If you are like me and Jonny, you are reluctant to get too ambitious setting goals for 2015 or making audacious New Year's resolutions! Oh yes. Been there before, right? By January 5 you have already given up!
Yeah, let's not do that! Right? Boy do we have the podcast episode for you! We are giving you two simple ministry hacks that will begin to improve your ministry effectiveness almost as soon as you implement them. Of course there is no free lunch, but if you follow our two suggestions, you will definitely experience benefits over the coming year, and your people will be recipients of a more productive, more satisfied pastor. Finally, these hacks are simple, not complex; they are doable, not unrealistic; and they are accomplished not by hyper-commitment, but by incremental change. LINKS We talk about delegation in this episode, and you can read more in this post titled The Importance of Delegation - Don't Be A Hero! We also talk about Dave Jacobs, the Small Church Pastor's Coach! We talk about his book. We talk about Karl Vaters, his book, and his site for small church pastors. Have a very Merry Christmas, and may God bless your new year ahead! Several years ago, during his first year of Law School, Jonny talked with his wife, Kayla, and wondered about his future. He wanted to help people, and he was becoming increasingly convinced that the way God would do that through him would not involve the practice of Law. His first year of Law School became his last year, as he decided to transition to Seminary and prepare for ministry. He was ready to up his game as a church leader. For the past ten years, I had been thinking about pursuing a graduate degree. After a solid four year Bible College degree I got my Master's in Children - four of them! We had children when we were young, because we wanted to be young grandparents. But that also meant I would have to be an old graduate student, which I happily accepted. When my oldest graduated from college, I began my M.Div.
I had decided four years earlier which school I would attend, and knew I needed to up my game if I was going to stay in ministry for the long haul. Now with only a few months until the completion of my M.Div., I already understand that I will have to continue upping my game even after I graduate. Someday I will write some blog posts about attending Seminary after twenty-five years of ministry and four children. So glad I did, and it has been a phenomenal experience! Jonny and I knew we needed to up our game when we started 200churches. It's funny, the more we up our games, the more we realize we need to! It's like running a race where they keep moving the finish line - the truth is, one never crosses the finish line in the learning race. It's always out there, just over the next hill, just out of reach. Pastor, what are you doing these days to up your game? I wonder how many of you are in ruts. I wonder how many have just gotten comfortable, or lazy. What you did to get where you are actually is good enough to keep you there. People are happy, everything's fine, no one's complaining. Well? Are you doing anything to better yourself? To get smarter or sharper? Doing anything to think outside the box, color outside the lines, or operate outside your comfort zone? This is the part in the blog post where the blogger gives you five practices, three disciplines, or eight approaches to growing yourself as a leader, pastor, or whatever. But I resist. I just want to leave you with a simple question - What are you doing to up your game as a small church pastor? That's all. That's it! Have a wonderful weekend loving and leading your people! P.S. Do you have a graduate degree?
We are one week away from Christmas, so... Merry Christmas to all!! In today's podcast we listen to a short, three minute, leftover clip from our conversation with Dave Jackson, from SchoolofPodcasting.com. Jonny tells Dave how 200churches started almost one year ago. We began in January, and in December we are going strong - and that is a rockin' feelin!! In this podcast, and in light of starting a new year, we talk about things we should start, and things we should stop...
We talk about two things in this podcast that we want to link to:
A blog post from January that talks about the Lone Ranger... well, after looking, it actually does not mention the Lone Ranger, but it does talk about getting others involved through delegation! A YouTube video with Bob Newhart called: Stop It!! Here is an outline of today's episode, but as usual, there is so much more in the actual audio! What to START, and what to STOP! 1. What do you need to STOP in the New Year? so that you can ask the second question... 2. What do you need to START in the New Year? Let's think about the FIRST question, What do you need to STOP in 2014? How will you stop it? (You need to define "it")
UPCOMING PODCAST EPISODES: Christmas Day - Part 5 of our conversation with Dan Reiland on the message of his book Amplified Leadership. Dan will be joining us every last Wednesday of the month throughout 2014. Dan brings very practical leadership teaching for pastors of small churches. Dan is the "Pastor's Coach" and writes a newsletter by that name for Injoy and John Maxwell. Read a recent Pastor's Coach article called "Big Ministry In Small Churches" Here is how Injoy.com describes the Pastor's Coach Newsletter: Pastor's Coach is designed to refresh, encourage, and equip pastors as they rise to the challenges in the church. Written by executive pastor and leadership development specialist Dan Reiland, Pastor's Coach addresses the thorny issues facing ministry leaders, and offers valuable advice to help pastor's lead effectively. Pastor's Coach puts pastoring in perspective, and offers a much needed reminder as to why ministering in the church is such an admirable calling. At INJOY, we have a deep respect for pastors and an appreciation for the care they provide. Pastor's Coach is one small way we can say thank you! You can sign up to receive Dan's Pastor's Coach digital articles for free here! New Year's Day - On the first Wednesday of every month we will be joined by Pastor Karl Vaters from NewSmallChurch.com, and Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, CA. On January 1, 2014 the topic of the podcast will be on chapter one of his book, The Grasshopper Myth - Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking that Divides us. We will talk about the importance of how we view ourselves as pastors of small churches. Hey, are we really okay with that?? |
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