December 2007

As we head into the sunset of another year and welcome in the birth of a new one tomorrow, I want to take a moment to thank my blog readers for their thoughtful comments, both here and in email, and to the VOX community that hosts this blog.  May 2008 be all that you want it to be.

Now, with the new year approaching, you are undoubtedly looking at those old familiar resolutions that you consider every year.  I thought I would drop in some links to help you along…

1.  Reading your Bible through in a year.
I’ve given up on reading plans.  I enjoy journaling as I read and I especially like the S.O.A.P. devotional method that Wayne Cordeiro uses and discusses in his latest book “The Divine Mentor”.  What I can’t put my arms around are the reading plans that are included.  I realize that it makes sense to include a reading plan because it gives a novice a chance to start somewhere but as someone who’s used them all; Discipleship Journal, McCheyne, ESV Daily Plan, etc., I can honestly say that the best way to read the bible is to simply read it book by book, taking your time to understand the themes of the book and to purchase a good commentary on each book as you increase your learning.  The S.O.A.P. plan by Cordeiro works beautifully but I’m sure he used this with his own reading style and not by some pre-programmed plan.  For a good overview on reading your Bible book-by-book, pick up Woodrow Kroll’s excellent book “Reading Your Bible One Book at a Time” and begin your journey.  One of my favorite one-volume books for understanding the books of the Bible is “Talk Thru the Bible” by Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Boa.  It was one of the first books I purchased as new Christian and today as a pastor, I still use its helpful book outlines and charts as I prepare lessons and sermons.  It’s now been republished in a new edition.  Mine is pretty beat up and worn out but has loads of my own notes in it and it’s held up well over nearly 15 years of solid use.

The goal?  Just start reading and don’t be concerned with how quickly you do it.  If you try to follow one of those plans you’ll either get discouraged by April and give it up or you’ll just breeze through the pages of scripture just so you can check off your box for the day and not grasp anything God is saying to you.  One thing I would suggest is to  BUY A NICE JOURNAL AND USE IT.  Writing down your thoughts as God speaks to you helps to cement the ideas in your mind.

2. Weight Loss!
Yikes!  This is another area I struggle with each January.  Like many, I’ve purchased the books, drank the shakes, and suffered the consequences.  This post tells the story of a young man who lost 50 pounds in three months using some common sense ideas he put together himself.  He also used an eating plan (those aren’t bad you know) and put it to work for himself.  Now you might not want to lose this much weight (I do, I want to lose MORE) but the concept here is clear.  Do a little research on your own and make wise choices as you consume food this year.  Make a little more time to walk and exercise and give it time.  Putting your own research to work seems to make it a little more gratifying in the long run.  A great book to read on this topic is one you’ve probably never heard of.  It’s called “A Heart Attack Can Save Your Life” by Joseph Mason.  I interviewed Mr. Mason 12 years ago when this book was released back when I was working in the talk radio business and he sent me a review copy.  His is one of the most common sense approaches to maintaining your body that I’ve read.  That’s probably why the book never took off.  It wasn’t flashy, didn’t promote any fancy toy you could buy to go along with it., and it never promised anything other than the results you could achieve through hard work.  Find a copy used (it’s out of print) and read it.

3. Be in Church More Consistently.
Okay, I’m assuming most of my readers are Christians and this isn’t an issue but I had to post this link on the topic from a secular blog.  As long time Christians, I think we forget what it’s like at the other end of the spectrum.  Perhaps after reading this, our perspectives will be sharpened and we can serve better as we reach out to others.

