Encouraging Words from Cary Schmidt » productivity

Your Schedule is Also Your Example…

caryschmidt — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:56:05 +0000

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, “Hey, follow me—let’s do this God’s way!”

Some people neglect their family in favor of ministry. Ministry needs are never-ending and incalculable, and some falsely presume that such neglect in favor of ministry service is actually spiritual or somehow honoring to God. This is both unbiblical and dishonoring to God. Neglecting family, even for good things, is never spiritual—it’s idolatry.

Your family is your primary ministry. And God has given you and me enough time to do everything He has given us—both in family and in ministry. We are without excuse if we fail on either side of the equation.

But there’s a subtle, often unconsidered danger to the “neglect family for ministry” syndrome.

Busyness makes me feel validated, important, and significant. So being busy is often a “juice” to the ego on a number of levels. But on the flip side, nobody feels more significant because they spent more time with their spouse or kids. It’s not an “ego boost” to speak publicly of taking a day off or a vacation (although it is a good example!) And God forbid, someone might even think you’re lazy! So it’s easy to, even unintentionally, uplift our extremes, and down-play the balance. One seems more “spiritual” and the other seems more “selfish.” But in actuality, the opposite is true.

Truly investing into family is deeply spiritual and God honoring—and never selfish.

Living “too busy” may feel more fulfilling in my search for significance, but it does something else quite harmful. Because I’m a living example, my schedule becomes my example to others. While people might appreciate my busyness, they may also emulate it. If I neglect my family, they will think that’s what God expects—that’s what pleases Him. If I neglect my marriage, they may do the same.

In the end, my example weakens both my family and the families that are watching me. If I live the over-extended life, I’m leading others to do the same. And that’s one thing I do not want to give an account for at the judgment seat of Christ.

In short, living a balanced life may not feed your ego, and it may not win the admiration of others, but it will set a solidly biblical example that honors God and encourages others to have healthy relationships.

For this cause, I challenge you to publish a different example—a balanced one! Talk about working hard, for we should. Talk about living sacrificially, for we should. But also talk about balance. Talk about taking time off. Talk about resting. Talk about nurturing your family with time and attention. Talk about taking a vacation. And don’t just talk about these things—do them, in balance, in your own home. Make a balanced life your living example.

The results are staggering! First, your own health and sanity will be preserved. Second, your marriage will be strong, healthy, and enjoyable. Your spouse will be filled—needs met, heart content. Third, your kids will thrive in the context of your presence, and parenting will be enjoyable, memorable, fun, and cherished as opposed to frustrated and fragmented. Fourth, those to whom you set an example will see a biblical standard and begin to follow your example. Those you lead will experience all of these benefits as well! And most importantly—God will be glorified and honored. We already know, He honors them that honor Him!

So the significant question with your schedule and life balance is this: What would you want other families to emulate? Your schedule is your example. The way you live will inevitably become the way others live by reason of your example. That’s simple spiritual leadership.

God bless you as you hold forth a biblical example of life balance in every area. And the next time you have a tough choice in regards to personal schedule—stop and ask the Holy Spirit this question: Which would be the best example for others to follow?

A Collection of Posts on New Year Planning

caryschmidt — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:05:43 +0000

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 articles also offer a sample planner, which I will be happy to email you. Just shoot me an email and let me know you would like to have a copy. So, read on if you are looking for ideas about planning your new year!

This is a great time of year to look ahead at the next 12 months and truly seek the Lord and His guidance for what He would accomplish through you. Here are the articles that may help equip you and prepare your for God’s best in the new year:

Thoughts on Planning a New Year—This post was actually written in 2008 and shares 6 compelling reasons to plan ahead.

Contents of a New Year Planner—This post breaks down 9 things you might consider placing into a new year planner.

More on Developing a New Year Planner—This post delves a bit deeper into the thinking behind a planner and how to approach it.

Implementing Your New Year Plan—This post gives some practical thoughts on how to put your plan into practice on a daily basis once it’s created.

7 Ideas for Your Personal Planner System—This post shares some tools that you may find helpful in using your planner system. Since writing it I’ve moved from a leather binder to an iPad, which I wrote about in the post listed below.

iPad, iPhone, Apps and Ideas—This post highlights apps and ideas I’ve found helpful in implementing technology into the flow of daily life.

Three Huge Principles for Personal Productivity—This post shares three big values that I wish I had known much earlier in my ministry life.

Three More Principles for Personal Productivity—More of the same… three more big things of which I constantly need to be reminded.

Making Good Intentions Happen—This post covers the 4 biggest reasons we fail to accomplish our goals.

Making the Busiest Time of Year the Best Time of Year—if December is already getting the best of you, take a look at a few thoughts that help me and Dana keep our sanity during December.

We have just a few weeks before 2012! Hard to believe! Sometimes God radically changes our plans—but that’s an even better reason to look ahead and make sure your direction and desires are set according to God’s will! God bless your new year!

When We’re Too Busy

caryschmidt — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:30:15 +0000

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 21st century is saying “yes” to the right things, and accepting the built in limitations of the human condition. We just can’t do it all—though we often wish we could.

I’ve noticed something. Busyness is like a snowball. It’s size and magnitude grows simply by the motion of life, and it sort of sneaks up on you. We don’t realize we’re TOO busy until something starts to breakdown—and even then, we don’t always connect the symptoms with the real cause. For instance, fractured and stressed relationships sometimes have nothing to do with the heart or intent of the individuals, and everything to do with their schedules or level of fatigue.

Most everybody I know has a tendency to become too busy over time. And busyness is cyclical and seasonal—once you get everything back in balance, it seems it’s only a matter of time before your calendar is filled once again. Bad stuff happens when we get too busy and over-extended. Here’s a short list:

Our Walk with God Diminishes—it’s easy to negotiate this way— “I’m so busy doing things for God, that He will just have to understand why I don’t have much time to be with Him.” Somehow, I don’t think He’s holding a gun to our head either way. Yes, He desires that we serve Him with our lives. But He also desires that we walk with Him personally. Being too busy too walk with God is like poking a hole in your gas tank—you’re journey will be MUCH shorter for certain!

Our Physical Fatigue Increases—I know—DUH! Yet, I love the quote from Vince Lombardi: ““I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious” In fact, for a long time I had that quote hanging on my office wall. But I also love another quote from Lombardi: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all!” Funny that these both came from the same man, and they usually happen in that order! Sure—exhaust yourself in a good cause, but then catch up, rest, and restore. Don’t live in an extended state of fatigue unless you want to make some really bad decisions and have some very damaged relationships.

