Let’s face it, the demands of the Area Director job have changed. There is far more administrative work, training, meetings, and far more pressure to market what you’re doing in your area.
I am seven years removed from the AD role (and miss it every day because it truly is the best job in YL), and during these years I have been able to watch the changes happen slowly. All of the more stuff… is really good stuff.
We have great things happening for us in the mission.
Our training for core and focus ministries improves daily,
our cultural intelligence as a mission is getting sharper by the minute,
Donor retention is improving due to our skilled communication and excellent care.
We are Innovating.
We are experiencing the fruit of better supervision for staff.
We have identified some areas of growth regarding mission-wide belonging.
…..I could go on and on about the benefits of more opportunities, trainings, initiatives and resources
However, there is no denying that more is simply more. Where do you find time for it all? Wherever you area around this Global mission, our plates are full- Day & Night!. How do you run a club on a Monday night, New Leader Training on a Tuesday night after you’ve already been at the JV game, Campaigners on Wednesday night, the varsity game on Thursday night, and Leadership on Friday night?
You know you’ve all had weeks like that in your own unique context. That is the work we’re passionate about. Being on the campus, with people, meeting new kids, engaging leaders… that’s the work we love.
Is all of the more crowding our days so much that we no longer have energy for the night job … the actual job that we signed up for? Have we made our days so busy that we now have day jobs and night jobs? Or even worse… are you giving more effort to the day job and growing more and more frustrated with the sacrifices involved with having a night job?
In interviews, I now find myself looking for unicorns. People who have a deep love for Jesus, a passion for reaching lost kids, admirable character, high capacity, gifts of leadership, and incredible self discipline. You can be the total package but lack self discipline and this job will drown you. You’ll be tempted to work around the clock, becoming a terrible version of yourself. Your answer to everything will be yes and you’ll give your time to everything that feels urgent regardless of how important it is.
If we want to do this job … really do this job… we have to be disciplined. Plan our time. Prioritize how we’ll spend our time and with who. Make sure we have plenty of margin to “waste” time with people. We have a job that requires a “ministry of presence,” as Henri Nowen calls it. Being with people is our work. Are we doing it? Please don’t let our day job crowd out the night job.
Here is a PERSONAL EXERCISE to try:
Keep track of your week. Write down every appointment, Club, Contact Work, Meetings, Office time etc. The only way you can assess your time accurately is if you are tracking it.
Count up the hours and designate the day commitments and the night commitments. Take a hard look to see what tasks are truly ones YOU need to be doing and if there are others who can/should be involved.
Now break down the time even further and see regain some margin to your day:
What can you cut out? Make changes.
What can you delegate? Make changes.
Are you taking on tasks that are another person’s responsibility?
Is your week out of sync one way or another? Make adjustments.
Are there some tasks that can be done more efficiently or scheduled strategically (For example, combining fellowship dinners with committee AND leaders together from time to time to make one evening in a week, rather than two).
Lastly, redesign your upcoming week with some specific changes designed to have a healthier tension between your ‘day job’ and ‘night job’ and give it a try while making tweaks over the next several weeks to hopefully identify a healthier rhythm.
Bonus: Find a mentor or member of your committee (maybe it’s your committee chair!) who can check in from time to time to see how you are doing with this balance.
All the responsibilities we juggle over a 24 hour day are important but we can improve the way we carry them out. It will require discipline and creativity. You will find yourself spending more time doing what you love: putting Christ and kids together!
Written by: Ashley Flowers