You'll either find this list transfixing or tiresome.
As part of my application of the principles of GTD I've finally completed the sorting and categorising of 'The Pile'. 'The Pile' has slowly grown over the past 8 years and basically hung around as a permanent shadow over my existence. Until recently 'The Pile' occupied the bottom draw of my filing cabinet (5% sorted in vertical files, 95% in a pile). 'The Pile' consisted of notes from every topical sermon series, conference elective and student training night during my time at university and church since 2003. As the sorting process began about a month ago, when stacked neatly in a pile 'The Pile' stood about a 1/2 metre tall.
I know what you're thinking "Why didn't you just throw it all out?" A lot of it did go, but were I to simply chuck the pile I would actually be creating more work for myself by having to recapture and research the information contained within at some future date.
I don't know if listing all the categories contains any significance but I did think if you disregard a few categories specific to me serving in full-time ministry, perhaps the list demonstrates;
1. The doctrinal prejudice of those teaching me over this time (both what is and isn't included)
2. An indication of the type of ministry I've been involved during this time.
3. A snapshot of the emphasis and challenges of the past decade.
Please comment if you have any interesting observations.
Also if you don't know many specifics about the group I've been serving with during this time, what would you guess based purely on these categories?
Advertising
Alcohol
Alcohol
Alternative Therapy
Apologetics
Atonement
Bible Reading
Bible Translation
Catholicism
Child Protection
Christmas
Church
Church and State
Church History
Commentary List
Conference Organisation
Contentment
Conversational Evangelism
Creationism
Depression
Discipline
Disability
Emotions
Ethics
Eschatology
Evaluation
Evangelicalism
Evangelism
Exegesis
Faith
Feminism
Follow-Up
Full-Time Ministry
God
Gospel Outline
Gossip
Grace
Growth Groups
Guidance
Guilt
Health
Hermeneutics
Holy Spirit
Homosexuality
Hospitality
Ideas
Islam
Justification by Faith
Leaders
Leading Meetings
Lord's Supper
Marriage
Mission
Money
MTS Program
Music
New Perspective
One to One
Parenting
Philosophy
Pluralism
Prayer
Preaching
Reading Lists
Reading Luke's Gospel Course
Relationships
Religions
Reproduction
Rest
Resurrection
Sin
Science
Scripture
Serving
Sex
Social Justice
Sovereignty
Suffering
Support Raising
Temple
Testimony
Thankfulness
Tracts
Time
Vegetarianism
Website
Welcoming
Women's ministry
Words
Work
What would be different if this were a list from 1993-2000?
Oh, and here's the finished work of art.
Looks organised. I like it. As for topics, sounds like you have a lot there.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine went to a business seminar thing for managing your own business and the guy there said that he scanned everything and got rid of the paper. We decided that would be a great thing to do with all the paper notes taken for church things. Would work well when looking for stuff (as long as you don't mind reading from the pc). Maybe next time you're looking for something to do??
I like the idea of going paperless and have considered it many times. Maybe I need to reconsider it. I actually went looking to buy a good flat-bed scanner recently for this purpose and they are very hard to find.
ReplyDeleteI think my problem with it is I have big issues with digital rubbish. My folders are disorganised, things are poorly labeled. It's sometimes impractical to take my laptop. I like the idea of just being able to throw something out once it's done - which I do if it's lying about, but not if it's forgotten in a deep dark sub-folder.
Hmmm.