Our Relationships are Stretched—I really believe that the vast majority of marital/family stress and distress that Dana and I have ever experienced was more related to our schedules and fatigue than anything else. Now, before you get too “Utopian” on me—some stretching is simply unavoidable and even necessary—growth oriented. A young family, a growing ministry, and the regular pressures of a normal life bring with it a tension that stretches a marriage and forces needful growth on many levels. These are good things. Hard things, yes, but still very good and needful for long term strength and blessing.

But there is a line that can be crossed, and being TOO busy for TOO long only increases family frustration and emotional edginess exponentially. And it’s not only family relationships that are impacted. Co-laborers, friends, and ministry relationships can be hurt too. It’s simple. Being too busy means I’m mentally and emotionally “on thin ice”—edgy, tense, and stretched to my limits. It’s hard to have compassion, patience, and sensitivity towards people when my own emotional and spiritual “condition” is so fragile. Everybody pays when I’m too busy—especially those closest to me.

Our Health Suffers—When nearing the end of chemo, I asked my doctor what he would recommend I change about my life regarding the possible recurrence of cancer. While he couldn’t give me a “cause” or a “prevention,” he did say, “This cancer is an immune system illness. So do whatever it takes not to stress out your immune system. Eat well, rest properly, and recover when you’re sick.” Cancer taught me a lot, but one HUGE lesson was that I’m expendable in pretty much every area of my life, except to my wife and kids. The ministry doesn’t need me—I need the ministry. God’s work went along just perfectly without me. (Bummer.) Honestly, that wasn’t news, but it was a very real reminder that serving God is a privilege.

The other day my wife was asking me to “hurry” for some reason. I looked at her and jokingly said, “You’re stressing out my lymph nodes.” We both laughed. Simply put, nothing is more restorative to your health and productivity than rest, and nothing will enable you to have a long and fruitful family life and ministry more than being healthy—well rested and able to function optimally. It is possible to push yourself to a point where, for short-term gain, you ultimately cheat your family and ministry of long-term contribution.

Our Long-Term Viability is Threatened—We’ve all heard too many stories of people, who in short-term, low moments—moments of temptation, depletion, fatigue, or spiritual fog—made decisions that wrecked their family and ministry for the long term. Call it burn out, call it mid-life crisis, call is depression—there are a thousand causes and a thousand terms to describe or define conditions that bring us to poor decision-making. Over extending my life to get ahead for the short-term only threatens my effectiveness for the long-term. Some refer to this as “sustainable pace.” In other words, knowing that I must possibly faithfully run this race for forty more years, I’d better set a pace that will keep me running that long. You’ve heard it before—the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re sprinting, you are not setting a sustainable pace, and it will eventually catch up with you—unless you are Superman. You are trading your long-term viability for short-term gain. Bad trade.

In my experience in life and ministry, the things worth doing take time—a lot of time—in other words, patience. Pushing myself to “get it all done now” is a dead end—there’s always more to do, and what was done “faster” wasn’t usually done well. Doing less and doing it well requires patience and persistence. Someone working more and faster than you may get more done this week, but working with sustainable pace will accomplish much more over time. It’s like the difference between a sparkler and a slow, deep-burning bed of coals. One is more impressive, but the other burns hotter for a lot longer.

Being too busy tends to feeds pride and ego—it feels valuable. Being rushed and in a constant state of urgency can be validating in our search for significance.

Being balanced feeds your heart for God, helps you nurture healthy relationships, and makes you stronger and more effective on every level of life.

Being too busy, you may get more done this week and people may applaud you for it. But being balanced, you will get more done in your life time, and God will applaud you for it.

Funny thing is—what I’ve said in 1,200 words, God said seventeen— “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.” (Ecc. 4:6)

Now it’s your turn to choose. How will you live this year—busy or balanced?

An Effective Staff Member Commits

caryschmidt — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:36:17 +0000

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 work of Christ. Some men are called to be a “Senior Pastor,” but probably many more are led to serve on a staff under a pastor. While some may believe that only Senior Pastors “have a clue” and everybody else is a second-rate servant, I believe that God’s Word is filled with great examples of winning teams. There is no doubt that God brings people together to strive together for the faith. He calls some to serve by leading, and others to serve by following, and frankly, almost everybody who serves God, does a good bit of both!

The big question of this series is simply this: What qualities make an effective staff member? What character traits and principles create winning teams? If you serve on a team, what would make you an excellent team player?

First and foremost, an effective staff member commits—100%!

This commitment is first to the Lord, and second to the Pastor and team. What does this mean?

It means your life is absolutely, irrevocably committed to living for God and serving Him.
It means that ministry isn’t a “try it and see” proposition.
It means you don’t have “plan B” constantly taking shape in your mind.
It means you aren’t using the ministry for your own agenda.
It means you aren’t competing with anyone else on the team.
It means you aren’t carving out your own career path or personal dreams of success.
It means you believe in the cause of the team.
It means you trust the leader and believe in his integrity. (Not his perfection.)
It means you don’t care who gets credit for victories.
It means you are committed to guarding the spirit of the team.
It means you are fixed in your heart and not making other plans.
It means you plan to stay and work through hardships.
It means you will do whatever required to protect relationships.
It means that those you serve can count on you sticking around.
It means that you believe you are in the will of God.
It means God’s leading would have to be clear and undeniable before you would leave the team.

May I challenge you to commit! Anyone who ever did anything for God was first deeply anchored in God’s call. Those who are used by God are first committed to Him and to the team to which He leads them.

Great marriages begin with commitment. Great families are built on commitment. Great churches are established with commitment. Great church families consist of people who are committed. And great staffs begin with a group of committed people.

Without commitment you are merely flirting with the eternal. Without commitment, your attempt at serving God will be merely an experiment—and short-lived at that! Without commitment, you will greatly handicap your ability to have a profound impact on others.

You know what we need more of in local church ministry? Commitment. We need pastors, assistant pastors, teachers, youth pastors, music ministers, and team players to dig deep, anchor in, and stick it out. We need fewer “try and see if ministry works out for me” staff members. We need more “count on me—I’m not going any where any time soon” staff members.

We need to declare war on superficial, shallow, surface, temporary, flighty ministry endeavors.

If you want to get something done for God, it takes decades. So, buckle up for the long haul, God will honor it!

Do you want to be an effective staff member? Start with commitment!

Escaping Email Overload

caryschmidt — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:10:38 +0000

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 everybody loves, right?) but it also made me focus on what I considered the essential email habits. So I thought I would share them here.

These principles are given in the context of work-related email—the goal being to have the most efficient work day and to help others have the most efficient work day possible. This does not apply to personal emails—which I happen to greatly appreciate with family, friends, and co-workers. NOTE: Do NOT be afraid to email me after you read this! I appreciate hearing from you!

