I can't imagine any minister would disagree that sermon preparation is only one part of ministry. That would be a pretty tough position to defend.
As Joshua Benton has correctly described of Jesus, "He took time to pray, he took time to connect with The Father, he took time to rest."
Regardless of how he used certain private moments, it's easy to picture those moments of Jesus' life as being free from interruption.
While I have times where I do receive people who appear and phone calls that spontaneously arrive. My only point is that I need pockets of time that are free from interruption from time to time, too. Whether it is for another step forward in preparing the sermon or for going to bed for the night. In the case of emergencies, there are even exceptions to guarding those important moments.
Guarding certain pockets of time within reason is a necessary part of ministry for me. It enables me to see certain commitments to the ministry through to completion. I wouldn't dream of walking out of a board meeting to go work on my sermon; I wouldn't interrupt pastoral counseling with a grieving family to start making phone calls or to receive another parishioner who suddenly appears (again, unless it was an even more urgent emergency). Why should assembling the gift of a good Sunday sermon warrant any less care?
The author of the article indicates that interruptions are an important reality in ministry. I completely agree.
But, never guarding certain pockets of time from interruption would not work for me. It would be chaotic. It could open the door to not being dependable. It would be rude and disrespectful to parishioners who need and deserve a moment with a fully engaged pastor.
It's interesting that scripture tells us Jesus would slip away from the crowds to the mountains to pray. Not even his disciples were around. It would seem that during those moments Jesus was not interrupted. Perhaps the Savior valued balance. Like Doug Bouws has indicated, I find it important to engage people when they appear, guarding their time with me from interruption. And its necessary to have stretches of concentrated time to prepare for Sundays. I find it necessary and rewarding to have this type of balance.
Posted in: Work: Interrupted
I can't imagine any minister would disagree that sermon preparation is only one part of ministry. That would be a pretty tough position to defend.
As Joshua Benton has correctly described of Jesus, "He took time to pray, he took time to connect with The Father, he took time to rest."
Regardless of how he used certain private moments, it's easy to picture those moments of Jesus' life as being free from interruption.
While I have times where I do receive people who appear and phone calls that spontaneously arrive. My only point is that I need pockets of time that are free from interruption from time to time, too. Whether it is for another step forward in preparing the sermon or for going to bed for the night. In the case of emergencies, there are even exceptions to guarding those important moments.
Guarding certain pockets of time within reason is a necessary part of ministry for me. It enables me to see certain commitments to the ministry through to completion. I wouldn't dream of walking out of a board meeting to go work on my sermon; I wouldn't interrupt pastoral counseling with a grieving family to start making phone calls or to receive another parishioner who suddenly appears (again, unless it was an even more urgent emergency). Why should assembling the gift of a good Sunday sermon warrant any less care?
The author of the article indicates that interruptions are an important reality in ministry. I completely agree.
But, never guarding certain pockets of time from interruption would not work for me. It would be chaotic. It could open the door to not being dependable. It would be rude and disrespectful to parishioners who need and deserve a moment with a fully engaged pastor.
Posted in: Work: Interrupted
It's interesting that scripture tells us Jesus would slip away from the crowds to the mountains to pray. Not even his disciples were around. It would seem that during those moments Jesus was not interrupted. Perhaps the Savior valued balance. Like Doug Bouws has indicated, I find it important to engage people when they appear, guarding their time with me from interruption. And its necessary to have stretches of concentrated time to prepare for Sundays. I find it necessary and rewarding to have this type of balance.