Confused?

The last post may have left you in some confusion. We are talking about ADMINISTRATION and yet I shared a method of establishing priorities in your life. Does that affect you skills in ADMINISTRATION? For sure.

If you can't administer you own life how can we begin to do it on a community level. We need to understand the need to begin with small things (our lives) before we can move on the bigger things (the church). As pastors/leaders we need to have our lives in order; not only have our lives in order but to know how to help others move into a life of order.

The chart I gave you last time is not difficult. You may have to adjust it depending on your life situation. If you are bi-vocational, the separation of WORK AND CHURCH makes some sense. If you are full-time in ministry your work and church columns may become one. Then there is A,B, and C, the Priority Rows. Row A would be those things that have to be done. They are critical to that column topic. They are not optional. Row B are those things that should be done. We need to schedule them in our calendar and soon. Row C are the things we would like to do and if there is any extra time we want to do them. In my experience Row A is easier than Rows B and C.

In doing this exercise you will have to move some things from the Priority A row to some other row. This can be difficult because we are placing a less important label on some things we have always done. Have fun working through this. Remember you can only have a limited number of items in Row A.

Once you have filled-in all 15 or so blocks take some time to review and be sure each item is placed in the block it belongs.

Why is this important? One of the lessons we need to learn is the one word answer, "No." If we understand our priorities we give ourselves one more tool to allow us to say "No." to the many requests that come our way.

If you are married, be sure to go over you priority list with your spouse - they have valuable insight into our lives. If you are single, be sure to go over the sheet with that person who would serve as your pastor, overseer, or accountability partner - they may be able to add some thoughts to yours.

Using this form with others can be very helpful in helping them to understand what they should be doing. You could also modify the column list and use it with your church. One option would be using one column - CHURCH - and then filling in the Priorities Rows. Another would be to make each column one of the major ministries of your church and having their respective leaders fill-in the priority rows. This would create a good place for discussions among your team.

Please add your comments and suggestions. One of the keys to leadership is to never stop learning.