In the work environment, email is not designed or best used as an instant messaging tool. In some work environments, especially those where people are at the same desk all day, this may be effective. But it’s not safe to assume that everybody lives in this “instant messaging” email world. In reality, most people do not view email as an immediate means of instant communication. With that said, here’s what I believe to be the top three best email practices, in regards to work email management:

1. Limit How Often You Check Email

Constant email interruption means you really can’t focus for more than a few moments. If your work world is surrounded by bells, buzzers, vibrations, and discharges of electrocution alerting you to new emails, you are constantly being thrown off course. This is draining more from your personal productivity than you realize. There is no perfect formula for “how often” to check email, but it is imperative that you set the agenda if your job requires any amount of concentration for more than a few minutes at a time. Don’t let email constantly interrupt you.

2. Get to InBox Zero Regularly

InBox Zero is a familiar term in the business world that refers to plowing through and processing all the email in your in box until you are at zero. The mass build up of email in your inbox is depleting and inefficient in many ways. Again, there’s no formula, but there’s something powerful about dealing with all of your emails on a regular basis. The longer they build up, the more overloaded you feel.

The simple question with every email is this: is it actionable or not? If actionable, then I will respond or place that action on my task or project list and the related information somewhere I can reference it later. If an email is not actionable, then I can only reference or read it. If it’s something I need for later, I can file it and get on with the next email.

3. Maintain InBox Peace Daily

For most people, inbox zero is not going to be a daily practice. But I do believe that “inbox peace” should be. In other words, at the end of the workday, I should at least be aware of what’s sitting in my inbox and at peace that I can deal with it later. Often, it’s not what’s in our inboxes that keep us from disconnecting. It’s what MIGHT BE in our inboxes.

Now let’s move on to the worst three email practices, in regards to helping other people have an efficient work day.

1. Too Much Fluff

I love getting personal emails. I enjoy sending them. But in the work environment, communication moves faster and needs to be more efficient. Too often we confuse the two. What do you do, in your work world, when you get a long email? You probably scan it looking for what really matters. So, consider this when sending someone else a work-related email. Skip the formal greetings, introductory paragraphs, closing paragraphs, and other non-essential information. Your recipient will thank you for making your request simple and easy to respond to.

2. Too Little Information

On the other end of the spectrum, often we send emails that don’t contain enough information to act clearly. What was clear in your mind may not have been communicated in the email. This can generate a chain of emails back and forth with questions and responses. Every now and then this happens to me. After about the eighth exchange, I finally think, “We just need to have a human conversation here.” A quick phone call usually saves ten more emails back and forth.

Another way to confuse people with too little information is to send an email to a group of people without clear lines of delegation—who is responsible for what. This is a great way for a lot of people to know about something that isn’t getting done. Everybody can assume that the others are following through.

3. Unnecessary Emails

Again, remember this is in the context of work email. There are two scenarios that come to mind. The first would be overusing the auto-reply feature. The only time auto-reply is really necessary is when you are away from your email long enough that I should not expect a response in a reasonable amount of time. Again, this doesn’t work if you operate in an instant-messaging email world. Most people who send you email don’t need to know that you’re at lunch or away from your desk for a few moments.

The second would be unnecessary replies. I recognize, in many cases, an email deserves an acknowledgement, but in many cases there’s no need for a trail of “thanks…” “you’re welcome…” “I really appreciate it…” “no problem, anytime…” “have a great day…” “you too…” etc., etc.

The third unnecessary kind of email are those chain messages that are “really cute,” “really funny,” or “really serious” and forwarded to someone’s entire mailing list. I don’t know why I still feel guilty not reading, watching, listening to, or participating in those, but sometimes I do. Perhaps because it’s coming from someone I know personally. But somehow I have to remind myself that I’m NOT OBLIGATED to those unsolicited but “highly valuable” moments of entertainment!

What do you consider the best and worst email practices? Join the conversation below…

How to Write Readable Emails

What Really Matters Most!

caryschmidt — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:46:01 +0000

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, but something is still missing? It’s easy to do a lot of good things with our time and life, but to miss the really important things—the things that matter most. And when we do, our conscience is unsettled. Perhaps you feel that way right now.

Over the past six months, my family and I have been facing a very different season of life—a battle with cancer. This post isn’t about that battle, but about an experience that happened within it. Needless to say, cancer and its related dynamics have changed our schedules and our lives dramatically. Chemo has its way of vastly limiting your capabilities in life—effectively reducing your weekly output by better than 60% (or more). This experience has required that I refine, refocus, and remain fixed on the things that truly do matter in my family and ministry.

About three months into this battle, on an evening when I had some energy, I said to Dana, “I really believe the Lord wants me to take Haylee out for a date tonight. I can sense in her heart and spirit that she needs time with me.” I have felt bad that my kids have had to watch me suffer through the effects of chemo, and often more so for Haylee because she’s the youngest. Must be hard for a ten year old to process all of that.

Later that evening, to her delight, I told Haylee I had a surprise! She smiled and, of course, asked “What is it?!” “I can’t tell you… just go get ready for a date!” With that, she excitedly began to prepare. She loves to look her best for our dates. Her delightful anticipation assured me that this was a very good decision!

A few moments later we were in the car, hand in hand, looking forward to time together. We started at Macy’s to look for a dress—no luck. Then we made our way to a restaurant in the mall where we shared a meal. Already the look on her face implied a peaceful heart, a settled spirit, and great contentment in being with her father.

We talked, and talked… and talked. We talked about the problems of growing up, the challenges of 5th grade social politics, and understanding hard things in life. We talked about cancer and how she was doing with this. We even talked a little bit about boys (Uggh!). After dinner, I had some bone pain from some shots I have to take, and was finding it a little painful to walk. “Come on Dad, you don’t feel well, we can go to the car and go home.” I think Haylee had been clued in by mom to “take care of me.” “No, no… I’m fine… come on, we gotta go find a dress.” And so we proceeded to Dillards.

It was almost closing time, but Dillards was a gold mine of new little girl dresses, and within about twenty minutes the dress was purchased and we were beginning our long, limpy walk through the mall and back to the car. As we left the store, I gently put my arm around her and said, “This is one of my very most favorite things to do in all of my life—take you out to eat and buy you a pretty dress!” She sweetly said, “Thank you.”

Haylee was very quiet for the next ten minutes of our walk. I wondered what she was thinking. Then, out of nowhere, about halfway to the car, she let go of my hand, hugged me with both arms, closed her eyes, and said with a long sigh, “I really, really love you…” It was precious. Unforgettable. The look on her face and the sweet tone in her voice seemed to say, “My heart is SO OK right now, I can’t even put it into words!”

It was then that the Holy Spirit said to me, “This is the most important thing you did today!” I thought back through my day. The morning was spent in bed, trying to answer emails and feign productivity amidst feeling sick. The afternoon enabled me to get into the office for a couple of hours to sign letters, have a couple of meetings, and try to get a little work done. But the value of the day—the real significance of the whole day was found in these final few hours with Haylee. Why?

