Date: Jun 30, 2003 [ 8: 16: 6]
Subject: Summary - Getting organized - planning
© 2003 BCP Harry Shelton Cole
Subject: Summary - Getting organized - planning
SUMMARY OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH PLANTING LIST
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Moderated and edited by Pastor Harry Shelton Cole
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We had a good week with varied responses to the question. It is my hope
that you found some encouragement through the posts. Today marks 5 months
of existence of the BCP list. I am looking for the right spot to place a
Web page for independent Baptist Church Planters and put all of these
summaries, tips, and other pertinent information for guys like us who now
have a new way to communicate with men who have done it and are doing it.
Thanks for all your help in the past 5 months and I look forward to another
great 5 months of edifying my brother pastors and church planters.
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Baptist Church Planters List - Question of the Week
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How can a church planter (or any busy pastor for that matter) better balance
the time demands on his life? What are some things you have learned that
you wished you had learned when you were starting or what has been a
blessing for you in balancing the demands that are placed on a pastor,
husband, father, friend?
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Brother Jim Ragsdale, in Whittier, CA, has an excellent reply to the
question of the week. In it Jim deals with proper priorities in life. I
have to say that I agree with him in his dilineation of life's hierarchy for
a church planter and pastor. The part that I have often had difficulty with
is separating Jim's top priority (Lord) from his fourth priority (ministry).
In layman terms it would be the Lord first and the church fourth. Anyway
here is Jim's post:
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Men MUST come to the point in their lives where they know and understand
the REAL important things in their life. Unfortunately that comes, for the
most part, with trial and error, and on the job training. (through the
school of hard knocks, if you will)
I do not ascribe to the idea that the most important thing is building "a
ministry" I have seen seemingly good men build great churches and lose
their families... Wives and children... We can build good ministries but
the first thing is to build the family. (your family)... God has given us
all the SAME amount of time in a day... MANY of us do not use the time
wisely. Men with just a wife are to focus their lives on their wives, men
with wives and children are to focus their time on wives and children...
Men with wives and children AND a church are to focus their life on the
WIFE, the children, and then the church. If you lose any, you have LOST!
Using time wisely, need the verse be mentioned -- Ephesians 5:16
"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
Every situation is different, time is a constant. How you use time is the
issue. Everyone gets out of something what is put into it... Little time
in, little out... (works with all things)
I suppose you have to come to the place in your own life where you realize
the TRULY IMPORTANT things in life...
Lord
Wife
Children
Ministry (includes all ministry, as well as friends)
There is nothing else...
When these are correct, then the Lord adds the extras... i.e.... golf...
:-) (had to say it men!)
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We are privileged to have Caroll Turbeville, Pastor of Manitou Road Baptist
Church & Academy in Manitou Beach, Mi and the editor of Current Trends and
Thoughts on our list. Brother Caroll answers the question of the week with
some real practical advice. This is the kind of nuts and bolts answer that
prompts action. Thanks Caroll for the tips!
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The principles of Exodus 18 that Moses' father-in-law (Jethro) taught him.
Simply -- work to organize or organize, organize, organize.
Open mail one time and care for it immediately. Do any task completely and
put all things related away in an organized fashion.
Invest money into tools (file cabinets, files, etc.). Not having a
secretary the best tool I have ever invested money into is a pocket
organizer with a scheduler, telephone directory, calendar, data base, and
other options. It can be carried on visitation where directions and
addresses are kept, etc. It stores virtually everything I need to remember.
I have used for years the Sharp Wizard 512K. It retailed for around $500
years ago. It is presently available from Damark for $179.00. There is a
2mb version with modem capability for under $500.00. This tool is literally
my secretary. It is only piece of technical equipment that has never had to
be reconfigured. It has never lost any information and it works in any
climate or condition I have taken it in. It travels light and around the
globe with ease. It is the perfect tool for a missionaries data base of
needed information. It is the ideal tool for the pastor of the small work
which does not have other support help and staff.
Doctor has which he writes upon and stores notes with an electronic pen!!>>>>>>
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Jim Ragsdale responded again to the Question of the Week and specifically he
mentions Brother Turbeville's post on the use of organizing tools.
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I enjoyed this brothers comments, I do not have a secretary, BUT I do have
an electronic Organizer.
