Shawn Bolz says he’s ‘on a sabbatical’. He should be more honest

I just returned from sabbatical. Two years ago, I successfully applied for a fellowship to spend 2025 away from my post at a university and conducting research for a book project. I used the time to visit archives, travel to sites of historical significance in the US, the UK and Italy, and write.

While not a sabbatical in the full biblical sense - which designates a period of sacred rest from labour - my academic sabbatical combined research and writing with a more relaxed schedule. It was both restful and productive. It is also why Shawn Bolz’s recent use of the word struck me as deeply misleading.

On sabbatical

Bolz is a minister formerly associated with the charismatic megachurch Bethel in Redding, California, and now known for his prophetic ministry show. Two weeks ago,  following Mike Winger’s expose of how Bolz alledgedly fabricated prophetic words and sexually harassed his colleagues, Bolz announced that he was entering a period of sabbatical. The homepage of his website, bolzministries.com, states “ON A SABBATICAL” in big, bold letters.

It is true that the word ‘sabbatical’ can also be used to reference an absence - a pause, if you will - from normal activities (especially a job). But this is nevertheless a far cry from the sabbath rest God took after creating the world!

This is also a far cry from taking time off work for research, writing or rest. But using the word sabbatical makes Bolz’s absence sound better, spiritual even. It leaves the door open for him return to ministry, as so many ministers before him have done (like the restoration of Johnny Hunt by Southern Baptist pastors).

The words we use matter. The words we use to describe sin, especially the sin of those called to ministry, matter even more. Is it truthful to use a word like ‘sabbatical’ that, in the context of a church, has spiritual connotations to describe what Bolz is doing? It should make us deeply uncomfortable to hear a professing Christian – one who has built his career on claiming to speak prophetic words from God - describe his abrupt departure from ministry due to allegations against him as taking a sacred rest.

The word seems intentionally chosen to minimise the situation. To provide cover for sin.

Retired from ministry

Shortly before Bolz announced his ‘sabbatical’, Philip Yancey, a well-known Christian author whose books have sold more than 15 million copies, confessed to an eight-year long sexual relationship with a woman who was not his wife.

It is true that when the relationship came to light, Yancey clearly stated that his actions disqualified him from ministry and that he would “retire from writing and speaking.” It is also true that he was involved in an eight year adulterous affair while he continued to write, speak and publish Christian books. From my vantage point, it seems that it was not until he got caught that he announced his disqualification and ‘retired’.

Using the word sabbatical makes Bolz’s absence sound better, spiritual even. It leaves the door open for him return to ministry

Retirement is a better word than sabbatical, for sure. It conveys the end of a ministry rather than just a pause. But still, Yancey’s ‘retirement’ is a far cry from when my father retired from more than four decades as a family doctor.

For too long, Christians have allowed ministry leaders caught in actions that disqualify them to cover their sinful behaviour with words like ‘sabbatical’, ‘retirement’, and ‘stepping down’. We need words that tell the truth, that do not minimise the harm caused, and that take seriously Paul’s admonition in 1 Timothy 3 for ministers to be above reproach.

Perhaps instead of “ON A SABBATICAL,” Bolz’s website should state: “on a leave of absence pending investigation”.

That would be more honest.