March 2023 News - National Association of Church Facilities Managers

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHURCH FACILITIES MANAGERS | March 2023

Boundaries and the Worry Tree
MESSAGE FROM NACFM PRESIDENT HOMER CLARK

A good day to my Brothers and Sisters and a happy March to everyone!

This month I'd like to consider the importance of setting boundaries. In all areas of life, boundaries are so important! These mental (and sometimes physical) guard rails are not easy to set. Once in place, they require effort and discipline to maintain. With proper attention, however, you can realize a degree of balance and harmony resulting in some measure of peace.

We all know too well that our work lives can become lopsided and out of balance. Like a tire on your truck being out of balance, poor (or no) boundaries can lead to excessive wear and a bumpy ride! And this can be a direct connection to our personal lives becoming lopsided, out of balance, and frustrating. As we read in scripture, a house not built on a stable rock but on soft sand will crumble. In case you missed it, we are that house, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and if our temple crumbles so crumbles our lives.

Consider how Jesus displayed the ability to prioritize boundaries just after dressing-down a group of Pharisees in Luke 6:11. In Luke 6:12 it says, "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." He then met with his team of disciples and chose the group of twelve. Earlier in Luke, Jesus spends a late night healing the sick and driving out demons. We see in Luke 4:42 that at daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place to pray. In Mark 6:35-44 Jesus feeds the five thousand and then sends his disciples ahead while he went to a mountainside to pray (Mark 6:45-46).

So, the point I hope you're getting with the above is that after a hard day Jesus had to renew himself with prayer and solitude. He clearly understood the boundaries that were important in his ministry both physically and spiritually. In our individual ministries as overseers of church facilities, it's so important to discipline one's self to recognize and adhere to our important boundaries.

Much of the problem these days can be traced to the brave new world of technology. These mostly helpful 21st century tools can become like the famous Trojan horse of Greek mythology. While the big old wooden horse looked good on the outside, inside lurked danger and destruction. Of course, this is a modern-day phenomenon that can be lethal at a personal level and in our business. Cell phones and other devices now link us to many church operational functions - adjusting thermostats, unlocking and locking lighting, contacting emergency repair help, and a myriad of other things. We usually have staff on duty that could meet these needs, but it's often quicker to grab the cell phone. Technology that's essential in our day-to-day work can often result in the breaking down of critical boundaries. A wise man and mentor, Joe Foglio, once advised that we need to align our priorities to the benefit of our personal life and the success of the work we're required to accomplish:

“God, Spouse, Family, Job, extended Family, and at the bottom of the list was me and my hobbies. It worked for a while and still does today.”

The technology I used at my first church, however, destroyed that list. Oh yes, I was excited to be able to help a guest or staff member by whipping out my iPad and solving some pressing problem on the spot. But then this need for instant access to technology slowly crept into my life, gaining size to the point that many of my dinners at home got cold, family time evaporated, and life seemed to be crushing me.

Let me quickly say that these 9-1-1 events we face with regularity are what we get paid to do and do ASAP. I certainly understand this! On the other side of the reality of technology, however, is that if not controlled it can morph into problems at work and at home. Allow me to give you a couple of tips that might help:

First, train up your staff to use the tech to handle the simple mundane tasks.

Second, leave the phone away from the dinner table, family time, or date night.

Third, "plant" a worry tree outside your home that you see each day (or pick out an existing small tree or bush). Now, what’s a worry tree, you ask. Here’s the story:

A contractor (boss) hires an ambitious laborer for your team (We'll call the laborer "Walt"). The entire day your boss keeps watching Walt to make sure he isn’t lazy, slow, or standoffish, and that he is eager to work. On Friday the boss is locking up and observes Walt continuing his work. Walt, you see, was first in and last out every day at the job site. The boss tells Walt that it's time to go. Walt puts away his tools, walks out the gate, and jumps into his truck to leave. The boss does the same except the boss’s truck battery was dead. This is the umpteenth item on the boss’s list of problems. He flags down Walt and asks if he can catch a ride home. Walt said sure, "I live out past your place so it's on the way home for me." It was a quiet ride to boss’s house. Upon arrival the boss asks for a ride back to work on Monday morning. Walt says, "Sure, what time would you like to be picked up?" Boss replies "5:30 am." The boss thanks him for the ride and starts up the front walk of his home. Walt continues to watch his boss to make sure he gets inside. The boss passes a pine tree near his porch and rubs his hand up and down on the tree's trunk before going inside. Walt is puzzled by this and heads home. Walt arrives Monday morning as planned. His boss walks out of his home, pauses by the same tree, and repeats the rubbing. He climbs into Walt's truck and they start off to work. On the way Walt works up the courage to ask the boss about his strange "ritual tree." The boss says, "Well Walt, it's like this. That’s my worry tree." Walt with a puzzled look says, "Worry tree, what's that?" In reply to his employee, the boss states, "Yes, every day I come home from work carrying all the problems of the day that have been piling up and weighting me down, so before I go into the house I leave the problems of the day on that tree. The next work day I stop at the tree and pick up the problems before I leave for work. You know, the really interesting thing is that those problems are not as big the next day as they were when I left them on the tree. By leaving the problems on the trunk of that tree, I'm able to spend time with my family worry free and not so burdened."

NACFM family, maybe it's time for you to find your own worry tree. Drop those worries and problems in the outdoor trash can and leave them until the next workday. Jesus went out of his way to rest, pray, and seek his Father after every ordeal he faced. He needed the same relief that we need.

May God our Father care for you, heal you, and lift you up on eagles' wings!

Love and Respect,
Homer Clark
NACFM President

Featured Member: Darrell Tabor
Getwell Church, Southhaven, MS

Darrell Tabor is a guy who has mastered many skills and has assembled a career resume that includes work ranging from retail management to a department of revenue agent. In addition, he has excelled in the area of music (performing and producing). Along with his hard rock band and his various "collections" of curious items, he doesn't lack for things to do!

Preventive Maintenance Planning for Aging Buildings

If you’re running one of the 72% of U.S. industrial buildings that are 20-plus years old and counting, it’s time to put together a three- to five-year preventive maintenance plan to keep your operations running with the least amount of downtime possible.

Lighting fixtures and HVAC systems that aren’t energy efficient. Roofs that leak. Plumbing that doesn’t always operate properly. These are just some of the issues that owners and lessors of older industrial buildings grapple with.