Time Management (Charlie McNeil)

Time management is a challenge particularly for faithful, busy people. It’s not fair or accurate to talk about people reshuffling priorities to get them right (whatever that means).

Somehow we need to find ways for the church to be user friendly in every way but particularly in time commitments.  Is there a way of focusing more on supportive relationships based in prayer, study, and significant conversation than in meeting to decide the nuts and bolts issues of any congregation?

Expecting a single parent who is working and trying to keep on top of a busy and growing family where energy, focus, and time are at a premium to fit in with us is not terribly helpful or grounded in the real world!

Should the church fit into their expectations and scheduling instead?

It will take steely determination to turn around the way we have thought and acted in congregations time out of mind.  We are called to practice discernment by saying yes to some things and no to other things with which we may be stuck in the past to accomplish the goal.

The goal is to use treat time carefully and respectfully, and to access peoples’ areas of interest and speciality. Jesus gave us leadership in this.

Jesus chose out of a huge pool of disciples twelve people to be apostles: those he sent out to spread the word about himself and his gospel.  There were a whole range of jobs.  There was also a whole range of interests in the growing pool of his followers.

As the Apostle Paul later observed: some were preachers, others teachers, others apostles, still others practiced the gift of hospitality and so forth.  To each was given some gift by the Spirit of God for the benefit of the whole church.

If someone’s gift is pastoral visiting why have them involved in administration?  If someone’s gift is administration (and God bless them for it!) then why have them do children’s or teen’s ministry?  And so it goes.

Tailoring the life and work of our churches to the gifts God gives us to be his people and to do ministry in a timely fashion is the vision and goal.

Everyone has some gift or gifts to offer. God grant us all the wisdom and integrity to offer whatever we have to share in God’s time and way to the church but more importantly to the wider world!  The church and all of us then becomes more fully who we are to be.  Is there not a note of celebration and praise to God in not only reflecting upon this but living it? Me thinks there is.

Blessings on the journey!

Charlie McNeil

Knox Presbyterian Church, Lloydminster