Clearing the Clutter
John Maxwell
Whether you fight clutter isn't a matter of right or wrong; it's about what you want to accomplish.
— John Maxwell Our church office area was designed for clutter — not the clutter of paper and files; rather, the cluttering of the pastor's schedule. The door of the pastor's office opened into the waiting area of the administrative lobby. When the pastor exited his office, he couldn't help but see whoever was there for whatever reason. Being a people person, I would walk up, kiss the baby, and say, "How are you doing? It's good to see you. How are the kids?" In the process I would hear an illness described or learn of something I needed to do. Although I enjoy interacting with people like that, I found it distracted me from larger issues. It lessened my effectiveness. It was clutter. Clutter is anything that distracts, that takes me out of focus, that keeps me from thinking or doing what I ought. Clutter is weight, baggage, whatever bogs me down. Time wasters, for instance, are clutter. A tiff with a Sunday school teacher that preoccupies me while I pray is clutter. Thinking about my sermon while counseling is clutter. A knock at the door while I'm preparing a sermon is clutter. Trying to remember the five things I'm supposed to do today is clutter. A pastor's life can resemble a teenager's bedroom with dirty clothes, school books, and plates strewn on the dresser, bed, floor, and desk: one-hour meetings that turn into three-hour meetings, backed up church toilets, concerns about unpaid bills, a line of Post-it notes, volunteers who don't show up, staff conflict, five-nights-a-week committee meetings, paperwork. Under such a cascade of clutter, we may accept confusion as the norm in the local church. Or we can take positive steps ...
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