Blogging has been really sparse lately. This post may give some explanation as to why this has been so ...
I have been thinking a lot recently about time redemption. By this I don't mean taking another course in "Effective Habits" or retooling to "GTD" (although I do think both time management programs, as well as others have something to offer in spite of their hype and religious roots). Leland Ryken in his excellent book "Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work and Leisure" laments the Church's lack of understanding and Biblical thinking regarding work and leisure. "Christians have their own version of the contemporary crisis of work and leisure. They feel guilty about their work. They feel guilty about leisure. They do not understand either of them very well." A Christian work ethic is more than being busy, or even working hard. It has to do with how we actually make use of our minutes and hours. I am beginning to think about time differently than I have in the past.
Living in Mongolia has given me a new appreciation (or would that be understanding?) of spontaneity. It is not unusual to receive a phone call (or simply a text message!) asking for a meeting. Not later this week. Not tomorrow. "Can you meet right now?" If I need to get an oil change on the car, it costs about $80 (oil changes are expensive here) and nearly a day's time. The expense is way more than a financial one. There's no "Home Depot" here. If I need building or repair supplies, I go to a building supply market that spans scores of buildings and a couple of miles. That's another day. And the list could go on of tasks that would be otherwise simple and easy, but take hours and even days to get done in this culture and environment.
This way of life has caused me to think about time and the redemption of time a little differently than perhaps I did in America.
I personally do not count "busyness" as a virtue. CJ Mahaney has a series of articles about a Christian way of looking at time management and productivity (I highly recommend them to you!) and he starts off by making three statements that I wholly resonate with:
• Busyness does not mean I am diligent
• Busyness does not mean I am faithful
• Busyness does not mean I am fruitful
Busyness is not a badge to wear around on your chest with desperate hope that others will see it and know how important, relevant, or otherwise significant we are. I think busyness can actually be an enormous hinderance that keeps us from doing the things that are truly important and meaningful.
However, as we all know, busyness is also an inevitability. That's the catch. It'd be nice to not be busy. But that's not always the reality of life.
Right now I am involved with all sorts of roles and projects.
- Managing the Grain of Wheat Student Center
- Interim pastor at Cornerstone Church of All Nations (newly formed International Church in UB)
- Discipling students at the UB Student Church
- Planning and organizing for a new "Student Fellowship" movement in UB starting in September
- Several small group meetings including Bible study and marriage counseling
- Assistant Field Director responsibilities
- Graduate Studies in Christian Spirituality from the University of South Africa
And of course, I'm not including the obvious things in this list: I am the husband of Renee' and the father or two teenagers ... and and just like the ice cream on the icing on the cake ... or maybe the chocolate syrup that's on the ice cream on the icing on the cake ... or perhaps it would be the cherries on the ... well, you get the point: I am the owner of two dogs, one of which is a puppy.
I know that my list can't compare to many other's. I am sure some of you will read that and say, "Pshaw, that's nothing I'm doing all that and redecorating the Smithsonian and doing a reorganization of the Detroit Lions." Which is fine ... and good luck with that, by the way. But for me, for my personality and my context, this constitutes a full plate.
However these things are not what is ultimate (no matter how bad the Lions have been), because busyness is not what is ultimate. Fellowship with Jesus is what is ultimate. Abiding in the Vine. Therefore, redeeming the time is incredibly important for me right now. Not so that I can add more to my plate, or be more effective in this busy season of life. Not even so that I can "make time" for my wife and children ... and two dogs. Time redemption is crucial, because abiding in the Vine is crucial. If I am not fellowshipping with Jesus, then all of this busyness is a royal waste of time and resources and I might as well be spending my days checking email, playing World of Warcraft, twittering and cruising Facebook in between episodes of "Friends" reruns. I may time manage for the purpose of spending proper time with my family, but if Christ is not central for me, my family will spend time with an angry, fleshly, Spirit-less man (who is constantly checking email, playing World of Warcraft, twittering, cruising Facebook and watching Friends). Who wants that?
For the past three years that we've lived in Mongolia, I have not changed my email signature. And I don't plan on changing it anytime soon. I need to be reminded every time I send an email, that there is really ultimately only one priority, one passion, one objective:
Abide.
"The vine . . . is not the root merely, but all - root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers,fruit:
and Jesus is not only that: He is soil and sunshine, air and showers,
and ten thousand times more than we ever dreamed, wished for, or needed."
J. Hudson Taylor