No Leftovers
Our weekly family meal plan has a regular night that I do not enjoy: Leftover Night. We open the fridge, take out all the containers, and hope we can work some “Chopped” magic. It’s not my favorite.
I’m also not a big fan of my family getting the leftovers of my time and energy. I want to be thoughtful and intentional about how we approach our future together. The time goes so quickly. I want to be a good steward of these days.
I also have a responsibility to plan a calendar for our church that moves the needle on Kingdom ministry. I want to make sure we are making the right decisions about how we invest our time.
If I’m to do both of these well, I need to think about my family first so that they don’t get the leftovers of our church calendar.
Let me explain.
Church Calendar Planning
Each year, our elders and staff begin talking about our calendar in August. Elders review our 3 year plan – goals and dreams we have to help our church move forward. We then determine our 1 year picture – what will we do this year to help us accomplish the 3 year plan we have adopted.
All of that conversation gets to the staff and other key leaders. We cast vision for the coming year and ask them to develop a calendar and budget that moves the needle on our goals and dreams. Our goal is to have our calendar finalized in October so that our budget can be finalized in November and approved by our members in December.
Family Calendar Planning
Now, at least 1 month before we begin work on our church calendar, my wife and I sit down and work through a list of questions about our family calendar.
For example:
- Are there big events happening for us? For our kids?
- Are there things we want to do? Need to do?
- When does school start and stop? What breaks does the school give?
Then, we put them on the calendar for the coming year. We have this conversation so that I can go into the church calendar planning sessions with family events on my calendar. I don’t want my family getting the leftovers.
Ministry is a never ending reservoir of opportunity and need. There is always something else to do or some other event to attend. Thinking about our family first helps me as I interact with our staff about our church calendar.
Now, there have been times where I needed to go back and talk with my wife about something that needed to change. There have been times when my family calendar needed to give way to the church calendar.
But, I can’t remember this happening more than 10 times in thirty years of ministry.
Pastors and Leaders, I want to urge you to take a couple of days at least a month before your church starts planning for the coming year. Get some extended time with your wife to talk about your family calendar. Be thoughtful about how you will invest time in your family. Don’t let your family get the leftovers.
I would love to talk with you about work/life stewardship issues like this. Let’s get started.