Well, first because she is dependent upon me. She’s my daughter. She, along with the rest of my family, is my most valuable, most significant, most precious ministry. My four family members truly are the only people on the planet that are actually dependent upon me. The rest of the world is not. These precious people are dependent upon me in every way. Simply put, the most important things any of us do on any day are those things we do to love, care for, nurture, and provide for our family. How can we expect our kids to fall in love with God and grow in His grace, if we aren’t falling in love with them and showing His grace?

Second, because she is a person. Her heart, her emotions, her struggles, her feelings, her questions, her burdens matter; and her mother and I are God’s gifts to her to walk her through all these new life experiences. She’s never been there before! It’s called parenting, and what a gift it is! Sometimes I think that we forget—our children are people—new people and their life experiences are their first! They are people who matter to God, and they are the most important people in your life, if you are a parent. No one else and nothing else should trump your relationship with your family, I don’t care who it is, what they demand, or what kind of pressure they place upon you. Nothing trumps your family!

When we got home that night, Dana instructed Haylee to get ready for bed. A few moments later, Dana came into our room and said to me, “She’s a different person! She’s at peace. She’s whole. She’s gentle and responsive. It’s like these last three hours with you untied every knot in her heart!” I could sense it also. Haylee was a different person, because Dad spent some time loving her. (And by the way, it wasn’t about the dress, it was about the connection of hearts.)

We live in a really busy age! This is a day when most people live with little to no margins in life. The spaces on our calendar that jobs and commitments don’t fill, we quickly fill with everything else—from soccer practices to music recitals to bowling leagues. And for all of our urgent busyness and frantic pace to “get it all done,” we end our days with a nagging conscience that we missed the things that matter most. A lot of things were “checked off the list” but in the process we paid a high prices in neglecting people.

I read an interesting book recently. It was called Chasing Daylight. It wasn’t a Christian book, but it was written by a highly successful CEO who was diagnosed with three fast-growing, cancerous brain tumors. Sadly, he was given three months to live. The book chronicles how he decided to live his last three months of life.

Here was a man whose life was consumed with success—earning money, making his company successful, and enjoying all the perks of wealth. And he was good at it. He had multiple homes, charted private jets, and enjoyed everything his heart desired. He provided well for his family. But from the moment of diagnosis, none of that mattered. When given three months to live, there was only one thing that mattered—relationships. He spent his last three months doing what he called “unwinding relationships”—spending time closing his relationships with people he loved and appreciated. Suddenly, money and success faded, and life was all about relationships—people!

You want to know what really matters in life? People. Study the life and ministry of Jesus. His days weren’t spent processing projects or checking off his to-do list. (Though most of us must do some of that.) His days were spent touching the lives of people. He lived in balance—resting when necessary, walking with His Heavenly Father, and giving Himself to people. He was never in a hurry. He lived with plenty of margin. (He walked nearly everywhere he went.) He never let urgency determine his agenda. His life, ministry, and daily agenda were driven by the leading of His Father and the lives of people. With Jesus, on a practical daily level, people mattered the most.

Do people matter most in your life? Begin with the people closest to you—for they are the ones God has given to you. Then work your way out from there. Focus your life on loving, serving, and investing into people. Connect everything you do—even the task list and the projects—to the needs of people. When you plan your day and your week, begin with people. Make sure that every relationship in your life is healed, restored, right, and healthy. Work to keep them that way. No matter what you accomplish in life, if your relationships are broken or neglected, you are failing at what matters the most to Jesus.

How did you live your life today? What’s your plan for tomorrow? Are you neglecting people for the sake of “more important things”? Take a good look at tomorrow’s plan and then next week’s plan—and make it people-centric. Jesus said, next to loving God, there’s nothing more important in life than loving people.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Matthew 22:39).

Someone within your reach has some knots in their heart or emotions that you can help to untie. Now go and do what Jesus would—untie those knots and truly love that person. In the end, how you lived for and loved God and people is really all that matters!

My Favorite iPad Bible App

caryschmidt — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:48:45 +0000

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 and why. But in this post I want to zero in on Bible reading.

There are a lot of good, free Bible apps—and if you’re like me, you’ve probably tried them all. In one way or another, they all fall short of what I was looking for, except for one—Olive Tree. I prefer my Bible reading experience to be as seamless and “book-like” as possible.

In fact, for years I have wished someone would produce a “reading Bible”—one layed out not to save space or paper or money in printing, but for ease of reading. In my mind, this Bible would have a single column layout (across the page) with a clean, serif font. It would be divided into paragraph form with verse and chapter divisions somewhere “out of the way”—like the top or bottom of the page. It would be printed on a thicker, off-white paper that wouldn’t bleed through or rip easily. It would read like a book. (And it would probably be about three feet thick and cost a fortune!) But what a GREAT reading experience that would be!

Well, the iPad allows for such a customizable reading experience, and Olive Tree appears to have “caught my vision!” Here are the reasons I love reading the Bible on the iPad using the Olive Tree app:

Off-line Reading—it allows the full text of the Bible to be downloaded and available for off-line reading. (Most of the apps provide this, but some require a user account.)

Single Column Reading—small columns can disrupt flow and create more work for your eyes. This app allows you to have a single column view of God’s Word.

Paragraph Flow—have you ever read the Bible in paragraph form? (And I don’t mean with paragraph symbols.) It’s a completely different experience. Your mind processes the scripture differently than when it’s divided by verses. Verse divisions tend to cause my brain to separate and disconnect thoughts that may relate to each other. I have to consciously work against that tendency. Seeing the scripture in paragraph form changes this.

Verse Numbers Faint/Custom Colors—building on the last point, this app allows you to make verse numbers a custom color. I prefer to make them almost unnoticeable, for the same reasons listed above. I want my brain to connect the scriptures rather than to process a verse number every few lines or in the middle of a thought.

Page Color—this is also customize-able, but the off-white page color is pleasant to look at for a long period of time.

Font Style (serif)—san-serif fonts create a nice looking, but more difficult reading experience. Serif fonts make it easier for your mind and eyes to connect words and process thoughts.

Not a lot of Marks/Symbols, etc.—I love study Bibles, but for general reading purposes, I hate asterisks, bullets, footnotes, and other pesky little symbols that dance all around the body of text that I’m reading. Sometimes it almost feels like the layout team wanted you to see everything BUT the words! This app provides a good clean view of God’s words.

Lots of Customizable Options—Olive Tree has the most customizable options of any Bible reader that I previewed.

Library Options—the program also provides an online store with a lot of free books and resources, as well as many study tools available for purchase.

Other Less Important Features—for simple reading, the things listed above are what really matter to me. But the app has some other great features as well, like reading schedules, book marking, search, notes, etc.

