Can you say “worcation”? Apparently, President Obama can! In an article from Fox News, President Obama’s recent vacation to Martha’s Vineyard is referred to as a “worcation.”
The word is not new to our culture. UrbanDictionary.com has it in their list.
I didn’t need to look it up. My hunch is that you didn’t either. As pastors, we are all too familiar with what a “worcation” is. Some of us disdain it while others of us thrive on them.
Maybe it’s our need to feel like we’re not “wasting” time. Maybe it’s an effort to make a vacation financially feasible. We will sometimes even look for opportunities to preach at a friend’s church while the time is actually meant to be spent recharging with our family.
Some worcations are understandable. Denominational gatherings are often held in family-friendly cities where we would actually want to bring our spouse and kids and have them enjoy the locale. There is the occasional true emergency that takes place that may call you home from vacation for a day or two in order to deal with it.
But when your kids can’t remember the last vacation they’ve had that has not included time with you gone for whatever ministry-related reason, there’s a problem. When you haven’t taken your spouse away for a weekend (an actual weekend…you know, that Friday – Sunday string of days?) in “who knows how long,” you may be dealing with some self-expectations and potential insecurity issues.
I have two teenage boys whose schedules are “normal” (i.e. their “weekend” is Friday – Sunday). I try to give them 2-3 of their weekends a year (outside of vacation time) where I am not preaching, so they have a “regular dad” for a weekend.
Pastor, let me give you a few tips to help you keep from “worcations” becoming the norm instead of an exception:
Think back to the last time you intentionally stayed away from work/ministry in order to really spend extended time with your spouse and kids.
Look at your current calendar…when is the next time you have already planned where that will happen? If the answer to that question is what I think it is, set a goal to get it planned with your spouse by one week from today.
If your heart is feeling that tug to schedule it close to a friend’s church, resist the urge and plan for it to be as far away from a friend’s church as you can!
If you’re concerned about who will take care of things when you’re gone, find someone you can begin addressing this with as soon as possible. A close friend who seems to have a handle on this or a therapist would be a good start. I have a list of some here that work with pastors.
When you pack to leave for your vacation, leave the ministry-related reading behind. Bring some good novels or whatever reading you find fun. I know, I know…your ministry-related reading is fun to you. Trust me, leave it behind and bring some other fun.
When you leave for your time away, turn off the e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and any other alerts that are activated on your phone. Give one or two other people you trust the phone number of the place you’re staying. Remember the days when you actually had to be found when you were away? Enjoy some of them again.
When you return, resist the urge to “hit the ground running.” Ease back in slowly. Do a half day your first day or two back in. Your kids will thank you for it, and believe me, so will the people who work with you.
Anything else you would add to the mix?
