N.B.: This post was written and scheduled before Marty left on sabbatical.

One of the greatest struggles in my job is managing the messages that come at me every day. I have four inboxes (one for my role as ICM’s President, one as the creator of BEMA, one for personal use, and one for “trash purposes”), multiple social media platforms (each with their own inbox), and a couple Slack workspaces (one for ICM and one for BEMA). It’s a lot to manage.

Sabbatical means I need to redirect all of those messages for 100 days (and beyond, but I’m getting ahead of myself). So here are a few ways you can help during this time away.

First, I will not be responding to any work-related (ICM or BEMA) messages during my sabbatical. Period. This is a hard boundary. I will have a copy/paste response that I will use when necessary and auto-responses created wherever possible. I will not be going back to examine emails and messages received; to repeat, all emails received during this time will be deleted without being reviewed. If those messages are important and for me personally, please contact me after Labor Day.

So what can you do in the meantime?

For messages related to Impact Campus Ministries: You can reach out to Sarah Johnson ([email protected]) who will direct your message to the proper place, or write to our general email inbox ([email protected]).

For all BEMA messages: please use contact form on the website (https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/contact) or email Brian Truschinger ([email protected]).

ICM has recently hired a Media Arts Coordinator who will be handling our social media platforms. Response times and methods may change as she continues to take over more and more platforms (including my own accounts).

We highly encourage the use of our contact forms on the BEMA or Marty Solomon websites. These contact forms will be redirected to the proper places.

Many of the “Bible questions” that are submitted in their various locations will be funneled toward our monthly Live Q&A sessions which were designed for this very thing. We will continue to tweak and optimize these sessions in the fall as I return. We also hope to make FAQ resources to cover those questions that come in with some frequency. These questions represent the bulk of what we receive at BEMA and we’re trying to steward this message load in new ways to the best of our abilities. We have never intended to become the “Bible answer source.” The hope is to teach us all how to think along the way (rather than simply give answers). Come with us and help us make these efforts great!

Finally, many of these new efforts will remain in place even after I return to the office this fall. All inquires will be redirected to these new spaces in an effort to maintain a healthier version of ICM and BEMA moving forward. This is one of my biggest anticipated changes that I will be making to my work style and I appreciate your support as I try to establish new boundaries in my work.

For a video of Marty expressing some of these ideas, visit his YouTube channel.