No Account Necessary—a small thing, but I love the fact that the program and free resources don’t require me to “sign up.”

What are your thoughts? Do you have a favorite Bible study or reading app?

You’re Too Busy If…

Cary Schmidt — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:44:56 +0000

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 your life. Not all of these things always indicate busyness. Sometimes they indicate a lack of discipline or planning. Sometimes they indicate distraction by lesser things. But if you’re so busy that these things are falling through the cracks of life—you’re just too busy.

You’re too busy if…

1. You aren’t walking with God faithfully and personally. This is when you read His Word and walk with Him in prayer—and there is no replacement. In fact, if you’re not doing this, you are absolutely more stressed and frustrated in life than God intends. Your walk with Him changes everything—it provides stability and perspective that nothing else can. If you’re too busy to walk with God, something must change right away. Develop your walk—develop variety, different spaces, good music, good books, and creative ways to spend time with God and converse with Him. Whatever you do, make sure it doesn’t become mundane, routine, and boring. If it does, you probably won’t do it faithfully. Keep it fresh and you will want to come back to it often!

2. You haven’t shared the Gospel with someone recently. This is why we are here—to be ambassadors. When we go long periods of time without sharing Christ, we miss our central purpose, and our hearts begin to grow cold towards the heart of Christ. It may be during an organized outreach time, it may be handing someone a tract or a book during your week, or it may be an ongoing relationship that you are developing around the Gospel. Don’t stop looking for opportunities in your day to be an ambassador for Christ.

3. You haven’t taken your spouse on a date recently. Whether it’s once a week, once every ten days, or once every two weeks—do you pull aside as a couple and regularly nurture your marriage and rekindle your connection. The more frequent, the better. Is it possible to spend “too much time together” as a married couple? I doubt it. But let’s face it, for most people that problem isn’t even a possibility. Strong, healthy, romantic, passionate marriages are made of people who will fight all the forces of earth to protect and maintain quantity time together. Don’t let busyness rob you of the joy of marriage. After all, when you fell in love, you didn’t marry that person with the intent to never see them…

4. Your spouse is unhappy with the time and attention your are giving to your marriage. This is a simple test—just ask. Don’t get defensive or irritated. Just honestly look at your spouse and say, “Are you getting enough time and love from me?” Be ready to take corrective action if the answer is “no.” Perhaps a good follow up question would be, “How can I do better?” If this is a difficult conversation for you to have, then there’s already trouble in the mix. Swallow your pride and decide to meet your spouse’s needs—as they are felt by your spouse, not as you feel they should be. Don’t try to tell your spouse to expect or need less. Accept the needs as your spouse has them—acknowledge them as legitimate and reasonable—and then get to it! Meet them!

5. Your kids have gotten use to not spending time with you. Are your kids content to just hang with their friends, occupy themselves in their room, or go days without meaningful interaction with you? This is not a good sign. It’s time to make some changes that allow you to deeply and relationally engage with their hearts through personal time together. If your kids still enjoy spending time with you, jump on that, thank God for it, and keep that relationship alive and well. Schedule time one on one with them as often as possible!

6. Your family isn’t enjoying a regular family night or two every week. Is every night of your week filled with extra curricular things? While there’s nothing wrong with sports practices, recitals, night classes, and other such activities—when combined, they can eat up every single night. Each week, look ahead seven days and ask, “When will we be home, together, this week? What can we do as a family to make that time special?” There are always exceptions, but don’t stop fighting for weeks where the whole family is home and enjoying each other for at least one or two evenings—or more. Again, the more the better!

7. You haven’t taught your children a Bible principle recently. Whether through regular family devotions, bed time prayer, or in the flow of daily life and conversations—are you regularly bringing God’s principles to play in the circumstances and dynamics that your children are facing? Our kids bear burdens—child-size burdens, but huge to them. And those burdens are made lighter—those problems are resolved when our kids open up to us and we provide biblical counsel and insight. When your daughter is wrestling with her friends or appearance, when your son is wrestling with issues about girls or grades—your parental wisdom provides a landing place for their emotions. Bring God’s Word into their world and help them respond with truth.

8. You aren’t taking a regular day off just to rest and restore—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If five days isn’t enough to get it all done, what makes you think six or seven days will really make difference? Let’s face it, whether you take a day off or not, there’s always more work to be done than you can possibly do. There’s nothing noble about being a self-proclaimed work martyr. In truth, you will get more done, work better, work smarter, and work more efficiently if you take your day off to truly rest and restore. And on top of that, your day off will help you keep all your other relationships in balance and healthy—which makes you all that much better an employee! If God worked six days and rested the seventh—well, that’s enough of an example for me. He certainly didn’t need the rest. Something tells me He did that as a model for us.

9. You haven’t read a great book recently. We find time to do so many things—watch a movie, catch up on news, see part of a football game. We find time to Facebook and Twitter. But rarely do people find time to immerse into a good book that will challenge them spiritually and strengthen their understanding of God’s Word. It has been said, “People who don’t read are no better off than people who can’t read.” What life challenging book have you read recently? Decide to read a book a month—and then dive in. You will be shocked at how God will change you through great biblical reads!

10. You haven’t cultivated close friendships recently. Dana and I just spent five days with some close friends. One of the most convicting aspects of our time together was that it was the first time we did so in our 25 year friendship. Life often gets so busy that we fail to appreciate and benefit from time with godly friends who sharpen, challenge, and strengthen us in all the right values of life. Fellowship is a biblical principle—and God desires for us to benefit mutually from strong friendships. Do you have people in your life that greatly encourage you and who you can encourage? Don’t take that gift for granted. Get it done—make the phone call, schedule dinner, make it happen. Cultivate closeness that honors Christ and blesses the heart.

So, there are ten things that may indicate you’re too busy—if you think of more, add them below! Now do the courageous thing—the tough thing. Make the changes necessary to make it happen. God bless as you do your best to live with Christ-like priorities!

A Collection of Posts About Annual Planning

caryschmidt — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:28:15 +0000

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 links to the original articles. The planner articles also offered a sample planner, which I will be happy to email you. Just shoot me an email and let me know you would like to have a copy.

Thoughts on Planning a New Year—This post was actually written in 2008 and shares 6 compelling reasons to plan ahead.

Contents of a New Year Planner—This post breaks down 9 things you might consider placing into a new year planner.

More on Developing a New Year Planner—This post delves a bit deeper into the thinking behind a planner and how to approach it.

Implementing Your New Year Plan—This post gives some practical thoughts on how to put your plan into practice on a daily basis once it’s created.

iPad, iPhone, Apps and Ideas—This post highlights apps and ideas I’ve found helpful in implementing technology into the flow of daily life.

Three Huge Principles for Personal Productivity—This post shares three big values that I wish I had known much earlier in my ministry life.