4. Clean Up the Clutter
If you’re like me, your garage is serving as a storage center for many items.  (Right now, mine is hosting all of the boxes of the gadgets we received at Christmas just in case they don’t work!)  Perhaps your house is full of clutter here and clutter there and you’ve grown accustomed to all that stuff lying around!!  Well, DON’T.  I’m 41 now and last year as 40 hit me, I began to plan ahead for the next ten years of my life.  Ten years from now, my kids will all be grown and only the youngest will still be in her teens barely (19).  My wife and I are making plans each year to do a little bit to our house to improve it for an eventual sale and are already in the process of serious downsizing.  This past year, I cleared out junk from my home office (A TYPEWRITER for crying out loud) and made room that I didn’t know I had.  I’m still a long way from where I want to be (it’s okay, I have ten years or so!) but I’ve started by clearing out old books (If I haven’t picked it up in the last three years…..), old computer equipment, CD’s (I’ll rip those digitally if I’m only modestly interested these days and give away the actual CD), clothes, etc.  A great book to get you started on this journey is “It’s all too much” by Peter Walsh.  I paid full price for my book (well on a small discount at my local Borders) this time last year and it was well worth it but now, you can pick up this little gem of a book at Amazon for under $7.  It will give you the impetus to get started.  Here’s a bonus for this.  You can sell some of this stuff on sites like “Craig’s List” and make a little money as you clean up.  The rest you can offer on a network like “Freecycle” and give it away.  Somebody is always willing to pick up your junk.

…and last but not least…

5. Cleaning Up My Finances
In a few short weeks, your bills from Christmas will have arrived.  WOW.  Talk about a shock.  All those great deals you purchased will be financed to the tune of 14 to 18 percent on average and the great deals won’t be so great once you pay it off by mid-summer if at all.  Make this the year that you (and your spouse if it applies) begin working toward financial freedom.  For some this will take some time but you have to start somewhere so now is a great time.  Pick up a copy of Howard Dayton’s book “Your Money Map” and begin working toward true financial independence.  The Money Map is a plan that Crown Financial Ministries has put together and it works.  It takes time, yes even years, but it works.  My wife and I are renewing our commitments to our finances as the new year approaches.  We, like many, purchased some gifts on credit and don’t want to do that again next December.  We’re going to get started seriously on our destinations on the money map so that in the ten years I referenced earlier, we can move into a smaller home or town home and pay cash for it so we can focus all of our time and money on the ministries God has called us to.

So there you have it.  A list of popular resolutions with a bit of a twist.  My suggestions are just that, MY suggestions.  Your mileage may vary but for me, I’ve found these to be of great help and assistance as I work toward a better all around life both spiritually, physically, and financially.

Happy New Year!

Gmail offers some great tools to help you manage tasks using your email.  I made the switch to Gmail last year and am very happy I did.  I used to use a GTD “Getting Things Done” plug in for Gmail to help manage my tasks but I decided to try something different.  I’m always looking for ways to streamline my productivity and the new colored label feature in Gmail provides it.  You can now color code your Gmail messages and make it easier to find them.  Using a tip from the book “Forget the 7 Habits and Break All the Rules” by Trapper Woods, I set up a simple label system using his “stop light” metaphor.  Red is for tasks that need to be done immediately or are high priority.  “Green” tasks are what you should really focus on.  These are the tasks that you can plan out in advance and get them done before the move into the “red” category and increase your stress.  “Yellow” messages are ones that can be time robbers and not really add to your immediate productivity.  You should use “caution” when addressing these messages hence the yellow stop light code.  For me, Yellow messages are ones that I will look at when time isn’t an issue.  If I have a moment to relax or review them in the evening, I may re-code them to Red or Green to move them along if necessary or just to get them out of the way.  In the ministry context, Yellow messages can also be tasks that I can delegate to others.

This simple system allows me to filter emails I receive immediately and address the ones that need taken care of in the right order.  For now, Gmail doesn’t have the color yellow in its color labeling so I use the burnt orange color for it.  I also use blue as the color for my “reference” file.  Any messages I need to save for future reference or eventually archive in Gmail are tagged with the “reference” label for future needs.  This can be handy when you have an email you know you might need in a month just for informational purposes but don’t want to archive it.

