The Disconnected Christian School
Administrator
As essential as it is for the Christian school administrator to be a connected one, for “isolation is expensive” (Marx, 2006, p.9), it is equally essential for the Christian school administrator to be also disconnected. There are times of refreshing that are integral to his personal and spiritual growth, and outside of the regular practice of disconnection, he will undoubtedly decompose, and his influence disintegrate. This is something he cannot afford, nor can those underneath his shepherding endure.
In his article The Starving
Baker, Tim Elmore (2011) generically alludes to an individual who
incessantly bakes to feed others, yet never considers baking for himself. Those
he is baking for have their appetites satiated, yet the one who is essential in
their satiation, is starving himself. In this vivid parable of self-inflicted neglect, Elmore
delineates that “this man never stops to eat. The irony is, he is so busy
serving bread to everyone else, he never stops to eat anything he serves. With
food all around him, he is starving” (para. 3). The consequence of such
sacrifice? Burnout, or perhaps something worse.
Our current culture is a digital
one. There are undoubtedly many blessings that are produced from our modern
vehicles of communication, but in connection with any new technology, there
will be natural pitfalls. Even just twenty-five years ago, the novelty of
instant messaging, emails, and constant cell phone access would have had
administrators salivating at the endless possibilities. Yet, in the present, I
wonder how many of us yearn for the days of unattainability? “It’s ironic that
an electronic device that connects us to people around the world can also work
simultaneously to separate us from the people at hand” (Chapman & Pellicane,
2014, p. 40).
It is needful then that the
administrator establishes safeguards to protect his time. We often tend to
treat our time as if there is a plethora supply to draw from, and that
eventually every task that is wanting will fall gently into place when we
determine the timing for it to be accomplished. But time is finite, once the
genesis of a second is established, by the next second it is already erased.
Time perpetually moves forward. We cannot pause time and dwell in each second, thus,
we can only historically refer to them. Drucker (2017) in his seminal book The
Effective Executive explains:
The supply of
time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not
go up. There is no price for it and no marginal utility curve for it. Moreover,
time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday’s time is gone
forever and will never come back. Time is, therefore, always in exceedingly
short supply (p. 27).
Much more can be noted about the administrator having a conscience attitude of protecting his time. Though many ideas and tools exist (e.g. providing a margin, setting priorities and posteriorities, delegation, calendar use, etc.) to save time, it is not the intention of this particular post to delineate those. However, it should be noted that just because the administrator establishes and practices methods of preserving his time, it does not mean that he is also using that protected time to nourish himself. Nourishment is dependent upon how the administrator will utilize his time he has now guarded. If he does not use it to refresh himself, time, similar to water filling an empty void lower than its position, will always be filled with other activities.
It is one thing to “love your
neighbor,” but another to love “as thyself”, the latter being an often-neglected part of Christ’s statement
from Mark 12:31. Similarly, the old adage rings true, “you must get apart
before you fall apart.” As described in Elmore’s previously alluded to parable,
you simply cannot feed others if you are not feeding yourself; and who believes
a baker’s supply is tasty if he appears malnourished?
The world’s remedial philosophy is
to do something personally enjoyable. Reading a book, taking a walk, listening
to music, and engaging in a hobby are commonly described ways to refresh and
nourish yourself. If balanced correctly, these can be beneficial, but the
greatest action we can implement with our limited time is a refreshment with
God. This is what Christ did and it is noted throughout the Gospels, especially
in the Gospel of Luke where Luke observes, “and he withdrew himself into the
wilderness, and prayed” (Luke 5:16), the original language in Koine Greek denoting often. David Mathis (2020) additionally notes,
For two thousand
years, the teachings of Christ have called his people into rhythms of
retreating from the world and entering into it. The healthy Christian life is
neither wholly solitary nor wholly communal. We withdraw, like Jesus, to “a
desolate place” to commune with God (Mark 1:35), and then return to the bustle
of daily tasks and the needs of others. We carve out a season for spiritual
respite, in some momentarily sacred space, to feed our souls, enjoying God
there in the stillness. Then we enter back in, as light and bread, to a hungry,
harassed, and helpless world (Matthew 9:36) (para. 5).
It is essential for the administrator to find
his quiet place with the Lord. The spiritual refreshment garnered in those
still moments – those moments without any distractions – are unparalleled for
the encouragement to journey forward in Christian school administration. The
testimonies of Elijah, Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, Daniel, David, and a multitude
of other Biblical heroes is that they were empowered for their godly
responsibilities by their communion with God. Their granite moments of boldness
were often undergirded by the pedestal of godly communion. The administrator
must make this a priority too, otherwise, he also will be a starving baker, and
that is a person who eventually runs out of energy to feed others.
References:
Chapman, G. & Pellicane, A. (2014). Growing up social: Raising relational kids in a screen-driven
world. Northfield Publishing
https://growingleaders.com/blog/the-starving-baker-for-teachers/
tomorrow’s
realities. ASCD
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/time-alone-for-god
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