Three More Principles for Personal Productivity—More of the same… three more big things of which I constantly need to be reminded.

Making Good Intentions Happen—This post covers the 4 biggest reasons we fail to accomplish our goals.

Making the Busiest Time of Year the Best Time of Year—if December is already getting the best of you, take a look at a few thoughts that help me and Dana keep our sanity during December.

We have just a few weeks before 2011! Hard to believe! Sometimes God radically changes our plans—but that’s an even better reason to look ahead and make sure your direction and desires are set according to God’s will! God bless your new year!

iPad, iPhone, Apps, and Ideas…

caryschmidt — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:22:42 +0000

(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 and life. Just as I benefit from the ideas of others in these areas, perhaps these ideas will prove helpful to you. Here’s why the iPad and iPhone have been worth the investment:

1. Reading, Reading, and More Reading—if you buy books, an iPad (or a Kindle) would eventually pay for itself. Before iPad, I had no intention of turning to digital books. Since the iPad, my first thought is, “Can I purchase this book for Kindle software?” Most of the time the answer is “yes” and books cost a lot less digitally.

Reading on the iPad is a great experience, therefore I find myself doing a lot more of it. There’s a lot of great reading material for the Kindle, and a lot of it is free. One final thought—Amazon has made Kindle software for multiple devices which means your library is truly portable.

2. No More Leather Planner—for years my primary organizational tool was a leather binder—it had a tab for every area of ministry, major events, teaching outlines, prayer lists, and a calendar. Thanks to Evernote, everything in that binder has been moved into a digital format where it can be accessed from iPad, iPhone, and computer.

3. More Ubiquitous Information—the volume of information instantly accessible from these devices actually presents a new way of thinking. It involves some retraining for your brain. Actually working the possibilities into the flow of daily life requires practice, discovery, and idea-sharing with others.

For instance, two weeks ago I was at Matt Chappell’s wedding and the family needed a “Just Married” sign for his car. Rather than grope through a yellow pages or ask the front desk, iPhone provided a quick solution. I opened the map application, typed in “party supply” and a red pin popped up within walking distance of my location. Two seconds later I was on the phone with the clerk, and five minutes later I was checking out with a “Just Married” sign.

Here’s another use case—during family vacation we visited Gettysburg, York, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We repeatedly turned to the iPad or iPhone, looking up historical sites and cities in wikipedia. We also saved several hours by being able to view traffic. This type of instant access to information is truly a game-changer in the flow of life.

4. A Better Work Environment than a Phone—for years I’ve wished I could make iPhone bigger when trying to answer emails and text messages, or when trying to read something. I’ve longed for a bigger solution for portable work and reading, and the solution has exceeded my expectations.

5. A More Portable and Simple Work Environment than a Computer—it’s hard to describe or define exactly where the space is between your phone and your computer—but when you begin using the iPad, you find it. I think it’s different with every person, but it’s there. For me it’s turned out to be about ease of use and speed. The phone is about extreme portability. The iPad is about reading, interacting with information, and light work. The computer is about the heavy lifting and extended work.

6. A Huge Battery Life—this is one of the best features of the iPad—you just can’t kill the battery. (With iPhone I’m constantly aware of battery drain.) The only downside is that iPad makes every other device in your life seem to have ridiculously short battery life!

7. Connectivity Everywhere—with the development of cloud computing and services like MobileMe, Dropbox, Evernote, Gmail, Outlook, Google Docs, and a host of others; more and more of our digital lives are stored online and we expect to be able to access them from any device, anywhere, anytime. iPad just takes great advantage of these types of services and brings them to you in a very interactive and fluid way.

8. Presentations in Teaching and Preaching—I didn’t expect this one to be on the list, but doing a keynote presentation from iPad is really awesome. The ease and simplicity makes it irresistible.

9. A Bit of Entertainment as Well—It would be wrong not to admit that using these devices is just plain fun. Whether it’s reading Winnie the Pooh to Haylee, playing “Memory Cards” with our family, or teaching Dana how to play solitaire, we’ve had a good time.

Not long ago, I was being “poked at” by a good friend for liking Apple products and having to “have the newest thing.” He said, “Look at your face, you just find a lot of pleasure in this stuff.” He was actually amused with me. In all seriousness, I said, “It’s really not about mere pleasure. I’m just very pleased with how profoundly these technologies have impacted my life on every level of personal productivity and information management.” That’s the simple truth.

To wrap up this post, here are the apps that I use the most. They are pretty much the same on iPad and iPhone (with a few exceptions):

Built In—Calendar, Email, Contacts, Safari, iPod,

Downloaded Apps—Amazon Kindle, Evernote, iDisk or DropBox, Things, Keynote, Olive Tree Bible Reader, Logos Bible Library, Early Edition or Feedler (RSS Readers), Quick Office, Twitter, USA Today, Fluent News, Wikipanion, Dragon Dictation

iPhone Only—VLingo, Banking, Flight Tracker, Dictionary, Amazon, Ebay, Yelp, Byline, HandiBible, Around Me

Now it’s your turn… comment below and share an idea, an app, or a perspective that might benefit others who are trying to implement good ideas for God’s glory.

The Hidden Values of Preparation

caryschmidt — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:06:45 +0000

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 of learning the hard way, I still get bit by this at times.

There’s a side of preparation we don’t usually think of—benefits that are not readily apparent. Whether you are leading a church service, a youth activity, or a Sunday School class—your preparation produces something in the group you lead. These are what I would call the “hidden values” of preparation:

Everybody values the event or environment more—when somebody arrives at your environment and finds things ready, their respect and value for what is happening skyrockets. If you want people to value the Bible lesson, then have the room perfectly prepared. If you want someone to respect teen camp, then have the buses filled with gas and ready to go. If you want someone to value the church service, have the outline well-prepared and the music well-rehearsed. Flying by “a wing and a prayer” is always obvious—and it causes people to naturally lower their value of that specific environment.

Everybody has higher expectations—because good preparation raises everybody’s value, it also raises expectations. When people arrive at a well-prepared ministry environment, they naturally expect more, anticipate more, and raise their level of awareness. And when it comes to teaching or preaching, that’s a GREAT thing!

Everybody responds at a higher level—people behave differently in a well-prepared environment than in a poorly prepared one. Put a group in a well-prepared environment and they will more naturally come to order, respond to leadership, listen with the heart, and interact well. Take the same group and place them in a poorly prepared environment and you will have a tough time getting the group to focus and respond. You may even have a tough time bringing the group to order at all.

Everybody benefits from added value—the bottom line, a well-prepared event or environment delivers more. Because of preparation, you put more time into the study, more thought into the decor, more effort into the creative dynamics. Because of early preparation, you had more time to make the whole event or service a better experience. As a result, people walk away with much more!

This works with children at home—children tend to feel more agitated in a home that is disorderly, but they behave better in a well-kept home.

