Recently, a survey was done among Bishops in Utah. They said that on average, they spend about 30 hours a week doing Bishoply duties. While that seemed a bit high to Bishops in our stake, it still amounts to about another part-time job for most of them. Mark works about 55 hours a week so even adding another 20-25 for being Bishop leaves him with precious little time for anything else.
Interestingly, the leaders of the church said that that time was being spent on things that weren't that important for the Bishops to be doing - such as administrative duties like issuing callings and taking care of issues that home and visiting teachers could be taking care of or Quorums and Relief Society Presidencies should be doing.
The long and short of the meeting was that a Bishop should be taking care of personal issues for members that only be taken care of with him, working with the youth, and missionary work. They said that if Bishops especially concentrated on the missionary work (which is really what working closely with the youth is also), then the church would grow and the members would be happy.
It was a real eye-opener for most Bishops who are drowning in the administrivia of their wards and barely have time to do anything else. All those things are supposed to be delegated. that means that other leaders in the wards need to "Stand a little taller" and spend a little more time on their own callings.
It's interesting that we (and I'm included here) have been trained so incorrectly as to the role of our Bishops. We (and again, I'm including myself here) tend to think that the Bishop is more "botherable" than anyone else in the ward. It's somehow become more acceptable to call the Bishop for a phone number for someone in the ward, than it is to "bother" our visiting teachers or RS secretary (who probably has more numbers than the Bishop does).
One of the lessons I take with me from Mark's calling is that the Bishop is really busy and that I should try to solve my problem myself before I call his house. I'm not saying this is a problem for us - because it really isn't most of the time. But if you look at the collective Bishops of the church, it really can be a problem at times. Members will often head "straight for the top" when they have issues with their callings, need help moving, need a blessing, have a concern about something in their auxiliary, need an appointment with him (his executive secretary has his schedule), need to find a new apartment, etc.
It's service that Bishop's gladly give - I've never ONCE heard a complaint from my Bishop. But, it would be nice if we could all make their lives a little easier by following the house of order that God has set up for us and looking for answers to the simple questions in other places first. A lesson learned...
Interestingly, the leaders of the church said that that time was being spent on things that weren't that important for the Bishops to be doing - such as administrative duties like issuing callings and taking care of issues that home and visiting teachers could be taking care of or Quorums and Relief Society Presidencies should be doing.
The long and short of the meeting was that a Bishop should be taking care of personal issues for members that only be taken care of with him, working with the youth, and missionary work. They said that if Bishops especially concentrated on the missionary work (which is really what working closely with the youth is also), then the church would grow and the members would be happy.
It was a real eye-opener for most Bishops who are drowning in the administrivia of their wards and barely have time to do anything else. All those things are supposed to be delegated. that means that other leaders in the wards need to "Stand a little taller" and spend a little more time on their own callings.
It's interesting that we (and I'm included here) have been trained so incorrectly as to the role of our Bishops. We (and again, I'm including myself here) tend to think that the Bishop is more "botherable" than anyone else in the ward. It's somehow become more acceptable to call the Bishop for a phone number for someone in the ward, than it is to "bother" our visiting teachers or RS secretary (who probably has more numbers than the Bishop does).
One of the lessons I take with me from Mark's calling is that the Bishop is really busy and that I should try to solve my problem myself before I call his house. I'm not saying this is a problem for us - because it really isn't most of the time. But if you look at the collective Bishops of the church, it really can be a problem at times. Members will often head "straight for the top" when they have issues with their callings, need help moving, need a blessing, have a concern about something in their auxiliary, need an appointment with him (his executive secretary has his schedule), need to find a new apartment, etc.
It's service that Bishop's gladly give - I've never ONCE heard a complaint from my Bishop. But, it would be nice if we could all make their lives a little easier by following the house of order that God has set up for us and looking for answers to the simple questions in other places first. A lesson learned...
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