The Telephone; Friend or Foe?

Do you ever cringe when the phone rings? As a pastor it seems that every time the phone rings its another crisis or someone in need. People in need seem to come in abundance. Friends in deed are fewer for sure. This is true with the phone as well. There are far more calls where someone wants something from me than calls where someone wants to give something to me or even just to express some kindness to me. Therefore, the telephone can become quite a nuisance or at the least a frustration.

On the other hand, the telephone can be among your greatest assets in ministry and in managing your time. We have to take control of our time and control of the phone. There is a balance that has to be maintained also. You can not cut yourself off from the people that need you but you can manage how that takes place. You can also control the conversation so it doesn't take so much of your time.

Here are some suggestions that will help you to overcome your phone frustration and give you better control over your time.

1. Determine what hours you are going to be available. During those hours take all calls. There are exceptions where you have to turn off your availability even in those times but for the most part be available. By the way, it is not necessary to announce or publicize these times. It can just be when you are available. Actually over time people will learn and respond to those times.
2. Determine times when you are going to be unavailable except for emergencies. Many of us like to have dinner without interruption. So, we will let the voice mail machine handle our calls during the dinner hour. When I go out with my family or on a date with my wife my phone serves as a call screener. I watch to see who is calling and evaluate whether that person is someone that I should answer or let go to voice mail. Most of the time I let it go to voice mail. There is very little that can't wait for a couple of hours so I can enjoy an evening with my family.
   
3. When you take a call and it is from someone needing ministry of some sort do your triage quickly. When a patient goes into the emergency room someone evaluates that patient to determine where they should fall in order of priority based upon their condition. There are certain questions they ask and examination techniques that are used to determine this priority. Develop a series of questions that are designed to take control of the call and that allow you to gain the information you need to determine if this is something that needs to be handled now or should it be referred to someone else or handled at a different time. Some of the issues that should be considered are:

• Who is involved
• Are there other voices that need to be heard
• Is there someone else that would be better at handling this issue
• Is there some major issue that will be created by not responding to this immediately
• What other opportunities would there be to handle this
• Are there emotions involved that could cloud the reality of the issue.
  

If you will consider these issues and implement these and other tools to take control of your phone and your time you will become much more effective and feel better about your phone.

Later we will discuss how we can use the phone to be more efficient in our ministry.