This works with teens—young people intuitively sense if something is well-prepared, so they listen better, expect more, and have higher respect for what’s happening.

This works at work—team members are more productive and better co-laborers when they have decent work environments and the right equipment.

This works at church—an entire congregation is more receptive to teaching and preaching when the rest of the service, including the bulletins and pre-service set up, is well-prepared and in order before they arrive.

This past week I had one of those “well duh!” moments. For years our youth conference has had open seating with the doors opening an hour before service, at which time there’s a mad rush for seats. Some months ago we began wrestling with what to do and decided to reserve seating for every group. It took a lot of logistical work to make it happen, but every conference delegate was assigned a seat at registration. I was shocked by the results.

People arrived at a reasonable time, rather than an hour early. They arrived in a relaxed state of mind, went to their seats, and were able to enjoy the prelims without frenzy or frustration. As a result, the entire congregation was calm, responsive, and orderly throughout the entire week! It was like someone had literally zapped the stress and tension from the room. The excitement was still there, minus the negative experience of scrounging for seats. This one decision of preparation impacted the entire conference!

When you go to the extra effort of preparation, everybody wins!

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: (Titus 1:5)

7 Ideas for Your Personal Planner System

caryschmidt — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:21:49 +0000

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 as follows:

You might also find these articles helpful to this topic:

Throughout this series, I’ve referred to a personal system—the tools you will use to manage information and remind yourself daily of the plans you have made. There are many helpful tools, especially for computer users, but here are the ones I find most helpful and how they are used. Perhaps you’ll find an idea you can use:

1. A Leather Binder—it’s portable, convenient, and never needs recharging. It contains as little as possible (I hate clutter).

First section—personal ministry: information on those I’m reaching, ministering to, following up on, etc.
Second Section—teaching or preaching: notes for any upcoming speaking times.
Third section—my work day: this is the very center of my binder and always has a bookmark so it is easily opened. On the left is a page for today’s notes, on the right is always the most current project list for easy reference and constant perusal (and prayer!). Just behind the project list is a page that lists every priority for that month.
Fourth Section—information by ministry: a tab for each ministry, a flow chart, and any information needed. This section also has a tab for major events like Leadership Conference.
Fifth Section—calendar: printed two months per page, two years worth, primarily for quick reference.

Anything that doesn’t have to be in this binder isn’t. If I can get to it through the phone or some other way, I try to leave it out of the binder. The binder is for things that must be referenced quickly or physically (like teaching notes), and it’s a landing place for items throughout the day—a place to jot notes, store things, and generally process information to other places.

2. iCal Calendar—there are plenty of good calendar solutions. I use iCal which syncs with my iPhone and also is available online from any computer through MobileMe. It’s very ubiquitous, which makes it very functional. If you are not familiar with “cloud computing” and getting your calendar into a subscribable, ubiquitous format, it’s well worth learning about.

3. Things—there are many good solutions for managing projects, tasks, and details, but this one is just awesome. Every task and project ultimately finds its way into this part of my system. This is the heart of point 2 in the last post—where tasks and details are placed on specific dates to be remembered at the right time. Things handles tasks, projects, people, areas of responsibility in a way that’s very fluid and simple. It also syncs with iPhone.

4. iDisk—this is only one of many useful solutions for online document storage and accessibility. All key documents are stored on iDisk, synced to all computers that I use, as well as accessible from iPhone. Many things that used to be in my binder were removed because they can be accessed from iDisk through the phone. Having files on iDisk keeps them backed up, sycned across multiple locations, and accessible from basically anywhere.

On iDisk is a simple folder structure (four to be exact). They are as follows: Ministries (wherein resides a folder for each ministry, more for long-term storage), Current Projects (where anything related to a present project or event rests), Key Docs (a folder containing the documents used most frequently), and Teaching Notes (a folder with all outlines). All other files are archived elsewhere.

5. Evernote—worthy of its own post! Evernote is a free service that allows you to store almost anything: text, files, webclippings, audio, photos, etc. It’s simply incredible! The Evernote team is amazing—having developed a web client, a desktop (Mac or Windows) client, and mobile clients for all the popular platforms. Presently I’m using Evernote for all dictation (which means dictation can be done from anywhere and my secretary has access to it immediately over the web), phone calls (by simply creating a note of all calls that need to be made or returned), trips/itineraries (a place for all information related to any travel), receipts (stored snapshots of any receipt I need to keep), and writing research (notebooks for saved research related to upcoming projects).

To be honest, Evernote is so awesome, I’m barely scratching the surface. It’s like having another memory. I’m still in the mode of trying to retrain my brain to think of new and better ways to use this tool. It’s an incredible resource, and it’s free!

6. Project List—this is a simple, less-than-interesting excel spreadsheet of all open projects. It’s updated and printed for the binder every couple of days and serves as a constant, ever-present course corrector. It also resides on iDisk and can be accessed easily there as well.

7. Current Items Folder—this is a plain manila folder where I throw every material thing that matters. If I can’t get to it online, then it goes in here for later reference or access.

These things, along with a contact program and a cell phone basically comprise my current system. It changes regularly as life demands. These all boil down to information management—putting information where it is safe, retrievable, reliable, and accessible. In the information age, this is a moving target because we have so much stuff flowing toward us constantly. The more sensibly you can manage information, the more clutter-free and manageable your life will be. I hope these thoughts and this series of articles have encouraged you!

Your turn! What’s in your system that others can benefit from? What questions has this post raised? Add a comment below…

Implementing Your New Year Plan

caryschmidt — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:03:34 +0000

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 tasks—now what? Do you hit “save” and close the file, sending it into “Neverland?” Do you print it, bind it, and place it on your bookshelf to collect dust for the next twelve months? What brings the plan into a functioning reality? What will prevent it from merely becoming good intentions that grew older?

Without making it practical and practiced, building a planner means we’ve spent a lot of time accumulating a well-described wish or even a fantasy.

Not only is this final part of the process the most fun (at least for me), it is also what makes stuff happen. So let’s dive in:

1. You Must Have a Daily-Life System—I don’t care if it’s a pad of construction paper and some crayola crayons, or if it’s the latest, greatest techno-gadget that vibrates, beeps, and dresses you in the morning; you must have something that you will live by and look at every day. And this system needs a place for every day of the year—a spot where you can park things reliably and not have to remember them until you need to. Two essential rules about your system: you must look at it every day (or you won’t trust it) and you must not leave anything on yesterday (or you will only increase your stress exponentially). Your system should work for you, that’s all that really matters.

