Taking Time for Ministry
by Bruce Epperly
When I recently encountered Gillian (not her real name), she was in a hurry as usual. I asked how she was doing, and in response she enumerated all the things she was doing at church and her young children's many extracurricular activities. I grew tired just listening. Although she initiated our coffee break, I felt like I was a nuisance as she looked at her watch and checked her phone whenever it buzzed. After we parted company, I recalled that every time we meet, Gillian is on the run, never fully present, and always looking toward the next appointment. I noted that whenever we get together, I begin to feel rushed as well! Gillian's story mirrors the realities of ministerial life. She is a high-functioning, effective minister. Her church is growing. She is active in her denomination's regional body and well-respected. Yet, she lives her life on the run, always harried and weary, and never giving full attention to her family or spiritual life. She is smart and well-educated, but her sermons often suffer from lack of reflection. Like another externally successful pastor I know, Dean, she routinely becomes sick following Christmas and Easter as a result of her frenetic schedule. Dean confesses that he needs to slow down and simplify his life, but he admits that he's on a treadmill and believes that slowing the pace will harm his church. Both Dean and Gillian need to pause a moment to take time for ministry. Time is a profoundly theological issue, reflecting our understanding of our relationship with God and our sense of vocation. While we can't manage time, we can intentionally slow down time, aligning our experience of time with God's everlasting and abundant life. We don't have to live as the White Rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, who races about without clear direction, repeating the mantra, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date." We can have the time of our life, recognizing that life is filled with unexpected occurrences, by living our lives more gently and intentionally, and claiming small Sabbaths every day. I believe that a leisurely attitude toward time is essential to healthy and life-changing ministry regardless of the tasks and appointments on our calendar. A leisurely attitude toward time helps us savor the moments of ministry and relationships and creates a spacious environment for those who seek our pastoral care. Too often when people encounter their pastors, the pastor gives the impression that he or she is being interrupted and wants to conclude the encounter as quickly as possible to get onto something more important. Such busyness, however, sends a negative message to congregants and visitors -- you really aren't that important to me, your problems really aren't that serious, and I, the pastor, must focus on what really matters! I believe pastors can make friends with time and transform their encounters with congregants and visitors.
Read more » |
|
|
Pastors today are overwhelmed by the perfect storm of too many responsibilities, too few resources, and too rapid congregational, cultural, and technological changes. Many of them confess that the cares of modern ministry have nearly choked the life out of their holy service. A Center in the Cyclone is a resource for integrated personal and professional transformation and healing for pastors; better equipping them to be effective spiritual leaders for the long haul of professional ministry. Buy the book » |
|
|
|
Make Time for Your Own Renewal
|
Planting & Harvesting Seeds of True Self:
A Circle of Trust® retreat for women and men of faith
April 18-20, 2016 | Lake Louise Christian Community | Boyne Falls, MI
Our souls want to experience a connection with one another and creation, and to develop the habits that will sustain our passions without wearing us out. Our souls crave opportunities to pause, reflect, and re-discover who we are, not who the world proclaims that we are. There is a desire to be seen and to see what is true and real for us, beyond role or position. Our souls long to engage in a community that listens to and affirms the stories of our lives. We long to know that the work we do and the way we live is planting seeds toward a hopeful, world-changing harvest. This three-day retreat is designed to help you imagine what it would mean for you to inhabit your life and work fully as your best self, and will use the Circle of Trust® model developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. This is an intergenerational retreat for women and men of faith who desire to step out of the rigors and routines of daily life and into a time of renewal and restoration for their soul -- a time to name and claim their soul stories.
This retreat will be facilitated by the managing director of Alban at Duke Divinity School, Nathan Kirkpatrick, and the program development director at Lake Louise Christian Community, Sarah Moore Hescheles.
Learn more and register »
|
Ideas that Impact: The Leader's Time
|
Ministers Managing Time by Ronald Sisk
Time management is best addressed sequentially, through a series of touch points that punctuate a minister's relationship with a congregation -- times when mutual expectations and intentions can be shaped and spelled out. Those touch points include: the negotiation of an initial contract; the establishment of a ministerial schedule; the observation of contractual vacations, holidays, and sabbaticals; the minister's daily self-management; and times of congregational change. For the most part, it is the skill with which we ministers address the issue at these critical points that determines our competence as time managers.
Read more »
|
Taking Control of Your Time: It's All About Priorities by Bradford Agry
A very crucial skill in time management is sorting out how important various projects -- both short and long term -- are, so that adequate time is given to each. This means striking a balance between attending to immediate deadline-driven work and projects which have a longer time horizon, yet need to be worked on bit by bit. Obviously, if we only spend our days simply reacting and "putting out fires," we will never get to many other important projects that impact our organizations. So how do you insure that you get to this important work?
Read more »
|
|
|
|
