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ON.THEOLOGY
Value
of Time
By
Don Bennett
don@oakridgebiblechapel.org
The
question is the value of your time. This has been a very important issue I have
been dealing with in my ministry and personal life. If there is an area I have
been working on with other leaders it is how much time we spend, waste on
certain things in our daily lives. I have put together a formula for determining
where time can be saved. Being in ministry, I find my schedule very chaotic at
times therefore, I was educated very quickly on how to schedule my day to be
more effective. I used to just meet with people on their availability and have
meetings at 6:30am and then at 9:00pm, in the same day. That was insane! My wife
engrained in me the truth that if I continued that way then I would last a week
before collapsing in exhaustion. There is no question in my mind that time is
the most valuable tool that we have in ministering to youth and their families,
also for our family time. I went through a process in which I calculated the
time I spent doing various things and noticed that there was a lot of time I
needed to add to certain things and there were certain things that I wasted my
time doing.
The
number one priority that I have assigned to my ministry this year is building
and strengthening relationships with youth and their families. If you are in the
same mode this year, really take the time to schedule times in your calendar to
meet with families or youth. Set times for certain days for appointments. For
example you may start late and work late on Tuesday and Thursday. But on Monday
and Friday you will always be home for 5:00pm.
When we are serving others it can be exhausting, therefore if our time is
being stretched we will be too overwhelmed and the effectiveness of serving
others will take a hit. From my perspective the need to be relevant and
effective is immeasurable, so we need to take care of ourselves in order to be
effective.
Another
very important area is to make sure that time is set-aside for family.
I have had to use the word NO this year on a number of occasions because
I value the time I spend alone with my wife. We are expecting our first born
later this spring; I am already working on a plan in my schedule for guaranteed,
undisrupted time with my little boy. I was at a conference this past summer at
which Bo Boshers recounted the first time he asked his wife to take a message to
a phone call when he was playing with his little child. He said the child looked
at him as if he was surprised, that the time they were spending was more
important then taking the call. One of my mentors through Bible College told us
about marital issues that arose because he took on too much and caused friction
between him and his wife. He told us that we needed to realize that through our
excitement and enthusiasm that we needed to slow down and realize how important
quality time with our families was.
I
really encourage all of you to consider how you spend and value your time.
We need to take into consideration how you can implement changes to areas
that take up too much needed time. Here is a technique I used, take your five
priorities from your ministry and place them with other areas of life.
Focus on the percentages of time used in each and see what changes may
need to be made. Doug Fields in his book My First Two Years of Youth Ministry
wrote about the need to make your day into three segments and to focus on your
strengths, whether you are a morning person when it comes to writing etc. Make
use of your best times for areas that need the most attention.
Take a look at your time and ask yourself how valuable it is and how you
can use it to be more effective. After implementing these strategies I noticed
that I worked the same hours total a day. It will work for you too, give it a
shot and see the effectiveness it can have.
___________
Don
is the Youth Pastor at Oakridge Bible Chapel in Oakville Ontario Canada. He
is married to the love of his life Karin; they are expecting their first child
in May 2003. Dan has a strong passion for the church of today and believes
strongly that God is doing amazing things in our lives and in North America. He
believes that as church leaders today, we need to take on the passion that God
gives our hearts and take action to be proactive in sharing the gospel.
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