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Ryan Addams was an active duty Air Force Pilot for ten years before he started his current job as an airline pilot, and continued as a pilot in the Air Force Reserve until his retirement in 2018. He served in the Chile Santiago South mission and graduated from Brigham Young University in International Relations and Aerospace Studies. He has served as a branch president, bishopric counselor, stake presidency counselor, and is currently serving for the second time as a bishop. Ryan and his wife Kristina live in the Phoenix, Arizona area with their two sons. In this podcast, Kurt and Ryan discuss how Ryan leads as a bishop while traveling frequently as an airline pilot.
Highlights
8:00 Ryan is gone three to four days a week as a pilot. He has to decide which activities and meetings are most important to attend. 11:20 Let God make your weakness strong. A weakness doesn’t always mean a sin or transgression but working through the problems that you face on a daily basis. Ryan’s schedule and professional life are a weakness that he has had to make a strength. 15:30 Ryan has a global bishop’s office. He sets up appointments through zoom and is still able to meet with members and stay connected no matter where he is. 17:00 Ryan uses down time in his schedule to prepare talks and lessons or review rosters for callings. 20:45 Ryan talks about what his family dynamic looks like being a pilot. Traveling has its downsides but he also finds ways to bless his family. 22:45 Technology and apps that help Ryan with his calling and professional life. 24:30 Ryan uses group texts to stay connected to the members of his bishopric and keep track of the Lord’s work. 31:00 If the bishop is gone, still have your meetings. The ward still needs to function and stick with a routine. 36:25 The bishop is not 911. Many people think that if you have a problem that they need the bishop immediately and treat the situation as an emergency. The bishop will need to treat the situation with love but redirect the member. 42:20 Be a PhD-level delegator.
- Learn about the talents and skills of your ward council. What can they do best?
- Know your audience (ward council). Everyone has a different experience level. You might have to work with new leaders a little more and give more specific instructions.
48:00 Example of delegating and trusting the members of your ward council. 53:20 Delegation helps you prioritize as a bishop. 57:15 Analyzing Mark 6. Remember that God will make up the difference.
Links
What Seek Ye? How the Questions of Jesus Lead Us to Him Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast
Minute 31:00 -As a traveling bishop myself, I used to assign my EQP to handle ward council. My thoughts were he has keys he can help. There was nothing in the Handbook that contradicts that though process. UNTIL recently: 29.2.5 “The bishop plans, presides over, and conducts ward council meetings. If he is absent, he may assign a COUNCILOR to preside and conduct. However, the council does not make major decisions without the bishop.” But yes the council MUST know that they are trusted to have that meeting in our absence.
That makes being a traveling bishop’s life so much easier
Good point! Thank you for mentioning that.
This was a great episode. I learned much from Ryan’s experience. What to do app does Ryan use to stay organized?
Hi, Rob,
I use an app called “Todoist”. It’s been helpful!
Ryan