Unplug….
–by Dave Diller
“Looking to unplug from ministry? Well, It may be time to turn off your phone.
I know what you are thinking, “My phone is how I stay connected to people.” This is true, and because this is true, it is exactly why you need to turn your phone off. Every time you “quickly” check email, status updates, or twitter feeds at the dinner table, the backyard, or where ever else you may be, you are failing to disengage from ministry and failing to engage the life that is happening around you.
Further when you are home for the evening and you check your phone to “see what’s going on” with students or others in your church, you are not present for the real needs of your family. As a result you end up communicating that “ministry” is more important than those who love you most.
Maybe you don’t have a family and so staying connected doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to you. However, like an electrical circuit blows a fuse after being overloaded with too many devices, anyone who continually stays connected to the lives of others through email, txts, Facebook, etc, is eventually going to run out of the energy needed to “power” all of those relationships.
When I come home for the evening or during my day off I make it a point to turn off my phone and put it away (I literally put my phone in a drawer so that I am not tempted to check in on things). If I’m out to dinner with my family I turn my phone off so that I’m not interrupted by anything else. I steer clear of taking quick glances at my email so that my mind stays focused on what’s happening now and not what I need to do for ministry next week.
Turning off your phone may be difficult at first, but as you begin to unplug from the many connections your phone represents, you will find yourself better energized to care for each one of your relationships.”
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