In May 2025, I was ordained an elder in the Global Methodist Church. Each clergyperson ordained in a Methodist denomination has to answer 19 historical questions asked by bishops going back to the time of John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist movement). I thought I might share my responses to these questions in hopes of sharing a bit more about myself and about Methodism. This is the seventeenth of the 19 questions. I hope it blesses you!
To read my other responses to the questions, check them out here:
- Have you faith in Christ?
- Are you going on to perfection?
- Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?
- Are you earnestly striving after perfection in love?
- Are you resolved to devote yourself wholly to God and to God’s work?
- Do you know the General Rules of our Church?
- Will you keep the General Rules of our Church?
- Have you studied the doctrines of the Global Methodist Church?
- After full consideration do you believe that our doctrines are in harmony with the Holy Scriptures?
- Have you studied our form of church discipline and polity?
- Do you approve our church government and polity?
- Will you support and maintain them?
- Will you exercise the ministry of compassion?
- Will you diligently instruct the children in every place?
- Will you visit from house to house?
- Will you recommend fasting or abstinence, both by precept and example?
- Are you determined to employ all your time in the work of God?
- Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work?
- Will you observe the following directions?
(a) Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never trifle away time; neither spend any more time at any one place than is strictly necessary.
(b) Be punctual. Do everything exactly at the time. And do not mend our rules, but keep them; not for wrath, but for conscience’ sake.
17. Are you determined to employ all your time in the work of God?
One of the most compelling stories I find in Scripture is in John 6, when Jesus’ disciples start to turn away because He begins to talk about His flesh and blood. It seems like those who turned away expected Jesus to be something different than He was and they did not want to follow Jesus if He wasn’t who they wanted Him to be. When Jesus turns to the Twelve to ask them if they will also turn away, Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). I am so compelled by Peter’s insights into who Jesus is and his willingness to admit that he has given everything to Jesus.
I want that kind of passion for the work of God. I want to know in all times and in all places that Jesus has the words of eternal life and that nothing else I could employ myself in will satisfy me or make as much of a difference in the world as employing my time in the work of God. Yet, even though this is my hope and my desire, I don’t always employ my time in the work of God. I find myself scrolling through social media, trifling away at tasks that are better left undone, and getting distracted by the many anxieties of this world that vie for my time. But I can confidently say that I am determined to employ all of my time in the work of God, even if I’m not always perfect at doing so.
Over the past decade or more, I have been utilizing tools to help me with my time management. Three tools that have been particularly helpful are my Full Focus Planner to help me set intentions for my time, the Eisenhower Matrix to help me determine how to best spend my time, and Sabbath to remind me that the world is not dependent on me and the work I do.
My greatest struggle in fulfilling this determination is rarely that I’m too lazy or, as Wesley would say, “unemployed” in my time. My greatest struggles are that I often spend my time doing “good” things but not the best things and that I can get so busy on specific tasks and projects that I forget those around me.
I struggle to say “no” to people and things, but this is an area I am growing in. For example, the other day, I was asked to help recruit some parents from our School Ministries program to participate in an interview with the state School Ministries office. This was something I was capable of, knew could benefit some people, and wouldn’t take more than about an hour. But, after several minutes of waffling over my decision, I finally chose to spend my time elsewhere. I don’t always make that difficult decision to say “no,” though. I often find myself spending time doing good things (often, that others around me would gladly do if I would have asked) and then running out of time for the things God has specifically called me to.
Additionally, I find myself getting so wrapped up in some excellent projects that I forget about the people around me that I’m called to employ my time serving alongside. As someone who has spent his life struggling with workaholism, a temptation of mine is to choose tasks over relationships. Occasionally, this means that I choose to bypass saying hello to a parishioner because I’m so focused on the task I am in the middle of. As my senior pastor has taught me, “People are our ministry,” so I could be better employed in spending time with others instead of “getting things done.”
Despite the numerous wonderful examples John Wesley passed down to us as Methodists, he did not give us a good example of what it meant to be a loving husband or a parent. I need to remember more often that sitting down on the ground playing with my daughter or changing a diaper is being employed in the work of God, specifically the work of making a disciple that lives within my own home.
Thanks for reading! As I continue this series, if you’d like to get my newest blogs sent to your email, subscribe below!
To learn more about me, click here. Or, to get in touch, click here.
Also, to read my book review of GMC Bishop Carolyn Moore’s book The 19: Questions to Kindle a Wesleyan Spirit, check it out here.
To check out some of my latest blog posts, check them out below!
- Why Women in Ministry Matters
- A Father’s Day Prayer
- To my Female Fellow Pastor/Preacher:
- John Wesley’s 19 Historic Questions for Ordination: A Wesleyan Guide for Pastoral Ministry
- How Debt and Distraction Undermine Faithful Ministry (The 19)
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