Friday, April 27, 2012

Avoid Burnout

I found a helpful link today at the following blog: http://betweenthetimes.com/index.php/2012/04/26/avoiding-burnout-part-2. It is for a "time budget." It may sound a bit awkward, but in this day and age of burnout, we perhaps need to think in these terms. Now, if I just had the time to fill the darn thing out...

Here is the link for the document: http://www.jdgreear.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Burnout-Time-Budget-copy.pdf


The Tyranny of Multitasking

I thought I could do it. I thought I could make it work. But I was wrong- it wasn't working. In fact, I now believe it can't work.
You see, I had fallen into the trap of thinking I could multitask.
Many of us live under the tyranny of productivity. We fear being still and silent. Rest we see as a great enemy, something to be slain savagely through endless toil and, of course, multitasking. It is not enough to constantly be doing- we must be doing multiple things simultaneously. The problem is we can't do it. At least not efficiently. If nothing else I must admit that as soon as I add another task on top of the one I'm already doing, I have to some degree cut my level of focus on the first task. As soon as that happens, productivity wanes. And therein is the irony: that which was to increase productivity - multitasking - actually decreases it. In some cases this is fine and acceptable. But in those things that truly matter, we owe it the task to be as focused as possible.
So, let me encourage you (and myself): be liberated from the tyranny of multitasking. Your productivity depends on it.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Advantages and Disadvantages of Seminary

Well, after a bit of a hiatus due to work-related demands on my time, here is at least something for the ol' blog. It deals with David Murray's thoughts regarding the advantages/disadvantages of seminary. I particularly appreciate his final thought under "Disadvantages." Read the whole thing at: http://www.challies.com/writings/podcast/thinking-about-seminary#more.

Benefits for students

Some of the benefits of a Seminary education are:
  • Well-trained teachers whose primary task is preparing men for Gospel ministry
  • Emphasis on original language training equips for a long ministry of fruitful and varied expository ministry
  • Forces you to study subjects you would not choose to but which you need to
  • Discipline of daily lectures/assignments/tests is good training for ministry routine and responsibilities
  • Access to well-stocked library
  • Fellowship and lifelong friendship with students from other cultures and nations (this is a huge plus).

Disadvantages

However, I know all too well that there are disadvantages, and I highlight them here, not as deal-breakers but as areas that require extra thought and care if we are to avoid Seminaries becoming a hindrance rather than a help:
  • Uprooting of family to live as “pilgrims and strangers” for a few years
  • Cost - is it right to leave Seminary with $20,000+ of debt?
  • Emphasis on PhD qualification attracts academic and scholarly staff, who are often lacking pastoral ministry experience in a local church
  • Students may become attracted to the academic life and lose the burden of ministry and mission
  • Pressure of academic success may quash spiritual life and even push out responsibilities to minister to your family, neighbors, etc.
  • Unless you choose your Seminary wisely you will expose yourself to unchallenged liberal theology and practice that may ultimately undermine your faith and your confidence in Scripture.
  • Living in an “unreal” world for a few years might disconnect you from everyday reality for most people (TIP: try to work, for a few years at least, in the “real” world before coming to Seminary)
  • Too much focus on the intellectual at the expense of the practical
  • Seminary becomes the master rather than the servant of the Church