time with god | More Than Dodgeball

Chris WesleyMore Posts Slow Down Your Ministry

Ran into a former student the other day and had to blink twice when they told me that they were graduating college. This is not the first teen in my ministry to go through college, it was just one of those moments when you wonder, “Where has the time gone?” We all experience that, life in general moves quickly. As Matthew Broderick’s character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off so cleverly states:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around once in a while, you might miss it.”

When you hit that reality it’s easy to get discouraged because you might feel like opportunities have been blown or missed. The pace of your ministry might feel like it’s unbearable and you begin to question whether or not you are really getting anything accomplished. If you feel that way then chances are you need to SLOW DOWN. And you can do that by:

Managing A Schedule: You might not feel like you have enough time in the day because you don’t manage your hours well. A schedule is for tracking your time just like a budget is for money. Budget out your work day and breaks. Track the time you are spending in certain areas of your ministry. When you can track your pace you can slow it down.

Observe Silence: Too much noise will increase the pace you have at work. Make sure your environments allow you to slow down. It might be turning off music or the Internet. It could mean finding a quiet place to write or adjusting the lights in your office. Eliminate distractions so that you can concentrate on God’s calling for you.

Simplifying Your Ministry: The more complex something becomes the more overwhelming you will feel. Look at your ministry and instead of asking, “What are we not doing?” flip it and ask, “What do we need to stop doing?” Simple can be more effective than complex because you won’t be overwhelmed, instead you’ll be more focused.

Putting Time With God First: Life gets crazy when you try and take control. Quiet time with God is something you teach your teens; however, it’s something you have to remember to do yourself. Even if you feel like you have a million things to do, you need to put God first and let Him give you the grace you need to get through it. He’s the one who will and can slow down your days.

Slowing down your work pace helps you not only manage your ministry well, but build appreciation for where God is blessing you. It gives you a chance to observe how He is impacting you, the ministry and His Kingdom. So, SLOW DOWN.

Do you feel like you need to slow down? If so what area?

Add Comment April 9, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts Reflections from a Summer Intern

Here are a few reflections as a summer intern in the High School Ministry at Saddleback Church:

5. DO get close with co-workers and focus on them more than on projects. I saw the valuable teaching role that people have in my life through this internship. I remember one day specifically, I had a lot of articles to edit and the pressure was weighing down on me, when a coworker asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with her. Everything in me said that I should focus on my work and say no, but for some reason I agreed, and it was such a great conversation about life in ministry and what I’m learning through interning. She gave me lots of great advice and it made working with her on projects such a bigger joy. My editing got done and I actually had a clearer head while doing it.

4. DO hard things. I knew that taking on the magazine would be a large workload, but I took it on knowing it would stretch me as a journalist. Boy, did it ever! Not only do I feel more prepared to be Features editor of the Biola University’s Newspaper in the coming semester, I also feel better prepared to have a career in this field. Organizing and leading a team was a challenge because of my lack of experience, but navigating that has been such an area of growth for my problem-solving and leadership abilities.

3. DO communicate as much as possible with coworkers. I wrote in one of my journals for the class that I was having trouble with the graphic designer for the magazine. I was hoping to see some layouts a few weeks ago, and he didn’t show me any for the longest time. If I had clarified in the beginning that I was expecting to see layouts BEFORE deadline to know that he was making progress, we wouldn’t have any problem because we could have had a conversation about what both of our expectations were. However, since that conversation never happened, there was a long period of mystery and uncertainty regarding when he was going to show me any work. It was frustrating for me and didn’t get me anywhere because I didn’t express it to him, so he had no idea that I was annoyed. I could have saved myself a lot of time worrying if I had just talked to him upfront!

2. DON’T be “above” anything. This is a lesson that I have discussed before, and one that was daily reinforced by the staff. Refusing to do something (or doing it with a poor attitude) because it’s not what you’re passionate about displays an entitled sense of self. Interning is about learning through experience, and certainly God can teach us through tasks beyond our specific calling or role. I learned a lot cleaning out a closet (like how much easier it is to do things with a team, and how to serve others, and how one person’s sour attitude can spoil it for everyone, and how giant cardboard iPhones should never be kept because they take up way too much space).

1. DO take time to reflect, breathe, and commune with God. My stress level during this internship was directly related to the time I spent with God. The days when I was most stressed were the days I skipped time with the Lord, and that negatively affected how I handled myself and navigated conflict at work. Without daily time with God, I can become irritable and closed off. With daily time with God, I have a better view on what’s important and find a lot more joy in what I’m doing and who I am. He is key. Success is nothing if God is merely an afterthought.

Heather Leith is an incredible summer intern on the HSM Team. Follow her semi-annual Tweets at https://twitter.com/heatherleithal.

Add Comment July 17, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts A Spiritual Retreat Day Every Quarter

I love it when churches give their staff a spiritual retreat day to focus and center on God. Quite honestly, I like the idea more than I have been able to actually do it! I read this blog post a month ago from NRSM Online that has stuck with me for the past 30 days. So today … (assuming I made it back safely fro Rwanda – doh!) I’m on a spiritual retreat day! Here’s a clip of the blog post I think is worth checking out and implementing soon in your context:

Move slower all day. Seriously, everything you do during the entire day…do it slower. We do everything so freaking fast these days. Take time on this particular day to walk slower, eat slower, talk slower, drive slower (maybe go the speed limit instead of 5 over), read slower, pray slower. Everything.

Location. Your location is key to this whole deal. You need someplace quiet (this is a non-negotiable). You also need an environment that is somewhat new or unknown to you. For me, the more familiar a place is, the more likely I am to fall into whatever routine I’m used to following in that spot. New place…new routine. Finally, you need to be alone. That doesn’t necessarily mean there can’t be other people in the same building or room (although you might need that), but it needs to be a place where no one knows you and no one will be bothering or distracting you.

No retreat agenda. Agendas & task lists are the enemies of your Spiritual Retreat Day.

#1-Agendas prevent you from moving slower. If you have some items to cross off a list, your tendency is to dive in full steam ahead. Unacceptable. What if you get 45 minutes into your time alone and don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything yet? Oh well!

#2-Agendas lead to a defined “win,” and a defined “win” creates the possibility that you might “lose.” There is no failure on this day. There are no unfulfilled expectations on this day. There are no unfinished tasks on this day. If your Spiritual Retreat Day exists, you win. Besides, you can always go back to being a loser tomorrow.

JG