Day: May 20, 2009

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i'm too busy for that … really?

there is a big temptation for ministers to determine their value based on how busy our schedule is. if you hang out with ministers enough you’ll hear it. someone will say something about a t.v. show, movie, or book of fiction (these are just examples) and soon one of the ministers will respond with “i’m too busy to read fiction” (or watch t.v. movies, or go fishing, etc., etc.). i was once in a worship service when a minister claimed from the pulpit that he would compare his appointment book with anyone and prove that he was busier. this is a good thing?

the weekly small group study that pam and i belong to is going through “the life you’ve always wanted” by john ortberg. while i think the title and the cover of the book make it sound like an oprah book club item i still think that what ortberg says is fantastic. this past week’s chapter was on servanthood. in this chapter ortberg tells of a time when he was talking to a friend of his about how busy he was. his friend’s response was great, “why would you choose that life?” ortberg continued to try and explain how he didn’t have any choice in the matter but his friend kept asking why he would choose to be that busy.

it was a great point. most times, not always but most times, we choose to be busy for our own reasons. this is especially true for ministers. i know some ministers who i believe choose to be very busy because they feel more important when they are. yes, ministry can eat up a lot of time. yet i have an advantage that so many other people don’t have … i usually get to choose my schedule. if i work late because i have to be at something or i need to go on a chaplain ride-a-long or anything like that, no one begrudges me taking some time off during the day. that’s pretty much true for for every minister i know. it’s not true for most of the non-ministers i know.

it makes no sense for us to say that JESUS should be the ONE WHO determines our priorities and then choose to be so busy that we can’t be interrupted. JESUS didn’t choose to be that busy and therefore as followers of HIM we shouldn’t choose to be that way either.

here’s to choosing not to be busy.

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i would have used this as a youth minister

this post from stuff CHRISTians like is great. it is concerning the tendency of college students to put their faith in a “lock box” during their university years. the advice prodigal john gives to students is:

  1. GOD is not trying to ruin your college experience.
  2. your parents’ faith won’t sustain you.
  3. college is not forever.
  4. don’t have sex. (he explains this one much better than just this simple statement – basically why settle for college sex when marital sex is better)

it’s good stuff.

i think my favorite two point are #1 & #4. i think GOD is portrayed as a “kill joy” far too often. HE is the GOD WHO said that HE had come that HIS followers would have life and have it more abundantly. for too often we turn HIM into the GOD of “don’t” rather than the GOD of “life.” john’s description of #4 is the same thing. his advice is for people to wait and thereby get the very best rather than settling for something less that is immediate. it’s good advice and something that i believe to be true.