When Being Busy Attacks

Last night was a Boys’ Brigade night, and for this particular night I was on Devotions duty, which was fine. I’ve known for the past week that I was slated for Devotions, so I had something more than prepared up my sleeve. Something, at least I thought, would be brilliant to deliver to the boys. And for this particular devotion, I had a prop that would be used.

Then disaster struck.

In a frantic frenzy, I left the house to go to BB…without my prop. My plan for devotions was in tatters. But I was able to deliver, in my opinion, a more practical devotion that was even better. What was that Plan B I enacted? Time for a little context-setting.

Last week, amidst my devotion planning, I was attacked by six evil enemies of Academia. These “enemies” were in the form of three assignments and three midterm tests. Two of the assignments were worth 2%, and the other one a troubling 10%. Two of my midterms were worth 20%, while the other one was worth a massive 33%. As you can imagine, I was busy. Very, very busy, juggling deadlines hand over fist (the 2% and 10% assignments were due on Monday, and I had two midterms on Tuesday, including the 33% one).

Yes, I was busy. I was very busy. And in my frantic frenzy on Wednesday night, due to my brain being elsewhere, I left my prop at home.

So, that returns me to the devotion I actually gave on the night. I opened by telling the boys that I had a devotion lined up, featuring a key prop. And I left it at home in a bout of busyness.

Then I touched on the very fact that I was busy. And I put this question (which I proceeded to answer at length) to them:

“Isn’t it funny when people are caught up in being busy, that usually the first thing to go in their lives is God?”

This was true of me, certainly. Sure my studies are good (at times), and very fruitful and rewarding (learning lots is never a downer), but coupled with these positives and this gaining of knowledge and skills is the need to prepare. To practise. To meet deadlines. To write assignments and perform tests. To study.

Basically, to be very, very busy, and have a lot of time eaten up as a result. Then of course are the other facets of my life. These also require time devoted to them. And the culmination of all this time spending, has left me pondering that very question I posed on Wednesday night.

I never intended God to be crowded out of my everyday life. Yet by my time mismanagement and utter busyness, that’s what happened. So in many ways, it was probably a good thing I left my prop behind. By doing so, I could face up to myself and my shortcoming on the “Chatting with God” front, and hopefully my experience and example has inspired the boys to also pay attention to their own lives and “God-Chats” as well.

Freelance Ministry

Consider the following point to ponder: Is it possible to be involved in a ministry without the backing of the Church?

While in a seemingly random bout of contemplation some time ago, the above thought popped into my head. One of the reasons the thought occurred to me in the first place is that, like most followers of Christ I know, I have numerous ideas floating around my head; ideas of actions or impacts that I may make for the advancement of Christ. Knowing the many skills, gifts and talents that I have been given, I personally believe that I have many avenues that I may pursue, and in so doing it is hoped that, through what I have to offer, Christ may be glorified and made known (positively, of course). No doubt you too feel the same way, with your wide pool of skills, giftings and talents at God's disposal.

But, can such great ideas and actions be done without the aid of the Church? This is the point of pondering, worded differently.

You see, there is definitely no shortage of different ministries that churches offer to both congregants and the community they find themselves a part. However, consider this scenario for a moment: What if, at the Church you attend, there doesn't exist a particular ministry idea or area. As a case in point, what if your Church doesn't have a ministry to men? If your answer to that question is 'No, it does not', then the next two questions are almost trivial (following the example; change the missing ministry if your church has not got it):

Firstly, will the church support a ministry to men?
If not, then is it possible to have a ministry to men without the church's backing?

In other words, can you have a ministry effort, that reaches out to people (particular groups or not), meets a certain missing need, or in general glorifies Christ and hence gets His name out there in a positive way, without being under the umbrella of any church?

Look forward to your thoughts on this one.