I need to get something off my chest: I’m taking the hotel shuttle to the catalyst conference last week and I’m listening to the people on the shuttle talk (I believe the term is eavesdropping). The guy behind me says, “I wish I could turn my cell phone off. But I’m on call 24/7 at church.” Then his phone rang and he took the call. That reminded me to turn my phone off before I went inside.

About 30 minutes into the morning session I hear a phone ring. I look up and it’s this guy. He’s sitting in the front row of the seats to the side of the stage and starts talking on the phone as he’s walking up the stairs. I was annoyed to say the least. Then I look to the seat in front of me and the guy is text messaging someone who is back home.

So here’s my beef: Catalyst is NOT a cheap conference to attend. I look forward to it all year. Yet what concerned me is that there are churches that somehow can’t function without 1 person for 2 days. I find that hard to believe. Could it be that our churches can function just fine without us, they just need to be without us for a couple of days to prove it? I didn’t call the office 1 time while I was out of town. It’s not because I don’t care. Trust me, I do. It’s simply that I have a great group of people who can handle things without me.

So my gripe isn’t against cell phones or text messaging. I guess the question, “Are we under the impression that we’re more important than we are?” And are we really helping our staff, leaders, and church by always being on call? I don’t think so… What do you think?