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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.

  

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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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