Just the other day, I found myself on the phone with Sallie Mae trying to figure out where my student loans were.
Over a month ago, I had mailed a document they needed to finalize my loan application. Having heard nothing from them or from the University of Toronto, I decided, in response to prompting from my wise wife Dr. Ingalls, to call to make sure everything was all right.
It was, and it wasn’t.
They had received the letter on September 11.
But it was not signed properly.
The kind person on the other end of the line then took me through the process of digitally signing the document, which I had done already in August and the result of which was the exact document they received September 11. Three weeks had passed since they received my documents, and no one bothered to call or email to notify me of any problems.
*Ugh*
When I later related this to Dr. Ingalls, who had been dealing with multiple issues of corporate and individual irresponsibility from others that week, she said to me, matter-of-factly:
“Welcome to being responsible for everyone else.”
Dealing with other people
As a pastor or minister, you have to deal with other people all the time. And, not just any type of people: volunteer people. Volunteers have priorities above and beyond your ministry, and they usually make sure that you know it.
Adding to that, you also have to deal with the corporations and individuals that help you run your ministry. Whether it’s a web designer, a tax consultant, or the cleaners, you have to deal with people all the time who have more than just you to think about.
So, what should a pastor do?
Make it easy for other people to keep their promises
There are a series of two-minute tasks you can do to help other people keep their promises.
For appointments, put this on your calendar for the day before, “Confirm [fill in the name].” When you come to that in your schedule, type out (or copy and paste) an email something simple like this and customize for the purpose:
Dear Lisa,
I’m looking forward to our 2:00 pm meeting tomorrow at the 21st Avenue Starbucks. I hope you’re well!
In Christ,
Jason
It’s easy to vary this for due dates you’ve given other people. Just put the reminder on your calendar a few days to a week in advance.
Dear Tony,
I’m looking forward to seeing the Sunday School roster on Monday like we talked about. I hope you’re well.
In Christ,
Jason
Sending email reminders are the easiest way to help other people keep their promises.
Following up
But, what happens when there’s no due date specified?
Make one up. If you send an email that really needs a response from the other person, put something like this on your calendar a week or more after you sent the first email:
Did Michael get back to me about the ground estimates?
If he didn’t, just forward your last email with a note asking whether or not your contact received it and if there has been any motion on the project.
The basic rule of thumb is this:
If there is something you’d miss not ever receiving, remind yourself about it in a timely manner so that you can follow up on it.
What I should have done with Sallie Mae is put a reminder on my calendar to call them a couple of weeks after I sent the initial documents. Getting everything settled two weeks ago would have avoided a long phone conversation in the middle of a work day and saved me a lot of stress.
“Welcome to being responsible for everyone else.”
