513-463-7378

Hello Church,

The following is an excerpt from my 4-part series for the District's Newsletter.  It explains some personal lessons I learned from my Leave of Absence this past Summer.  Lesson #2 was in last week's blog.  This week is Lesson #1.

Get A Work Phone

              I am not Pastor Joe.  I am Joe Royer who is a pastor.   I have a personal life apart from what I do professionally… sort of.  Before my Leave, I carried 600 contacts in my phone which was always on my person, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.  Of the 600 contacts, about 585 of them were either directly or indirectly related to my job.  This is a sad commentary, mostly because it means that I only had 15 contacts that were related to my personal life…. Almost all family.

              So every time the phone made a noise, it was the church wanting my attention.  Phone calls, texts, facebook, tweets, snapchats and emails that I had routed to my phone continued to peck at me all day, every day.  I was spending every minute of every day in my virtual office.  And what about my day off or even my vacation time?  My discipline was poor.  Because it was also my personal phone, I wouldn’t turn it off.  And as you may know, it is difficult to not respond to that text or phone call when it is staring us in the face. 

              My 12-week Spiritual Leave this past Summer taught me lesson #1:  I was carrying the church in my pocket everywhere I went and it was zapping my emotional and spiritual energy.  I was becoming resentful and bitter that church was always taking, taking, taking from me.  It was time for a change.

              I am getting a work phone.  It will be on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 7 PM.  It will also be on all day on Saturday and Sunday.  It will be turned off at all other times.  Any emergencies can be referred via voicemail to the one person in the church who will have my personal number.  I can also check the church voicemail during my work hours via my work cell phone. 

              This new boundary is already making a difference for my mental health.  I am on a mission to expand my personal contacts… which means actually making new friends.  And what is the reaction to those in the church?  Surprisingly, very minimal.  Most understand.  A few were wondering why I haven’t done this before.  And, yes, a few are frustrated because I am not at their beck and call.  But I have decided that’s okay.  How?  In this 4-part series, I want to share with you other lessons that help having a work phone okay.  I hope you join me.

Be At Peace,

Joe Royer (who happens to be a pastor)

My new number is 513-463-7378.  I plan to have more energy for the church.  This will help me do that... to give me time to recharge in between the times that I commit to being your Pastor.