The Ups and Downs

Ministry is a funny thing, especially around a church (or any non-profit for that matter).

When you depend so heavily on volunteer support of all that you do, there are naturally times of the year when you are busier than others based on the amount of time volunteers are able give you.

Right now, volunteers aren't giving much of their time. School will be starting soon in our county and everyone is on vacation. There are those last minute family outings, so no one wants to come to a committee meeting. Everyone I know seems to be busy. Yet I'm not really sure what they are doing. . .

So much of what I do depends on committee work (welcome to the world of associate pastor land). While you would think I'd feel a great sense of freedom without the meetings, without them I don't feel as productive as I usually do.

This time of the year becomes the "take a deep breathe" from the crazy summer and "inhale a deep breath" of the wild fall to come. But such breathing is done alone for now and I don't like it as much.

This week my tasks include planning education classes for Sunday nights in the fall, scheduling youth events for the coming year and creating my budget for the next church year among other things. These are very important administrative tasks, yet harder for me to concentrate on. I miss the interaction with people!

Yet, even in my boredom of quality time with my computer, I realize that down time is good. This season of the year reminds me that not every week is as busy as others are. It is special to enjoy a Tuesday night at home instead of in my office at work. It is well worth my time to have a thoughtful plan for discipleship in the coming months. The "hermit" time in the office will go along way to helping things run more smoothly in the coming months.

However, I'll be ready for everyone to return to church and the usual routine of life to come back!