See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16 NKJV)"What in the world is clustering? I know what you mean by 'come away' and spend some rest time with Jesus. I understand the need to 'clarify' God's sacred purpose in my life. I especially agree that we need to 'commit' every one of our actions to glorify God and live out his purposes in my life. But can you give me some examples of how I 'cluster' those mandatory maintenance requirements in my life?"
Yes, last week's article, Sloggin' Through, generated quite a bit of interest — especially interest in that fourth strategy. So let's take a bit of time this week and look at the concept of "clustering."
All of us have routine, daily responsibilities that have to be done. It's hard to label them as "God-glorifying" deeds, even if we consciously offer them to the Father for his glory. They just seem too routine and mundane to glorify God. And while I believe that any activity can be sacred when done in obedience to the command of God and offered up to glorify God, we must not spend too much time on doing what is simply okay or good, when God has called us to his higher purposes through doing the best things.
A key strategy that I learned some time ago was to cluster these routine activities. This allows me to get them done well, in the shortest amount of chronological and emotional time. It also empowers me to focus my energies on "redeeming time" to live for God's purposes.* Let's look at a few principles that have to do with clustering and then as a footnote of sorts, I'll give you some examples from my own schedule.
When we look at the ministries of Jesus and the apostle Paul, we can see the principle of clustering in regular use. This is not a new principle dreamed up by time managers in our age. Using transitions in travel, finding ministry opportunities that God places in your path as you go about his mission in your life, having others whom you are mentoring accompany you and help you as you do your ministry, and taking time away for concentrated time with God are vital parts of the clustering process.
Jesus operated on a very clear sense of mission which allowed him to do two things. First, he could minister to those that God places in his path as he goes about doing his mission. Second, he can take advantage of the transitions in his travels and his ministry to teach his disciples, demonstrate God's love, and show them the importance of taking time away to be with God. (SeeMark 1:35-45 for examples of how each of these pieces fits into his daily ministry. These principles also recur as he begins his last journey to Jerusalem at the end of his ministry —Luke 9:51-19:27.)
The apostle Paul uses a very similar plan in his ministry of evangelism and church planting. (What follows is a summary fromActs 13-28) Paul was a self-supporting missionary, using his leather working and saddle making skills to both support himself and his apprentices as well as use his work time to develop relationships and teach those around him. Paul always has an apprentice or two in training as he goes about his work all throughout his ministry. Even in difficult situations that are clearly unplanned and unfortunate, he trusts God to help him make connections with folks who are hungry for the gospel. (See especially Paul's work in Philippi inActs 16.)
Doubling up activities for the maximum impact in the least amount of time and trusting God to open up opportunities to serve him and bring glory are the heart of clustering. Spending deliberate and concentrated time in his presence in prayer, Bible study, and meditation helps us reconnect with God's purposes for us.
I'm an avid sports fan, but I also have a hard time sitting still and "wasting" 3 or 4 hours doing nothing but watching a game. So I often do email, balance the checkbook, handle other correspondence, edit articles for Heartlight, and other tasks during the game. During commercials, I will move the sprinklers outside watering the yard or help with some other needed task — folding laundry, emptying or loading the dishwasher, carrying out the trash, or ferrying the laundry basket upstairs. Once again, a lot of maintenance tasks can actually get done during the ballgames. I will admit, however, that during the last few minutes of each half or final innings, I just watch the game. And, of course, there are those special games that I just play couch potato and enjoy social times with friends.
Another key way to cluster time is to strategically plan our commutes to and from work. If traffic is moving quickly, I use the commute to catch up on the news. If it is moving slowly, I make calls — but always using a hands free headset because we must do this carefully. In addition, I try to arrange to do my errands along the commute — picking up prescriptions from the pharmacy, grabbing a needed grocery item, dropping off dry cleaning, and running by the bank.
Another key way to cluster necessary tasks is to take advantage of your traveling time. I have found that I can drive many places now as quickly as I can fly to them. However, if I am traveling alone, flying allows me much more time to catch up on reading, writing, and also studying. While I have had an occasional opportunity to share my faith in the airport or on the plane, the vast majority of the time most folks simply won't go there. So I always plan a trip with a book or two to read, computer work to get done on my laptop, and brainstorming ideas to work on with my PDA while I'm listening to music. Even when I'm driving, I keep a huge yellow pad by my side so that I can write an idea down on a page without ever looking down. I jot down a few brief thoughts and then rip it off and throw it in the floor to sort through later. I have found that traveling lets me watch and listen to people and God uses this to re-ignite my heart and my mind on ways to speak and to minister to others. Don't just use travel time to get somewhere — use it to arrive at multiple destinations. And if you are traveling with loved ones, remember that this is also a great time for discussion, learning, mutual people-watching, and deepening relationships if we recognize that the great opportunity God is providing us in the moment.
Once you start looking at your day in terms of accomplishing God's purpose as well as blessing the people God has placed in your life, then you can start redeeming the time by clustering those necessary maintenance tasks and allowing yourself more time for relationship time, time for living out your God-given purpose, and even time of dedicated rest and renewal.
As a final thought, I do want to interject a warning about clustering time. It must never be used as an excuse to repeatedly ignore the people that God has put into our lives to impact. Our purpose in life as Jesus' disciple is not to accomplish a lot of THINGS for God, but to influence PEOPLE to God and help them experience his loving grace.
May God bless you in your use of time to his glory!
