Identifying Priorities
Ted W. Engstrom
The pressure to succeed by secular standards, to measure success by visible accomplishments rather than by biblical guidelines, is subtle and often insidious.
—Ted W. Engstrom Consider the pastor with a priority. At eight-thirty on Tuesday morning he's at his desk, refreshed, motivated, and abounding with energy to tackle what he considers his most pressing problem. His church sits at the edge of a growing medical complex in a southern city with a large ratio of retirees. The potential—yea, the need—for ministering to these people weighs on him. Very little has been done. Now he sees some light. One gifted leader has volunteered to get involved. A businessman on the board has hinted he would give heavily to support such a ministry. The board itself has endorsed the idea, and dozens of church members have signed "I'm interested in helping" cards. One person added an enthusiastic note to the card. So with yellow pad in hand, our hero considers his priorities for the week: 1. Call the businessman; have lunch soon. Too bad! He just left for two weeks in Hawaii. 2. Call the board chairman; light a fire under him. The board chairman must wear asbestos pants. He wants to know if it can wait until next week. 3. Drop by and see the volunteer at her office. She runs a small accounting firm. Oh, no! This is the first week of April. She's probably working right through lunch hours and into the evenings. 4. Sound out the woman who scribbled the note on the card. Well, so much for that. She had almost forgotten she wrote the note. Compulsive type, probably, who wrote it in a fit of enthusiasm. But she's already up to her earrings in community club work. Frustrated, the pastor turns reluctantly to another task. Well, at least he can work on next ...
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