One of my congregation’s pastors left in March. Since then, I’ve feared people would assume I’d take on many of her responsibilities since she and I worked closely together.
The problem is, there’s no room in my schedule to do so. Like everyone else I know in ministry, my schedule is maxed out. I already work far more hours than I get paid for.
As I’ve discussed my fear with others, people have consistently encouraged me to “Just say no”. That sounds nice but it’s much easier said than done. After all, this pastor’s responsibilities were important. Someone needs to do them. Since I like to please others, it might as well be me, right?
WRONG.
Having learned the hard way that if I overextend myself, nobody wins, over the last few months, I’ve been exceptionally vigilant about preventing job creep. To help decide what to say “no” to, anytime I’ve been asked to do something, I’ve filtered the request through these questions: