Philippians and Achy Hands...

Photo Credit: Dew Photography

This week started the Philippians online bible study and it has been great for me, thus far. However, my hands have been crampy, achy and losing all feeling; especially when I type. I have noticed the timing of my hand problems, with my stepping out to be obedient to God, with the online bible study. 

In lieu of the hand issue and needing to write a guest blog post, I am sharing part of an article written back in early 2011 for Student Life Ministries. The original article was written for Youth Ministers however, it is definitely relevant for all in ministry. 

“I learned that if we’re available all the time, people will need us all the time. And if we’re always available, we’re sending the message that we’re indispensable. Availability is a boundary-less prison, but presence is purposeful availability. You must remember we can’t stop others from wanting our time, but you can usually decide when to give it. Simply, you should have times when you’re not available. Learning to set this boundary is a key to longevity in ministry—if you can’t (or more appropriately will not) do it, you’ll grow tired and resentful.” --Steve Merritt

Many of (us) must admit we like being indispensable, it is nice to be needed. Nonetheless, what we don’t want to admit is being indispensable and always being needed has a root of pride. Ouch! That hurt! Admitting that we enjoy being needed is a big step in understanding the difference in availability and presence. Presence is we are there for our students. Our students recognize, comprehend, appreciate and value that we love them and care for them. Yet, it is vital for them to understand there are times that we will not be available to them. This, not being available, does not mean we do not care. It means just the opposite; we care enough to make sure we are pointing them to Jesus instead of being their Jesus.

We all have needs. However, when we put the needs of our students above the needs of our own family or even our own basic needs, such as sleep, then there is a problem. You need to step back and reevaluate whether you have either consciously or unconsciously made yourself indispensable. Remember it is never too late to set boundaries.  Start today. It may be necessary to start with apologizing to your students for not setting these boundaries in the first place; maybe you started in your ministry single and are now married. Let them know that you are still there (remember presence) for them. Yet, you will not always be available to them so that you all can be healthy. To read more of Steve Merritt’s article on setting boundaries click here.

If you would like to see the full article click here.

Have you found yourself indispensable? Runned down? Tired? 

Ask God to establish presence instead of availability in your ministry.

Share your thoughts: What is the main difference for you between presence and availability?

The focus of Dawn's Dialogue is "Connecting in a Communication-Saturated World" and this connecting is only possible through interaction. Therefore, Dawn's Dialogue loves comments from you the readers. Feel free to share your comments and prayer requests. If you find a post encouraging and want to share it, I encourage you to do so. My only request is that you link back to Dawn's Dialogue when sharing. Have a blessed day! :-)