Ministry (general)

5 actions I take when I try to do “nothing”

May 8, 2013 by doug 2 Comments

Almost daily I get an email from a ministry leader who is tired and on the verge of burn out. There is so much about “ministry-world” that is exhausting. I understand this reality… firsthand. It’s real and ugly!

Too many leaders don’t even slow down enough to be faithful to God’s call for a Sabbath rest.

When I was a young leader I received great advice from a mentor who urged me to faithfully guard and protect a weekly day of rest. I’m so grateful for that advice and encouragement! Without intentional action, it’s simply too easy for a leader to slip into justifying non-Sabbath actions like, “I’m just going to pop into the office,” or “I’m so far behind, I just need to catch up” or “They need to spend time with me and I don’t think I can say ‘no’.”

I fully understand that the Sabbath doesn’t come in a one-size-fits-all experience, but for what it’s worth, here’s how I try to approach my day of rest:

I want to experience as many of the following as possible:

• Relaxation. I take it easy. I sleep in. I don’t fill the day with a lot of activities. I try to maintain an attitude of rest throughout the day.

• Recreation. I usually feel better and accelerate my rest after some form of exercise. It may be at the gym, but it’s usually a long walk or hike with my wife, Cathy.

• Relationships. Any time I choose to spend time with someone on my Sabbath, I make sure it’s a relationship that inspires me, breathes into me, and is rewarding for me. No work, just friendship.

• Reading. Throughout the week, much of my reading focuses on speaking or sermon preparation, so on my day of rest I usually choose light and fun reading.

• Reflection/Restoration. Reflection describes my extended time with God. I’ll usually reflect on the past week, look through my calendar, and think about what I might have missed that God had laid out for me. A busy week usually doesn’t allow me the time for reflection that I want or need. Restoration describes personal soul-care. It’s my time for worship, prayer, silence, Bible, and journaling.

There is no usual order to these areas… I simply try to experience all these throughout the day.

For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. Exodus 20:11

Question: What about you? What do you normally do on your Sabbath? Share it here.

[Are you getting Doug's daily blog in your email inbox?] If not, it’s real easy–go here.

Filed Under: Leadership, Ministry (general), Personal Tagged With: busy, Leadership, meeting needs, reading, recreation, reflection, rest, Sabbath, study, work too much

10 ways to be a great team-player, part 3

May 2, 2013 by doug 1 Comment

Team work part 1

Team work part 2… ideas #1-5

6. “I’ve got your back!” A team player is someone who is willing to confront those who take verbal shots at the primary leader (the person in charge). I know students and other adults will occasionally talk negatively behind my back. But a committed volunteer, someone who is a team player, won’t listen to that verbal abuse. They’ll confront the person or they’ll walk away if they need to. You want to be a team leader? Support your leader.

7. Regular affirmation. Whether the primary leader hits a home run or strikes out, they need affirmation (especially when they’ve struggled). When you affirm others on your team, you’re a valuable team player.

8. Take initiative. Teamwork is about taking ownership and jumping in when needs arise. Don’t wait to be asked in order to serve. Any volunteer who takes initiative on my team is a blessed leader in our ministry.

9. Learn some new skills. Become a student. A team player will seek to learn and develop new skills that will make them more valuable and the team stronger.

10. Don’t compare yourself to other volunteers. You don’t have to be like others on your team. That’s one of the keys of a good team—variety. God loves variety, and he uses variety in His body to do great things. Allow God to strengthen the person He’s created you to be and don’t worry about being like someone else.

The Message paraphrase says, “A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. A body is all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.” (1 Corinthians 12)

Teamwork isn’t easy. It’s not easy on the sport’s field, and it’s not easy in the church. It takes work on everyone’s part to create a healthy youth ministry. God will get the glory for the living example of love your youth ministry team becomes.

Question: what’s missing from this list of 10 actions of a team-player? What do you want your team to express as part of your team. Share your thoughts here.

[Are you getting Doug's daily blog in your email inbox?] If not, it’s real easy–go here.

Filed Under: Leadership, Ministry (general), posts, youth ministry Tagged With: affirmation, comparison, confrontation, encouragment, initiate, support, team work

10 ways to be a great team-player, part 2

April 30, 2013 by doug 2 Comments

In part 1 of this series on being a team-player, I wrote about the need to support the primary leader within a youth ministry. In the next 2 posts, I’ll give 10 specific ways a volunteer might make that happen.

Here’s the first 5 ideas:

1. Positive attitude. I’d much rather have an emotionally positive volunteer than a skilled volunteer with a negative attitude. Youth ministry is fairly easy to teach. A negative person is difficult to change.

2. Flexibility. Youth ministry is hard to predict. I like for volunteers to not act stressed-out when things don’t go as planned—because they rarely do.

3. The ability to laugh off mistakes. Similar to flexible, but this is quality is more directed at mistakes or failure that are sure to happen within ministry. I appreciate hearing a volunteer say, “It was no big deal. I actually thought it was funny when the students showed up and no one thought thru transportation. No big deal.”

4. Speaking positive in front of students about tough situations. Every youth group has kids who complain… some actually are Varsity-type complainers. When an adult hears a kid complaining, it’s fairly easy to jump-in and join the chorus of complaints. But, a team-player will instead say, “This is nothing to complain about… we’re going to get there. So what? The van broke down. No big deal. We’re all alive.”

5. Servanthood. A team-player regularly asks the point person, “Can I do anything for you?” Or, “How can I help you right now?” Or, “Put me to work… allow me to relieve some of your stress.” This attitude of servanthood and willingness to lighten the load of others is a major factor in being a strong team player.

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll give you the opportunity to add to my list of 10, but today I’m curious how you (as a primary leader) get this type of specific information into the mind/hearts of the leaders who follow you.

Question: how do you currently “paint a picture” of what team work looks like? Share your thoughts here.

[Are you getting Doug's daily blog in your email inbox?] If not, it’s real easy–go here.