Put Time on Your Side
John Maxwell
One of the best ways to show I care about others is to manage my time well.
— John Maxwell Samuel Plimsoll, a member of the English Parliament in the 1800s, crusaded for the safety of merchant seamen. To outlaw what Plimsoll called "coffin ships," overloaded and therefore unseaworthy vessels often heavily insured by their unscrupulous owners, Parliament enacted the Merchant Shipping Act of 1876. This act required all merchant ships to have a load line, a line on the hull that would be visible above the water if a ship was carrying a safe weight. An overloaded ship would submerge the line. This load line came to be known as the Plimsoll mark. Sometimes pastors need a "Plimsoll mark." I remember all too well a time when mine would have been six feet under water. I had committed myself to speak at leadership conferences six weeks in a row — in addition to pastoring my church. When those six weeks were over, I had spoken 72 times and traveled over 18,000 miles without a single day off. I felt awful. When I see an opportunity, I tend to go after it, assuming I can somehow find time for it. Most pastors, I believe, are similarly tempted. The lure may be speaking engagements, counseling appointments, or community involvement. Of course, I didn't overcommit myself in one fell stroke. I agreed to speak at a few conferences, then a few more opportunities came my way, then a few more still. Suddenly in one of my brighter moments, I realized I was foundering. That was about four years ago. The good ship Maxwell didn't sink, but I think I'm smarter now. For one thing, as I've mentioned earlier, I formed an evaluation committee comprised of my wife, my office assistant, and two friends; they decide what commitments I can accept, and they tend ...
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