PRACTICING THE PRESENCE IN THE PASTORATE
Richard Bridston
October 1, 1988
I sat at my desk and looked at the two books. One was my Bible, the other my Day-Timer. They were at war again. Personal devotions versus professional duties. It was Friday morning. The Day-Timer was attacking with two unfinished sermons for Sunday, an adult Bible class to polish up, a bulletin to make, and three overdue visitation calls. The counterattack came from unshakable memories of sermons (some my own!) highlighting the importance of prayer. It was a familiar battle. I-man of God, preacher of the Word-was also the chief operating officer of a complex organization. I had a million things to do. So a couple of verses, a run through the prayer list, and on to my real work. And I know this feeling is not unique to me. When I finally decided to do something serious about my own spirituality, I made some interesting discoveries. The villains I most suspected turned out to be mere accomplices. The most important miscreant was hiding where I least expected. At first I thought the problem was my schedule. I studied time management. I learned to set priorities. I put prayer in my Day-Timer, along with relaxation and dates with my wife. My marriage improved, and so did my health. But the prayer battle continued. My defeats were glaring now, trumpeted by blank check spaces in my daily log. I chose work over prayer most of the time. It was almost as if I didn't want to pray. Perhaps I needed personal renewal. So I tried various conferences. Many were wonderful. I enjoyed the preaching, was lifted by the worship, strengthened by the prayers. But I was a spiritual groupie-I felt spiritually vital in the group, but I dried up back in the daily grind. Was the problem stress? I took an excellent class in stress management. I learned about ...
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