Years ago, I was visiting with a group of colleagues about how best to communicate within our conference. At that time our conference had a monthly newsletter that was printed and mailed on a bulk mail permit. This was before e-mail and web sites were in use by a majority of the ministers in the conference. One of the ministers at the meeting had a reputation for not paying much attention to his mail. It was said that his desk was piled high with unopened letters and that sending him something in the mail just wasn’t going to work. If you needed to do business with him the best thing was to call him on the telephone and talk to him. Another colleague couldn’t understand this at all. He claimed to deal with every piece of mail that he received on the same day that it arrived. He paid his bills the day they came. He answered correspondence by return mail. According to him, his routine was to go to the post office, return home and deal with his mail, leaving a neat stack of letters to be mailed on his trip to the post office the next day.

I found myself somewhere in between these two extremes, probably leaning toward the disorganized colleague whose desk was a mess. There are certain things that arrive in the mail that can be dealt with easily and quickly. It doesn’t take me much time to sort out junk mail that I have no intention of reading. I don’t receive many bills by conventional mail these days, but the ones that arrive are dealt with quickly. There are, however, other things that seem to require a bit of pondering. A thoughtful letter from a friend deserves a thoughtful response. It isn’t the kind of thing that I can just force in a set amount of time. Requests for donations need to be considered in the context of other donations that we are making and acting on impulse isn’t always the best way to respond. Often letters are put into a pile and I end up reading them multiple times before I am finished. This style, according to my super-organized colleague, is inefficient. He claimed that he never handled a piece of mail more than once. His method, he assured us, was the best way to manage time.

There are plenty of efficiency tips that I have learned, tried, and not adopted as a lifestyle. My friend’s way of dealing with mail is just one of them. What works for others doesn’t always work for me.

The advent of e-mail hasn’t reduced the “clutter” of my office a bit. I now have e-mails that I intend to respond to sitting in folders and files on my computer and these days I have personal e-mail and work e-mail and there are plenty of times when they get mixed up and confused.

Sometimes being a minister means simply responding to the most urgent request. During Holy Week, I kept a short list of the things that had to be done today. I tried to stay focused, but flexible enough to respond to the people who came to the church. I put of enough appointments to this week that my calendar is pretty full.

As I sat down to write my blog this morning, I looked at the pile of personal items awaiting my response: Do I have time to become a certified instructor with the American Canoe Association? Remember that I have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned this week. The homeowner’s association has a list of things that we are supposed to do as we are annexed into the city. Crazy Horse Memorial is looking for donations. The University of Wyoming alumni association is compiling a new directory. There are a few more items in the stack.

Being a pastor means giving my full attention to the person or situation that is present. Sometimes, I have to give up my routines and respond to what is happening at the moment. There are days when I don’t even get the mail out of the box and times when I hit the “airplane” mode on my phone so that it won’t interrupt what I am doing. I’m sure that my colleague who is very organized and has a set routine is a good pastor, but I simply cannot do my work the way that he does.

Part of this week is catching up on the things that I deferred last week. Leading worship demands my full attention. It is more important than some of the other tasks that are a part of my job.

I know that at any moment a phone call can rearrange my priorities.

I also know that it is likely that desk will be a mess when my friends come to visit. I’m pretty sure that there are members of my congregation who roll their eyes each time they take a peak into the church office.

One trick that I have learned is that when I do have some extra time to really tackle the piles on my desk, I can take one and turn it upside down. Chances are there are many things on the bottom of the pile that can be thrown away immediately. The deadlines have passed. I have already responded. Sometimes I can’t remember why I kept the paper in the first place. Most of the time, I resolve to get the job done and give it a good start just to receive one of those phone calls that requires an immediate trip to the hospital or a change in my priorities for the day. Sorting paper can be put off for another day.

I’m pretty sure that my organized colleague will die with a clean desk and with all of his affairs in order. It’s likely that I’ll leave behind some piles that need to be sorted. In the big picture it won’t make much difference - as long as we don’t end up as roommates in the nursing home.

I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.