Five Steps to Take Now to Right-Size Your Ministry Schedule
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. Jesus said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few’ (Luke 10:1-2a).
You know until Jesus is walking the planet again, your work isn’t going to be finished, right?
There’s no end in sight for the wrongs that need to be righted, the injustices that need to be overturned, the neighbors who are yet to experience the love of God. As divisions grow and fear expands, there is only more and more work to be done.
For all that growing mountain of work, there are precious few of us to do it.
To make up for it, preachers do more work. And more work. And more work, until our schedules are bulging at the seams.
But I suggest that if our schedules are bulging at the seams, there’s something else going on.
It isn’t just about the needs of the world.
Why are our schedules this packed?
Yes, we do more for the sake of the gospel, sure. But too much of a good thing is still too much.
I suspect oftentimes when we just plain do too much and still more, that we’ve fallen into the sin of pride.
Pride is the spiritual affliction of doing the right things for the wrong reasons.
We’re doing too many right things to assuage something in ourselves.
And I suspect deep down, we fear that we can’t fix it.
We’re not really in control.
We can’t make some things better.
Never forget that Jesus didn’t heal every person, feed every hungry belly, or release the Jews from the oppression of the Roman occupiers.
And yet many of us feel like we’ve got to do more than Jesus did.
We continue offering deed after deed out of a misguided belief that what we offer is never, and can never be, enough.
Humility, In contrast to pride, is the spiritual gift of truth: that we are, and we have, and we offer, enough, without embellishment or diminution, without expansion or shrinkage, without hyperbole or discounting.
We are good. And we offer enough.
Our calendar doesn’t have to be swapped out for a bigger one that can hold even more appointments, to-do lists, and holy deeds.
Summer is an excellent time to practice the humility of our calendars, starting with the big picture. As we head into this season with different routines and rhythms, consider these five steps to right-size your calendar—in holy humility.
Step 1: Identify Your Frustrations about the Constraints of Your Calendar
I hear many preachers say:
Schedules never work; that’s the nature of parish ministry.
I’ve tried to change before and it didn’t work.
I’m too busy to make real changes.
Those are examples of stories we tell ourselves.
Step one, then, is to answer in prayer: What stories am I telling myself (and my loved ones) about why my schedule is so crammed full and why it can’t be fixed?
Step 2: Let God Get a Word in Edgewise
While there is undoubtedly some truth to all the stories you’re telling yourself, they don’t contain the whole truth.
God would like to add a few sentences which will paradoxically shrink your first draft down to a more proportionate size.
You: “Schedules never work; that’s the nature of parish ministry.”
God: “That’s jumping when people tell you to jump. I gave you the authority.”
You: “I’ve tried to change before and it didn’t work.”
God: “Maybe what you tried before didn’t work, but together we’re pretty smart; we’ll figure out what does work.”
You: “I’m too busy to make real changes.”
God: “I provide you with everything you need to do what I ask of you, including enough time.”
Step two is to shrink your story down to its proper size, using God’s version of events.
Step 3: Identify What You are Doing and for What Purpose
Look at your calendar and choose three tasks that you do routinely.
For example: preach, lead worship, and lead parish council meetings.
Put them each into this sentence structure: I [verb] so that [effect]. Honesty and candor are key.
For example, a clergyperson might say:
I preach so that the love of God is made known.
I lead worship so that the Body of Christ comes together as one.
I lead parish council meetings so that I keep my job.
Step 4: But Really, Why Do You prioritize those tasks?
There’s a “why” underneath each of those sentences.
There’s an inherent value to oneself that the actions express—or we wouldn’t do them.
Yes, we serve God so that we serve other people, but we do so because serving others is congruent with who we see ourselves to be, our identity and sense of satisfaction.
Honesty and candor are even more important at this juncture.
For example:
I preach so that the love of God is made known, because I relish the confluence of creative expression about the gospel I love with people who are willing to listen.
I lead worship so that the Body of Christ comes together as one, because it brings me hope for the world.
I lead parish council meetings so that I keep my job, because I would think less of myself if I didn’t send my kid to college.
Step 5: Declutter Your Calendar
Once we spend time getting painfully honest about why we’re doing what we’re doing, we can:
Apologize to God for arguing that God’s to-do list for us is too short.
Apologize that you still think in your heart of hearts it’s too short, but that you’re willing to work on it.
Ask for God’s wisdom and guidance to recognize when you’re doing the right thing for the wrong reason, and the humility to let length of your to-do list—the hours, energy, and outcomes—be good, and be enough. And trust that others have the capacity to manage their disappointment when you say no to taking on another project.
Create a new to-do list and schedule that fits snugly and cozily inside your God-given, perfectly-sized list.
Wouldn’t it be helpful to have dedicated time and someone who gets the challenges of ministry to guide you through an honest evaluation of your calendar?
This summer, we’re hosting two dedicated planning sessions For members of The Collective/+ to do exactly this work—one to work on your summer calendar and the other for your fall schedule.
The first planning session will be this Thursday, June 10th, at 10 a.m. Central
Join us for a fun dose of perspective, planning, and prayer. And then enjoy the harvest of humility, balance, and fulfillment of your call.
How to Participate
Head to “Events” and RSVP
Grab your calendar and show up!
Or watch the recording when it works for you.