Ministry Interruptions
I can still see the smile of the first minister I ever heard say, “Ministry wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the people.” Anyone in the ministry would laugh at that because we all have experienced those moments or that specific person that would tempt us to say the exact same thing.
Since we returned from our vacation we have had about six funerals at the church. The first funeral superseded the Children’s Choir from using the Sanctuary for preparation for their musical, “Race to Win.” Several others have come at very awkward times such as my day off or when the church office was closed for a holiday. We have also had many more hospital visits than usual. It seems that the late winter weather really took its toil on many of the elderly in our congregation.
We have also had an unusually large number of people needing to meet with the staff about various items. These meetings often last longer than we were told to expect. Often these meetings have had to be rescheduled because of several weeks of snow and ice. Many activities have also been canceled and have needed extra attention to get rescheduled or fit in somehow into an already tight schedule. Added to this are the many people who have just wanted to talk about their children, spouse or work situations.
Ministry interruptions have made it difficult for me to blog lately. If you have never been in the ministry, you may have a difficult time understanding ministry interruptions. No, I’m not talking about the funerals, hospital visits, meetings or even counseling. After all, people are the ministry. The ministry interruptions are those little things that really don’t matter one bit to most people, but can stop all ministry if not taken care of.
Ministry interruptions like filling out “Activity Request Forms” to reserve a room for that rescheduled activity. Ministry interruptions like completing ministry reports for the Church Council, Deacons, Personnel Committee or staff. Ministry interruptions like making arrangements to have the church parking lots plowed after a snow or ice storm. Ministry interruptions like planning parking arrangements for the media planning to attend a military funeral or making arrangements to ensure that war protestors are not allowed access to the funeral.
That is why I say, “Ministry wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for all of the ministry interruptions.”
Since we returned from our vacation we have had about six funerals at the church. The first funeral superseded the Children’s Choir from using the Sanctuary for preparation for their musical, “Race to Win.” Several others have come at very awkward times such as my day off or when the church office was closed for a holiday. We have also had many more hospital visits than usual. It seems that the late winter weather really took its toil on many of the elderly in our congregation.
We have also had an unusually large number of people needing to meet with the staff about various items. These meetings often last longer than we were told to expect. Often these meetings have had to be rescheduled because of several weeks of snow and ice. Many activities have also been canceled and have needed extra attention to get rescheduled or fit in somehow into an already tight schedule. Added to this are the many people who have just wanted to talk about their children, spouse or work situations.
Ministry interruptions have made it difficult for me to blog lately. If you have never been in the ministry, you may have a difficult time understanding ministry interruptions. No, I’m not talking about the funerals, hospital visits, meetings or even counseling. After all, people are the ministry. The ministry interruptions are those little things that really don’t matter one bit to most people, but can stop all ministry if not taken care of.
Ministry interruptions like filling out “Activity Request Forms” to reserve a room for that rescheduled activity. Ministry interruptions like completing ministry reports for the Church Council, Deacons, Personnel Committee or staff. Ministry interruptions like making arrangements to have the church parking lots plowed after a snow or ice storm. Ministry interruptions like planning parking arrangements for the media planning to attend a military funeral or making arrangements to ensure that war protestors are not allowed access to the funeral.
That is why I say, “Ministry wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for all of the ministry interruptions.”
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