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Bored!
I’ve noticed something recently while interacting with different staff members. Some seem to be on a mission. They’re focused. They’re driven. They’re moving.
Others seem bored.
I started asking some questions:
- Are you challenged?
- Do you feel like you’re maxing out your gifts?
- Could you do more if we needed you to do more?
Several of our team members feel underutilized. I’m certain the percentage of church members would be dramatically higher.
If you’re bored… PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
- Talk to your pastor honestly. Offer to do anything that needs to be done.
- Walk outside your church building. Pretend like you’ve never been to that building. Walk in and look around. Write down your impressions. Change something.
- Write some letters to volunteers.
- Pick up a great book.
- Be still. Listen to God.
- Pray for ten churches in your city.
- Go to the coffee shop and strike up a conversation with a stranger. Listen to them with no agenda.
- Think of some people you haven’t seen in church. Pray for them. Then call them.
- Look at your web site like a first time guest. What could be better?
- Call a pastor from another church and offer encouragement.
- Think of a church member who might be bored and offer to help find them a place to use their gifts.
- Go mow someone’s yard.
- Post something positive on your favorite blogs.
- Go home and spend some time with your kids.
Whatever you do, don’t be bored for long!
What productive things do you do when you’re bored?
(Next week, I’ll share a series of blogs on breaking through attendance barriers at church.)
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Craig,
Thanks for this particular post. Even though I’m not a staff member, I’m extremely bored at the moment (for several reasons). When I’m working I try to do “something” out of the normal routine to break up the monotony. I love the suggestions, they give me food for thought. I think my favorites are: Go to the coffee shop and strike up a conversation with a stranger. Listen to them with no agenda and Think of some people you haven’t seen in church. Pray for them. Then call them. I think these two small things can be energizing, not only for those of us who’re bored but for the person who’s being reached out to, they’re great personal touches. Thanks
I like your thoughts. Maybe when we are bored it is a symptom of how our life can become so self centered.
When I find myself bored that usually means that I haven’t be working in areas of my strenghts or passions. I understand that sometimes I have to do what needs to be done, the routine stuff, but I need to apply my passions, gifts and talents even to those things. Sometimes I need to look at my life differently (try to see my life and the life of others as God sees them), get out of my rut and live my life with openness to God.
One thing I’ve done is serving at another ministry area at our church. Or just visiting another ministry or attending something one of our other staff members organizes. Suudenly you look at things from another perspective.
I would encourage them to get involved in children’s ministry. I have done children’s ministry for 19 years NEVER have I ever been bored. I have been tired and frazzled at times but never bored.
Craig -
Thanks for posting this. I really think that a lot of people at the church will find themselves underutilized. Maybe you can offer me some encouragement, I don’t feel appreciated right now at the church. When I walked in a few nights ago, I was greeted by no one. What is going on?
S,
I’m very sorry that no one greeted you! I know that feels horrible.
Chances are, others were not greeted as well. Maybe you can help change the mood! If no one else is welcoming, beat them to it. Make a bunch of other people feel appreciated and welcome.
God’s best to you.
[...] Bored at church? Craig Groeschel at Livechurch.tv has some good advice: [...]
Hope all can jump in with additional encouragements for S. Sometimes God allows us to feel /hear / see things so we perceive the isolation / hurt /intimidation / aloneness others regularly feel. Not getting greeted can heighten your sensitivities to others’ plight.
This could likely be the very area God is trying harness ministry development in you. I think you’d make an excellent greeter / hospitality host / welcome team member, etc. simply because the Lord is increasing your awareness in this area by allowing you to have an experience that sensitizes you.
Craig,
Bored may not quite describe this, but I hope that you might be able to offer a little advice on this. I am not so much bored as a little frustrated, which I think could be mistaken for bored or ineffective. I recently took a job with a church and made some rather substantial sacrifices so that I could work in a place where I could help people to become growing followers of Christ. I was told by one of the pastors that hired me that they hated politics and would not tolerate them, which really appealed to me because it is just a distraction from getting things done. After being around for a few months what I have found is that not only are the politics thick, but it nearly got me fired as a pawn in someone else’s political agenda. I think that they were following the advice of hire slowly and fire quickly. Talking to one of the pastors helped me to negotiate the politics to keep my job, but the church added another layer of management to navigate.
I prefer straight talk about things and I believe that the pastoral staff does as well, but it seems that I am always fighting my way through the layers. I don’t like being confrontational if I don’t have to, but it seems here that I have to be in order to get anywhere, which could easily put my job in jeopardy. There is little or no comfort factor in feeling safe bringing constructive conflict into the picture. If I were more inovolved in the right places I think that I could make tremendous differences, and have already made some in my own department. But since that department was such a wreck when I arrived, and I was given almost no information when I was hired to work with in that department, there is very little respect for anything from that area. Most of what I am cleaning up is necessary for the long run but not at all on the flashy side, so it is rarely noticed. The end result is that I am politicaly pushed even further outside of the decision making areas, since churches like flash.
How do you reach a point of not being underutilized if you can’t negotiate the waters of church politics without spending most of your time doing so?
To be fair, I should also point out that not everyone on the staff is in this type of situation, but I do hear comments from others that lead me to believe that I am not alone in working with the layers of politics.
I respect your opinion in MANY ways, and I know that you have a rather large staff as well, so I would appreciate your advice on this.
The feeling of being bored and underutilized is rampant in all orgs. What we also find at our design/manufacturing company is apathy which stifles any motivation as well.
Leadership–especially at the senior level–must be strong to provide the direction and vision so team members can better find new opportunities and reduce boredom.
Keep pushing the envelope!
Craig and Cynthia,
Thanks for the post! And for the encouragement.
This weekend was better. I spoke my concerns over the weekend and they certainly were addressed. Maybe it was just a difficult time or season in my life where I felt particulary emotional.
I am actually extremely involved with the church ministry. I love it! Thanks again - Hope everyone has a great week.
S
Thanks for taking the time to write this up!
I liked the suggestions of being still and listening to God, praying for others/other ministries and picking up a book.
I think they are all excellent suggestions for general boredom in life - but what if you are bored while doing your work? I find this happens a lot, whether it be in University lectures, or while watching a tutorial series, or while working at a computer all day. Suggestions for this would be appreciated as well. One might again simply be, Pray - which is what I tend to do when I find myself falling asleep or going off track.
God Bless ‘_^
Hey Craig,
Awesome blog! I was wondering if there are other opportunities to volunteer besides the weekend service opportunities. Hope to hear back!!
Hi Malisa,
My name is Sarah and I’m Craig’s assistant. I’m helping him respond today.
We have tons of opportunites to serve: Missions, Konnect(Kids Discipleship), Switch (Youth), Life Groups (Small Groups) and then a bunch of specialized serving opportunities like writing, answering phones, visiting people in hospitals, etc………. Hope this helps.
Hey Sarah (Or Craig)
Is there an email address or something so that I can inquire about some of the things you said like, answering phones, writing, etc…?
Thanks for answering!