Do you want to accomplish more in your day? Here are 4 proven methods to not waste your most prized procession. TIME.

In Ministry we all want more. More people. More Influence. More opportunity to minister to others.
More time to get things done. In Luke 16 we see that when we are faithful with what we have been given, we will be trusted with more. 

Even though we can never actually get more time, I've discovered four things we can do to get more done in the time we have been given. 

Here are four things you need to do in order to not waste your most prized possession. 

TIME

Once it is spent, you can never get time back. So spend your time wisely.
Here are a few tips to faithfully steward your time.

1 - Always have a notebook on you – especially in meetings

You never know when a great idea for a message, or ministry, is going to hit you so always have a notebook close by so you can write down the idea you have. Also, always and I do mean always have a notebook with you in meetings. God uses your superiors and your ministry partners to encourage an inform you so always be ready to learn. 

2 - Prioritize your schedule.

What are the four big things that you need to get done this month? Write them down as well as all of the steps (to do’s) it is going to take for you and your team to complete them. At the end of the day, look over your list to not only see what you accomplished, but to take stock on how efficiently you spent your time. 

3 - Four things you should do every day in ministry.

Have a Personal Study Time – message Prep does not count. 
Work on your Personal Health – workout at least 3 times per week. 
Team Building – Spend some time with your team – meeting, learning, eating, laughing.
Start checking things off your To Do List – Get to work doing the things you need to do.

4 - Make sure that you run your day don’t let your day run you.

Set your schedule then get to work. Work hard and work smart, but get to work! Once your day is prioritized stick with it. Don’t allow other things like Social Media, Phone Calls, or text you receive to get you off track or wasting time. 

 

10 tips for dating in your 20's

Ok, your 20’s are in full swing and my guess is you are looking for someone. Someone special. Someone that catches your eye as well as your heart. That is so great! However, before you rush out on a series of dates and fall in love. Take a few minutes to read, ponder, and apply these next 10 tips. I think you will be glad you did. 

1. Take it slow. 

What is the hurry?  You aren’t going anywhere - they aren’t going anywhere. Don’t go so fast.

"Decisions that are made quickly are quickly regretted."

Other than surrendering your life to Jesus - Who you tie your heart to is the most foundational decision you will ever make. So take your time. The world is not going to have a man and woman shortage anytime soon. Take it slow. 

2. Master the Basics. 

Relationships are like a house - you have to have a good foundation. To build that foundation - here are some questions you need to have answers for. 

Do you believe the same things about faith - God - eternity?

Are you both going the same direction in life - location - goals?

Do you make each other better? Does this person bring out the best in you? Draw you closer to Jesus?  Or do they bring tension and stress?  When you are with them, do you find yourself making decisions you regret or decisions that make you better?

The only way you can find out the answer to these questions is by mastering the fundamental of talking. Far too many people spend more time looking at each other, a movie screen, or their phone on a date rather than talking. 

Far too many people spend a lot of time touching (holding hands - kissing - and other physical activities that hormone filled 20somethigns do) but not enough time talking. You have to master the art of TALKING to find out if this person is really for you. 

3. Get to know the person not the body.  

Studies have shown us through the years that relationships that are built on physical touch, do not last very long. Because of this, don’t get physical. Get to know who they are as a person and what they believe, not just their body. You know you are attracted to them, but do you know if you are comparable?

4. Don't take it so serious. 

Here is some good advice – relax. You like them and they like you, but you are not married yet.  So don’t act like it.  Have fun. Don't be so serious. 

5. Look for Chemistry not romance. 

All great teams have chemistry.  You are looking for a great teammate so find someone that you can talk with, laugh with and hang out with for long periods of time. Chemistry is the key word. Romance is a feeling that with the right lighting - right food - right atmosphere - can be manipulated to make a special moment and then it's gone, but chemistry is something that last. 

6. Date only Christians

Scripture teaches that two people cannot walk together unless they are going in the same direction.  I know he looks great in those jeans - I know her legs are incredible - but are her legs following Jesus! What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul. You never want to tie yourself to somone emotionally that is not going the same spiritual direction as you. 

7. Set good boundaries. 

Boundaries do not hold you back, boundaries, set you free.  So before you go out on a big date, clearly define your personal boundaries on physical touch and other important issues.

8. Save sex for when you are married. 

I know this is such an archaic view compared to todays standards. But look around you. Is how we currently walk out sexual expression in America working? Nope! So maybe you should live out your sexuality in a different way. Maybe you should try Gods way. God says that Sex is not something people that love each other do, sex is something that people in convenent relationship of marriage do.

9. Pursue Jesus more than you pursue a person. 

In relationships, who you are will determine who you need. Because of this, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. When you find out who Jesus is and who you are in Him. Who you are will determine who you need as a teammate in life. 

10. Never Settle. 

Never settle for someone who is not a believer. Never settle for living together over marriage. Marriage is beautiful fulfilling 

You are the head and not the tail! Jesus did not die for you to settle. Jesus died for you to soar! Become who Christ has called you to be and you will find who Christ has called you to be with. 

One thing I've not been doing that will destroy my team and our future.

I am a leader with a lot of goals and things I want to accomplish in life. If you are reading this I have no doubt that you are the same way.  

