A New Perspective
Every day, I sit in my apartment and work. If I let myself, I would do this from 10am ’til midnight every single day. Day in and day out, I would spend 90% of my days inside my apartment, no sunlight, not contact with people, and no variety.
Back when I first started this job, I decided that I would work remotely whenever possible. Why? Because unless I did, every single day would be exactly the same. No new people. No new environment. The only window to the world being my television set. And THAT is NOT healthy! Human beings NEED variety! They need to mix it up every once in a while to get new perspectives on things. If all I did was sit in my apartment and work, I would become very bored, and probably end up hating my job.
In addition to working remotely, I also like to go and observe other people that work like I do (from home, make their own schedule). In Florida, I observed my uncle Rick work. I watched how he handled time, when he woke up in the morning, when he went to bed, how regimented he was, how free he was to break schedule, how he handled phone calls and client meetings, etc. I did all this because I know I have a long way to go! I’m not perfect, and I recognize my weaknesses. I also was free to ask him numerous questions about business, and the advice I got was invaluable!
Far more important than this is our perspective on church gatherings. Unfortunately, we are humans and we call into routines too easily. And if we never get to see how another church conducts their gatherings, we can easily fall in love with “our way” instead of a “better way”.
One of the most valuable experiences I’ve had in my life is the ability to visit multiple churches in the last few months. The variety of perspectives that I’ve been able to observe has been priceless! I see how one church does their music or announcements or offering, and I learn. Yet another church does it a different way, and that works well too! But the key is the variety I get to absorb.
If your a pastor, staff member, volunteer, etc., definitely take every opportunity you get to visit other churches. Every time your church doesn’t have a service, every time you’re out of town, every time family visits and they want to visit another church, DO IT!!! The perspective you gain will be invaluable, and you might just learn a thing or two … about church and about yourself!
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At least I don’t work from home, but I find my time divided way too evenly between work and home. Besides work, I really don’t get out much, and that isn’t good. At least I’ve been getting out on my bike daily in my effort to lose weight (can’t really call it a struggle, because once I buckled down to it, it hasn’t really been that hard), and I’m seeing the results of that- I’ve lost 35 pounds in less than four months. But still, I need to get out more.
Bleh, churches are a boring waste of time. The only things I enjoyed were my old Presbyterian minister’s hilarious anecdotes. Every time we had a fill-in or went to another church, I’d encounter cynicism and people who diss Touched by an Angel.