomas Merton lived, and ending at a retreat center in Cincinnati. In between will be a weekend in Chicago with my wife, and trips to Florida and Colorado with my family.

 

A few friends have asked what books I’m taking on Sabbatical. While I only hope to read 2-4 of them in their entirety, I’ve got 11 books on the docket:

 

The Abbey of Gethsemane:

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Answering God by Eugene Peterson

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

 

Chicago:

Prayers for Married Couples by Bartkowski

 

Florida:

The Dangerous Act of Worship by Labberton

The Effective Father by MacDonald

 

Colorado (Denver, Boulder):

Wide Awake by McManus

A Generous Orthodoxy by McLaren

 

Cincinnati (in solitude):

The Pursuit of Man by Tozer

Dangerous Wonder by Yaconelli

Schools of Conversion: 12 Marks of New Monasticism

 

 

Books