Skip to main content

The White Rabbit Syndrome




Christian Leaders and their time.

When my children were growing up -and in the days of VHS- they would love to watch the Disney movie "Alice in Wonderland" The opening scenes of the white rabbit running and looking at his watch crying out "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late, for a very important date!" would make my children smile with glee and anticipation as they prepared themselves for what would happen next.

This got me thinking this week at how many young Christian leaders I come across who are late for things and also seem to bogged down with work with no end in sight to different projects. They spend their time running around like the white rabbit, crying they don't have enough time.

I have just as much time as they do; 24 hours in a day.

 There are two areas that I have always been very good at; Letting my yes be yes and my no mean no and also the fact that I always like to get to my next appointment at least 10 minutes before due time. If someone asks me to do something and I say yes, then I do it. If I say sorry no I can't do it, I don't. Over the years people who know me have come to see that I do exactly what I say I will do. The fact that I am always on time is an added bonus.

The reasons that the young leaders do not have time is that they need to adhere to two simple rules. These rules helped me both in business and in Christian leadership, in this blog I want to deal with just the first rule. The second will take a little longer to explain and I will deal with next time.

Rule One: Learn the right time to say yes and the right time to say no.

  • If you offer to ring someone, DO IT! Don't forget don't make an excuse.
  • If you say to someone I will email you. DO IT! Don't forget don't make an excuse.
  • Get others to be your first line of pastoral care. Your wife, your secretary or your mid week home group leaders.
  • Say No to any appointment outside of normal working hours.
  • Have an open door policy, when my door is open say "yes come in", when my door is closed say "sorry no I am not available."
  • Practice being a person of your word. Don't just say things for the sake of pleasing people.

By practicing this rule you will find that you have more time to learn rule two.

Next Time: Rule Two: Learning the difference between watching the time and real time.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The myth of Ministry Leadership.

The myth that all leaders are leaders. Not everyone who leads in church is a leader. I think it is wrong, for Church leaders to believe that those they train up to take various ministry leadership positions, are in fact leaders in their own right. They are not. At best I would categorise these people- that many churches call 'ministry leaders' as ministry managers.                 "At one level there is nothing wrong with title inflation; it is a cheap way of recognising people who work hard and make serious contributions" Jo Owen. I am of the opinion that this title inflation undervalues both the leader and the ' ministry manager' and can often bring about confusion and mismatched expectations. Many churches have ministry training evenings for their volunteers. Many use the reason for this training is "to make a person a better leader," when in fact the only thing actually happening is that th...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 1970's Christian Coffee Shop

I remember as a new Christian being invited into a Christian Coffee shop in the town where I grew up. It was clean and tidy, the table tops were all brightly painted in different colours,  but mainly yellow and scattered on top were a random selection of Christian tracts. Fish symbols and Christian posters proclaiming that there was but 'One Way' to heaven were everywhere. The music playing out of the stereo was The Bill Gather Trio or Dolly Parton singing Gospel. The crockery, was a mixed assortment of coffee mugs, donated by keen supporters of this outreach to the unsaved sinners and ungodly people living in the city. The coffee was a local brand heavily mixed with chicory. In all the years the Coffee Shop operated, I never saw a non-Christian go in and I never heard of a person coming to faith through having coffee there. I never really understood its purpose. Fast forward to today, when I was asked recently, to advise on helping a local community church open a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Christmas Holiday or real Commitment to the real Saviour.

Bells and Baubles are so prominent at the moment on our Christmas trees and in our shop windows. The glitter and the tinsel sparkle in the festive lights, seductively drawing us closer, enticing us to buy more to stash more presents under the tree. After all it's the season for giving, or is it. Bells may ring and baubles dangle but Bethlehem is where my thoughts are at the moment. Not on giving but on sacrifice. Remember the sacrifice that Joseph made when he took Mary, already pregnant, to be his wife. Or the sacrifice, Mary made to reveal to her family that she was carrying a child, despite the ridicule and shame that would result from this revelation. The sacrifice that the Shepherds made to leave their flocks in the hills, at the mercy of predators, just to get a glimpse of God. Let us not forget God who made the ultimate sacrifice to give up His son to a sinful and forgetful world. Let us also remember the hundreds, if not thousands of people, who give up their day to serve u...
Post a Comment
Read more