This system allows me to begin each day with a ready task list.  I now simply access my gmail, label or delete any new messages, and then prepare my tasks by sorting by color code.  I can put everything on a 3 x 5 index card and be on my way for the day.  I’ll immediately put the red tasks at top (pay bill, visit someone, etc..), find several green tasks that will keep my stress level down and do as many of those as is possible (write letter, address future problem, etc..) and then, I might put a yellow task on the bottom of the card in case I have time for it….(schedule coffee with Mr. Xyz just because)…  This, coupled with my task management system I’ll discuss later, keep my mind clear and my stress down.  As a pastor, I want to filter out as much unneeded stress as is possible.

So what do you like and/or do for task management?  I’m always open to ideas.

Nearly a year ago, I blogged on what I called “ChurchPlantSpeak”.  That is, the “expert” voices at the time who were explaining why so many church plants fail.  You can read the post by clicking here.

With 2007 drawing to a close and nearly a year passing since I wrote that piece, I first reflected on my feelings at the time and now, looking ahead, I see even more that confuses me on this whole issue of planting a church.  Here’s why…

In just a few months, I’ve seen the complete shutdown of two local church plants and fading of a few others.  I’ve had my own growing pains this year so I can related but in both cases of the church plant shutdowns I mention, the pastors’ abrupt resignations and moving out of state brought about situations that left their fledgling congregations with little choice but to fold up shop.  Leadership had not been cultivated and therefore, the church had no direction.  This is what I meant in my piece a year ago when I said it’s easy to build a crowd a mile wide in church today but so very often this large crowd is “an inch deep”, meaning they are spiritually very immature and at the first sign of hardship, they jump ship!

I’m more convinced then ever that we as leaders need to make leadership mentoring our top priority as we see our churches begin to take on new people.  That’s not to diminish evangelism and “soul winning” as it’s been called over the years.  But it’s my job as a pastor to train up folks to do this work also so that I can pour quality time into the lives of those who will help me sustain this work.  Think of Jesus.  He took his 12 disciples and spent the bulk of his ministry teaching them.  Yes he did many miracles…but the Bible is replete with stories about his training and teaching of the disciples.

I’ve not seen as many articles on the subject of why church plants fail like I did at this time last year.  Perhaps some of these men have been humbled to see that they are not beyond struggles also.  I still see the occasional post on what others need to be doing, etc…but by and large, many of the blogs I’m subscribed to now are more encouraging and understanding.  The “ChurchPlantSpeak” of ‘06 was far more spicy than that of it’s successive commentary a year later.

Rather than focus on any one thing…Here’s what is working for us….

1.  Prayer.  We pray fervently for God to bless our work.  My wife and I open our home once a month (small as it is) and we invite the entire church to come over on that evening (Usually, a Sunday evening) and enjoy snacks, a time of devotion, and then uninterrupted prayer for as long as it takes.  The “community” we are building in doing this is paying great dividends.

2. Leadership development.  As I mentioned earlier, my focus is still on new people and gathering a crowd but I have begun to say no to some commitments to give me time to pour my life into a few others (a few at a time!) that will not only support the church, but also LEAD in it.  Doing this has been wonderful for me.

3. Let your people know you care.  I’ve seen very little written in the blogosphere regarding this area.  What I’m talking about is writing notes and calling your people to let them know you are thinking about them.  I have a great pastor friend who told me if I could touch 10-15 people a week with a note of concern and care, it would do great things for me!  He was right.  I hand write notes so the person receiving knows I thought enough of them to take the time and not “cut and paste” something.  I also make brief calls (usually, no longer than 3 mins) just to check in on others and to make sure they are OK.  Another source is email so you can see that in under an hour, you can touch all these lives with the gospel.  That’s wonderful.

I have other thoughts to share on this but for now, I’m going to close.  Those three should give you food for thought and I welcome your criticisms and comments.

~Until next time