If you serve in the ministry, people are watching you and your family. If you don’t want to be watched, then ministry is not the place to be. That said, we are commanded to be ensamples (or examples—a pattern to follow) to the flock (1 Peter 5:3.) As spiritual leaders we’re supposed to be saying, [...]
This is a repost of reposts—how’s that for loser blogging!? Over the past few years, I’ve written a number of articles about creating an annual planner for life and ministry and about personal productivity. I thought it might be helpful to re-post these (AGAIN!) with titles, summaries, and links to the original articles. The planner [...]
Life is busy. Honestly, in a given week or day, there is more stuff flowing at us (in the form of information and opportunities) than we can possibly comprehend, much less accept. Doing the right things in life means saying “no” to a lot more than you could ever say “yes” to. The challenge of the [...]
I’ve never written a ten part blog series, but here goes! Whether you hang with me for all ten parts, or just read one or two, I hope you will be encouraged. Do you serve on a ministry staff? Are you a member of a team? If so, you are no second-class citizen in the [...]
Not long ago I was asked to teach a staff meeting on managing email. Rather than prepare a lengthy meeting loaded with “helpful tips,” I chose to make it quick and simple. We had a fifteen minute talk on the top three best and worst email practices. This not only made the meeting short (which [...]
Have you ever rushed through your day at a frantic pace, crossing off as many things on your to-do list as possible? Have you ever finished a busy day, collapsed into bed, and wondered what you did of value that day? Have you ever sensed, deep inside, that you’re getting a lot of “stuff” done, [...]
iPad has pretty dramatically impacted my life and workflow, and the iPad 2 is an even better experience! For one thing, it has completely re-invented my “reading life” for the better. And reading the Bible on the iPad is a fantastic experience. In a previous post I wrote about the apps I use the most [...]
Do you ever have the feeling that you’re so busy, major values and priorities in your life are slipping? This is a sinking feeling—and bailing water doesn’t help. Time to plug the holes in the boat! Here’s a short list that might help you evaluate priorities and return to that which is most important in [...]
Perhaps you’ve come across this blog in the past 12 months. If so, this post is for you. Over the past few years, I’ve written a number of articles about creating an annual planner for life and ministry and about personal productivity. I thought it might be helpful to re-post these with titles, summaries, and [...]
(This one’s just for fun…) When iPad was introduced, nearly every blog and media outlet had an article about it. Some were sceptical, some critical, some more analytical, and some prophetic. Six months into using an iPad, and a couple years for the iPhone, I wanted to share how these devices have impacted my ministry [...]
Have you ever conducted an event that was ill-prepared? Have you ever been disorganized or caught off guard in some ministry environment? There’s nothing worse than being thrown off balance by a lack of preparation. I could fill the pages of a book with tough lessons learned through a lack of preparation. Even after years [...]
This fourth and final post on an annual planner is just for ideas. Please contexualize this series properly—I’m certainly not the expert on this stuff. Like you, I just enjoy comparing notes with others and gleaning helpful ideas. Thank you for the positive feedback. If you’re coming in late to the series, previous articles are [...]
The “final article” on the new year planner has become two. First—let’s discuss putting it into practice. In the next article—thoughts on developing an organizational system that works. (Click to read the first and second articles in this series.) So you’ve spent several hours or days mapping out vision, goals, projects, events, calendar, details, and [...]
Thank you for responding to the article on the contents of a new year planner! Many of you have emailed and asked for the sample planner mentioned at the end of the article. In finalizing my planner the past couple days, I’ve decided to do two more articles related to planning the new year. This [...]
‘Tis the season for new year planning! In support of the recent Spiritual Leadership Podcast on annual planning, I thought it would be appropriate to dissect a ministry planner and give an inside glimpse of what’s included. Perhaps these thoughts will equip you in planning and preparing for a great new year of ministry. So, [...]