2. Every Project, Task, Detail from Your Planner Should Be Placed into Your System—yes, this is really simple work (sort of mindless) but WOW is it liberating! It might take you a few hours, so find a comfortable spot, make some coffee, build a fire, play some music, and settle in for a while. Start with the first page of your planner and enter every single “pre-planned detail” into your system on the day you want to remember it. Give yourself some lead time! Don’t enter it on the due date. Enter it on the start date. This is very important. Otherwise, you’ll go through the entire year only remembering things on the day they are due! That’s enough to make anyone self-destruct.

3. Live By Your System—If you’ve done your planner correctly, then you know what day you need to purchase your wife’s birthday present, what day you need to line up a guest speaker, and what day you plan to begin preparing a new series of messages. If you’ve given yourself lead time, then the exact day isn’t all that important. Living by your system means you can give yourself permission to forget all those things and focus on right now. Most of the things you need to be reminded of will show up in your system when they need to. Until then, look at today, this week, this month, and press ahead.

Once everything is entered into your system, the actual planner basically becomes a dust-collector. You might read through it periodically. You might reference it for next year’s planner. But now you live the plan by referencing your system on a daily basis. Just remember, if you don’t look at it and live by it every day, or if you leave things behind on yesterday (and the days before) you are merely building a stick to beat yourself with.

And finally, I can’t over-stress the importance of margins—lead-time. In every event, think of how much lead-time you want, need, and how much is reasonable. Too much lead-time means you will be reminded of something too soon and simply disregard it. (ie: “I don’t need to do that anytime soon…”) Too little means you’ll be living in a state of constant urgency with little flexibility. (ie: “Aagghh!”) Just a lovely way to live!

Your turn! Consider sharing this series of articles or posting a helpful comment below…

More on Developing a New Year Planner

caryschmidt — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:09:34 +0000

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 one focuses on some general thoughts about the philosophy of a planner. As you assemble a plan, consider the following:

1. It should reflect a biblical philosophy of life and ministry—Behind your planner should be a very focused philosophy of ministry, and the planner should simply be a tool of making it a reality. For instance, our student ministry is highly personal, highly biblical, and highly integrated into our entire church program. It is not a stand-alone entity. Therefore our student ministry planner reflects one-on-one ministry, plenty of Bible teaching, and student involvement in the whole church program.

2. It should be unique to your life and ministry—Every family and ministry is different. Every pastor has a unique vision. Not everything that works for another church will work for you. Your planner shouldn’t necessarily be a blueprint taken from other ministries. It should be a road-map for your own church.

3. It will not be exhaustive—No matter how hard you try, you just can’t plan many things! Probably more than 50% of ministry cannot be planned because it is in response to the needs of people, or the assignments given to you. Most of ministry is organic and dynamic—about relationships which are alive, growing, and always changing. One primary point of developing a planner is so that the things that can be planned ahead, are, so there’s greater flexibility to respond to things that cannot be planned.

3. It is not an end in itself—A planner must be put into action, or there’s no real sense in making one. Every detail listed in the planner should be placed into a computer program or daily organizer (on the day) and then lived by. (I will detail this in the next article.)

4. It must be flexible—Realistically, not everything you put in your planner will happen. Every year I look back at the previous year’s planner and find things that didn’t get done. Sometimes the plan changed. Sometimes higher priorities took over. Sometimes a project or goal is moved to the following year. And sometimes, even more was done than the planner indicated. The point is, a lot more will get done because you planned ahead. Don’t expect 100% completion, but choose to rejoice in the progress.

5. It should require a team—A good planner contains more than one person can accomplish. Don’t merely focus on planning for yourself. Let God expand your vision so that it requires you to enlist and train a ministry team to help make it happen.

6. It should reflect balance—The only way to find balance is to plan it. Without looking ahead and staying focused on the long-term, we get way off balance. One of the best reasons to develop a new year planner is that you can, with God’s help, envision doing the things He calls you to do in a way that is synergistic and effective—balanced! The heat of the battle is not the time to find balance. If you have a busy life, balance must be worked into the calendar before the year begins. This is about the only way to insure both sanity and productivity in the new year. (For more on this read Thoughts On Planning the New Year.)

Up to this point the topic has been simply putting the plan together. The best part of a ministry planner is implementing it into your daily system and routines so that you can maximize your efficiency in life. There are some very specific ways to do that. We will explore this in the next article!

I’m missing something, so that’s where you come in! What are your thoughts about planning the new year? What works for you? Comment below…

Contents of a New Year Planner

caryschmidt — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:31:01 +0000

‘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, here goes—the contents of my ministry planner:

1. Last Year in Review—this part is a simple summary of the high points and great moments of the last year of ministry. This always provokes deep gratitude for what God has done, and challenges in areas that need improvement for the next year.

2. Personal Life Section—this section covers family and personal items like walking with the Lord, reading, studying, preparing for writing and teaching/preaching, family nights, vacation, date nights, and get-aways with my wife.

3. Twelve-Month Calendar—one page per month, but each month has been worked on carefully. All of the church events are in place. Each trip, activity, and critical season is mapped out. This ministry and personal calendar drives much of the rest of the planner. Of course much of it changes over the year, but it’s good to start with a twelve-month overview.

4. Months-at-a-Glance Project Lists—this is a one page per month list of the major projects of each particular month. It’s really a summary of the whole planner, by month. Each area of ministry is listed with the primary projects for that month. It’s a help to read this list every few days to make sure things are on track for the month.

5. A Section for Each Area of Ministry—in addition to a personal section, the planner includes a tab for every major area of ministry. For instance, mine includes youth, publications, etc. Each section contains the following: Vision, goals, projects, details. That’s a critical sequence—vision, goals, projects, details—because they flow one to the next.

6. Vision, Goals, Projects, and Details for Each Ministry—start with vision (given by God through time with Him). Then develop goals that realize the vision—make them measurable. Then create projects or events that fulfill the goals. Finally, put details like dates and steps to the projects. For example—a vision for youth ministry might include the transfer of biblical truth. A goal for that vision might be to lead a weekly Bible study time. A project to realize that goal might be to begin a teen Bible study or to teach the Ten Commandments. The details would include the step by step of when and how you will prepare those lessons or launch that new effort.

7. Particular Planning Tools for Each Ministry—for music ministry, this includes twelve months of music schedules. For youth ministry this includes a curriculum plan for what each class is teaching and when. For a radio ministry this would include the broadcast schedule. Each ministry has its own unique planning needs.

8. Flow Charts—each area of ministry usually has a team (even if they are volunteer). This chart shows who does what and how the work and ministry flows.

9. Ministry Budget—each area of ministry or each major event needs a budget—planning out the income and expenditures.

If these thoughts have prompted you to create a ministry planner, I would be happy to send you a sample section from a recent student ministry planner. Just shoot me an email. You might also reference two other articles previously posted about planning for the new year—Thoughts on Planning the New Year and also Making the Busiest Time of Year the Best.

What have you found helpful in planning for the new year?