Priorities: the Wagon Wheel of Life

Many years ago I was part of a private workshop that Dick Brogden presented to a group of global workers. Someone asked about maintaining a work /life balance in the rigors of the work that we do across the world, and his response stays with me to this day:

He claimed that most of us were taught to believe in a hierarchical presentation of priorities in our life, in which things flow downward in a list of diminishing proportion: 

  1. God

  2. Family

  3. Ministry

  4. Friendships

  5. Personal health/hobbies/goals

  6. Other

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But, a model of that sort just isn’t practical in real life.  There will always be moments in which there is a crisis in ministry that supersedes the needs of the family.  Or a personal health crisis will cause the ministry to stop.  So the idea of a perfect ranking of priorities will be disrupted by the crises of circumstances.  His version was a wagon wheel, in which God is the hub.  From Him, all the other priorities of life go outward like spokes, so that He is the source of wisdom and strength in every other area of my life.   I share this model with others because I believe it’s enlightening to understand the way it fits reality.

In my case, these are my spokes:

  • Pastoring IC:Madrid

  • Pastoring IC staff (not the same as pastoring the church)

  • Mentorship (3 in Spain, one in Western Europe, 2 in the US)

  • Post graduate classes

  • Personal health

  • Family (mine is in Maryland)

  • Personal relationships (dating and/or close friendships)

  • Partner relationships (communication/connection with my support team)

  • AGWM responsibilities (Core Competency team, QR reports, conferences, etc.)

If the wheel moves correctly, throughout my days, I’m giving my focus and energy to these “spokes,” dividing my flow of ministry in these categories.  

If the wheel stops for any reason, all the spokes will be frozen in position.  One will be on top, and something else will be on the bottom.  Let’s say, for example, that the church has a crisis.  I would naturally be very concerned for that, and would probably spend a lot more time focusing on that issue, to the exclusion of the others.  I would probably reschedule or cancel my other meetings.  I might even skip the gym for a few days while I focused on resolving the church crisis.  Of course, for that time, all the other spokes would be less important.  I would be focused on that spoke, not thinking or giving time to the other spokes.  They lessen in priority for the moment.  We’ve all had those disruptions to our daily schedule where one priority takes over.  

Sometimes, unfortunately, the circumstances take more time than we realize.  The wheel stops moving for an extended period of time.  If it’s not moving *at all*  we call that being “stuck in a rut” and those poor bottom spokes never get to the top.  If the wheel is mired in deep mud, those spokes might even start to rot from the humidity and chemical reaction.  Weeds grow up around the wheel because it’s been so long since it moved.  That’s definitely a problem.  You’ve probably seen the effects when a marriage or the parenting relationship is continually buried while all the attention goes to ministry. It’s not pretty when the wheel is mired down.

A good sense of priorities will keep the wheel moving so that we’re spreading out our time and energy throughout the whole wheel, allowing God to flow through us to every area.   Your spokes are different; your decisions may be different, but we all face these questions:

  • What’s on my wheel? 

  • Is it moving or mired down?

  • Is God flowing from the hub throughout the whole wheel?  

MissionsAriel Raineymissions, Priorities, ministry