How long can you hold a twenty-pound bag of sand? Five minutes? Two hours?
Okay, how about if it’s something you love to do? Maybe it’s gardening or reading. You love it. But can you do it nonstop for days, weeks, and months? Of course not.
Well, maybe you can, but you might end up a sun-drenched, rain-drenched gardener. Or perhaps a worn-out, burning-eyed reader. We all need breaks and a healthy rhythm of work and play.
But all sensibility gets thrown out the door when we connect it with our passion. Our calling. And yet, we can get in just as much trouble when not checked.
I know a budding chef who had an opportunity to flex her cooking muscles by providing hot lunches for a team of builders. The twenty employees work in an exclusive neighborhood, tucked far away on a lake with nary a restaurant within thirty minutes. The employer thought providing free lunches would be a great idea and a huge benefit. It was. But the lunches were not just sandwiches. No way. With a young chef itching to try all the recipes and an unlimited budget to boot, I knew this was a recipe for disaster.
Everyone was cheering her on. She had the platform and the resources. She was able to cook everything onsite in the office showroom kitchen. Only the best appliances and tools. But she was alone. What could go wrong?
In the beginning, it was glorious. An example of a weekly lunch menu would be:
Monday: Greek grilled chicken, gyro meatballs, roasted red potatoes, hummus and pita.
Tuesday: Shrimp & grits, Cajun chicken, red beans & rice, fresh corn and potatoes.
Wednesday: Tuscan gnocchi with chicken, stuffed shells, Caesar salad, and Rosemary focaccia bread.
Thursday: Tandoori Chicken, Indian Butter chicken, Rice, Cucumber Salad, and Naan Bread.
Friday: Poke bowl bar with salmon, teriyaki chicken, and shrimp.
Pretty awesome! And according to the reviews, everything was delicious.
But after a few months, this responsible and dedicated chef started missing days and weeks and now, it is uncertain what, if any, lunches will continue.
Meanwhile, questions are surfacing. Do we bring our lunch and eat on the job site? Do we leave the job site to come into the office and waste precious hours? Morale is declining for a variety of reasons and this is just one more straw added to the pile.
And it all started with good intentions, an aspiring, talented chef and deep financial pockets to pull it off. But it was not sustainable. It was extravagant. It was unrealistic and frankly, unnecessary. Heck, everyone would have been well-fed and more than satisfied with simpler meals Tuesdays and Thursdays and deli sandwich trays on the other days.
How does this relate to our volunteers?
Well, I hear about people serving “all the time”. Are they? Or they want to do “all the things” because they have a heart for the Lord and people.
We’ve all heard that “too much of a good thing” can be more overwhelming and even harmful. As one mango is yummy and nutritious, fifty mangos will cause stomach issues. |
Even a good thing, like serving, we discover a burned-out volunteer who is bitter or missing.
Or a volunteer who has had too much attention or responsibility placed on their shoulders and a cloud of entitlement emerges which can prevent others from wanting or being able to participate.
Resulting in leaders asking, “Where are all the volunteers?”
It’s time to consider the bigger picture of your serving teams. How often do most of the volunteers truly serve? How long is the expectation for serving? A season (and what’s the definition of a season? A year? Does anyone know? Worse, does anyone truly hold volunteers to the time commitment? Do we let people serve, “as long they want to” or because “Joe” always does such and such?
We may be creating an unsustainable serving environment.
Perhaps it’s time to dig in and set healthy boundaries, clear expectations, and the commitment to maintain them.
Leading volunteers well is more about caring for them well. We can do that when we provide safe, sustainable serving opportunities.