Dear friends,
Summer can be a great time for reflection.
Like it or not, we can’t get done all the things that we normally do. People are away on vacation, so it is tough to pull off a church board meeting. Family is visiting from out of town. Children are home from school…
Rather than allowing summer to frustrate me, I have come to appreciate the seasonal rhythm that it provides. It can be a wonderful time for reflection and “resetting” our priorities and schedule. It can be a valuable opportunity to consider what we have been learning and to make application proactively. Here are three questions that you may wish to consider as you look to September and beyond. Originally offered by Julie Bauke, I have adapted them for our purposes as church leaders:
2. What should I plan to do less of in the season ahead?
This is a question about strategy. The longer we are in a role, the more tasks we can accumulate. It is much easier to fill our task plate than to empty it. Sometimes we simply allow this.
Meeting with a new pastor recently, he expressed that he was already experiencing a change in expectations from people. Now that he was there and in place, volunteers were hoping that they could now delegate to him what they had been doing as volunteers.
As a leader, I should focus my energies on leading by example and developing (equipping) others to use their grace gifts in serving our Lord and others in his Name. If I am insecure, I will seek to make myself indispensable and not delegate. If I am lazy, I might try to pawn off much of my role. If I am strategic, I will multiply our ministry by developing others and entrusting ministry to them.
3. What do I hope to never do again in the season ahead?
Without reflection, we will all develop patterns and “bad” habits. By God’s good grace, we can be pruned and empowered as servant leaders of Christ’s church.
What, by God’s grace, will I do differently as a follower of Christ? As husband/wife? As a leader?
This is a question about growth. Where have I failed in the year gone past? What should I have done differently? What has led to a season of spiritual dryness or burnout, and how do I hope to be proactive to not end up there again?
To read more about what God is doing in the LPD, and about Jesus Grace International Church please
Report_from_Sammy_August_2017.01.pdf
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