But that's not the kind of measuring I'm thinking about today. It's more about the appropriate use of time and the concentration of effort. With all the tasks that present themselves for us to do, how do we determine which ones to give what amount of time to doing?
This got me thinking about Acts 6 of course. The apostles have a very clear view of their role and their primary responsibility. But 21st church is not like the early church! That made me think about Ephesians 4 and got me wondering if here was a framework for ministry just as much as a description of the ministries God gives to the church.
Now I know that the passage clearly states that God gives some not all to be apostles, prophets etc. And I believe that we need all the offices fulfilled if we're going to be effective as the church and active as partners with God in his mission. But, I just wonder if these roles at least provide us with a model for ministry, a rough guide, where we are the primary leader and sometimes the only leader.
If you do not yet have a team around you that provides these key leadership functions, then you can at least look at the structure of your diary and the pattern of your ministry and check it against the list. In other words, if you carry the weight of leadership in your local congregation, then simply ask yourself how you are fulfilling the role of apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher and evangelist.
Perhaps, as you criticise yourself for not doing enough visiting, you might just want to ask yourself if the visiting you are doing is in proportion to the evangelism you are doing or the teaching. Do you get the idea?
I certainly do not believe in the one person ministry as an effective model, but over the years I've found myself in just that kind of situation form time to time. Maybe asking these kinds of questions would have helped me get a better perspective on what I was doing.
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