As leaders with strong vision and goals, we typically spend more time trying to get results than we do serving and developing people. I believe Zig Ziglar once said, "It is not our job to build a business, it is our job to build people". 

I like to think that I truly care about people, (I mean I am a Pastor for crying out loud), however, when I look at my schedule, what I talk about, and what I am aiming for, when I'm honest with myself I think I measure results more than I measure how my team members are doing. 

This is something I need to change.

Maybe it's something you need to work on as well. 

Because building people is our primary goal as leaders, might I suggest that we do something we may not have been doing ... slow down and take time to ASSESS how the individuals under our care are really doing. 

I recently finished reading "How successful people lead" by John Maxwell, in it he gives a list of questions that I am going to begin to ask myself before the training meetings that I do with my direct reports. 

Here are some questions to help us assess our team members: 

Where are thy doing incredibly well right now?

Where do they seem to be failing?

What are their blind spots?

What does my intuition tell me is off in their thinking right now?

What is holding them back from reaching or hitting their potential?

Who might be a negative influence in their life?

Where do they do well?

Where do they typically stumble?

I would love to hear from you! Comment below to add any questions you ask yourself about your team on a regular basis. 

What do you do when your service sucked?

We make sure everything looks great on our social media posts. The room looks full. The stage looks amazing. The people look like they are having a blast. But lets be honest. Every message isnt epic. Every gathering isn't packed. Every service isn't amazing. Sometimes the worship was flat, the message was off, people are bored, and something that sounded great in a creative meeting, just didn't work. 

You probably can't tell it by my Instagram photos, but I've had more, "that was horrible" moments in ministry than I care to remember. So after 25 years of great services, good services, and "what in the world world" just happened services. I thought I would talk about the 10 things we do when our service sucked. 

1. Remind ourself of the "win".

Every time we have a service that is subpar, we get together as a team and remind ourself of why we do services in the first place. We gather together on a weekly basis to "Bring people to Jesus and help them live like Him".  In order to do this our services need to be "remarkable" and "life altering". Our worship and message needs to be so good, powerful, or thought provoking that people will leave not only remarking to friends about what they experienced but most importantly begin to change the way they live. 

2. Be honest.

When we gather together as a team we have to trust each other enough to be completely honest about what happened. Nothing will change without an open and honest discussion about what we did that was not remarkable and life altering. 

3. Celebrate the wins. 

Some things did not work, but some things did. We don't want to focus only on the losses of the day. We want to take some time to celebrate the wins. Maybe someone came to the church that had not attended in a long time, accepted Jesus as their Savior, or starting serving behind the scenes. These are huge wins. They might not change the fact that our message was flat, but they did build momentum in some way and they deserve to be celebrated. 

4. Fix at least one thing before the next service. 

Some things that go wrong are going to take some time to get right. But most weeks can be fixed with small tweaks. We don't ever want to procrastinate, we want to be proactive. So we fix at least one thing before our next gathering. 

A few years ago we had an exceptionally bad weekend. The worship was flat. The message was subpar. The attendance was down and our offering was low. So I text a ministry friend to see if he had any advice on how to bounce back from a tough weekend. The following three points are some tips that he gave me. We have applied them ever since.  

5. Realize it wasn't as bad as you thought. 

Because we are so invested in what we do, we look at it way more critically than others. Sometimes we are much tougher on ourselves than we should be. When the service is off a bit, we want to be honest about it but also realize it probably wasn't as bad as it seemed. 

6. Know that one bad service will not kill you. 

Jesus said that he will build His church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. If Hell itself will not stop the Kingdom of God, I doubt that bad song selection in one church service will stop God from redeeming the world. One bad service will not kill us. 

7. Keep your head up. 

Don't pout. Don't sulk. Don't put your head down. We are leaders. We can't lead anyone anywhere with our head down. We need to keep our head up and lead our church, lead our people, and lead our team. 

Making Jesus known to the world is the most important work taking place on planet earth. Because of that ... 

8. Don't Quit. 

Don't quit striving for excellence. Jesus deserves your best. Your people deserve your best. Don't have a "poor me" mentality and quit when times get tough. 

9. Do better next time. 

Regroup. Be honest. Fix problems. Do better next time. It's just simple. 

10. Remember it's never about us. 

It's not about our guitar solo. It's not about our funny story. It's not about our chance to shine on stage. The reason for gathering together is to bring people to Jesus and help them begin to live like Him.  When we have a bad service, we need to remember it's not and never will be been us.  

I hope this has helped. Now go do something great this week for Jesus!

If you want to get more practical advice for you and your entire team check out Youth Ministry University . 

Four things great team members NEVER do.

I've had the honor of serving in ministry for more than 25 years. After serving on several teams with a multitude of leaders. Here are four things that I've observed that great team members never do. 

1. Never despise the days of small beginnings.

Big trees always start small. Great team members dig deep roots and continue to grow!

2. Never promote someone that has not proven themselves in small things.

The mission is too important. Teams don't need people, they need the right people.

3. Never try to do accomplish anything on their own.

Anyone who accomplished something of value, didn't do it alone. They had great partners. 

4. Never focus more on style than substance. 

Great teammates work more on how things actually are, than how they look.