It is made by Texas Inst. I have seen the same thing from Radio shack (more
$$$$) and it up-loads and down-loads from my PC... (the main reason that I
picked this one) Cost me $100.00. The church bought it for me several
years ago and I am sure that it is "out-of-date" today... It works well for
me and I could not live without it... Hmmm "Well may be I could..."
It only has 64 KB of memory but my computer is unlimited and I down load
what I need for the time... I also have for travel the data link watch by
Timex and MS... It is fun to have too, and very useful on the road. (while
out of town)
to wake him up when traveling. It also has 64kb of memory (same size as my
first computer) and is effective but limited.>>>>>>>>
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Marc Leverett is a pastor in Mobile Alabama and has been a bi-vocational
church planter. He offers his response to the question of the week and
focuses in on how to handle the time demand of visits and visitation.
Thanks Marc.
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Having been a Bi-vocational church planter, I found that one of the biggest
time wasters was the practice of making loooooong visits. I was taught by
my pastor while in Florida to make many short quick visits and not to let
others drain away my time by drawing me into lengthy hand-holding types of
visits.
When I moved to Mobile I found it hard to do this as it seemed rude to be
short and to the point with southerners. But I learned that the longer I
stayed with some who seemed to expect it, the less they appreciated it and
the less respect I got for the time spent. I have since learned that when I
am so busy trying to visit a lot of people that I can't stay long in one
place (of course there are exceptions) then the time I did spend was much
more productive and I would hear things like, "The pastor took time from
his busy schedule to come and see us!"
While our ministry is a combination of PEOPLE and TIME, some people can so
monopolize our time so that other people do not get any. I have discovered
what my pastor/mentor already had learned. The people who tend to demand
so much of your time are sometimes the same ones who will respond the least
to it and can even become counterproductive.
I had one older couple actually claim to others in the church that I never
came to visit them. The truth was that I visited them more that I had ever
visited any family in the church (more that every other week) and stayed
longer when I did than anywhere else. In fact the Sunday she said that I
had just visited them for an hour that previous Thursday! While this was
an extreme example of the pattern, the same has been so to a lesser degree
in other cases.
Insincere time robbers are thieves and hurt the pastor as well as the
"body". Get in. Perform a good pastoral visit. Then get out. Since I have
done it that way, my time became much more efficient.
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Randy Roberts is a missionary to Costa Rica and replies to the Question of
the Week focusing on the area of budgeting your time. Most people
understand the principles of financial budgeting and Randy does a good job
of making the transition from the financial aspect to the temporal one.
Thanks Randy.
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Certainly all us could better balance or manage our time. I think, the
answer lies within each of us and how God made us. We first must recognize
that we are not all the same and what might work for one, may not
necessarily work for all. Some people's nature is to plan everything down to
the 'enth degree, while others do almost everything by spontaneity. Within
these two extremes there is a working balance.
For me the answer lies in the word "Budgeting". Probably a person who does
not budget his finances will also be a person who does not budget his time.
When I was young, both in marriage and ministry, I did neither, however;
after hearing a series of wise messages on "Stewardship", my family and I
began to budget our finances. Later it was a natural process to "Budget" my
time.
Any practical budget takes in the normal expenses of the week that plans for
the unexpected. A good budget will also allow for some personal expenses.
Budgeting is a constant adjustment. When we set a budget or plan for our
time, we will accomplish much more, because we now have set a goal for
ourselves. When I was a Director of a large Corp. (Hacienda Home Centers) I
would ask each of my Managers to give me a list of the things they were
going to accomplish the next week. I would also ask them to give me a list
of the things that they had accomplished from the prior weeks list. Our
nature is to start things but not finish them!
If you (impersonal you) do not have a financial budget, I would challenge
you to make one, if you do not have a work or time budget, I would also
challenge you to make one. Then each week make a list of things you need to
get done and at the end of the week check to see if you have.
Be sure in your "time budget" to include your family and yourself.
share with us on this? Maybe a series of lessons or helps? It would be
much appreciated if you have the time :) I asked for it and missionary to
Costa Rica Randy Roberts sent it. Here is a message dealing with time
demands and organization. I hope it will be a blessing to your heart.
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Plan your Work, Work your Plan!
Text: Neh. 2:2-8
Intro: Many people are like mini-firemen. They go about their job or
ministry with a fire-extinguisher putting out fires all the day long. When
the day is over they are exhausted having put out so many fires, the problem
is that they have done nothing productive in their life. They have been so
busy putting out fires that they have built nothing. There is no time in
there life for the constructive things that they would like to do. They feel
tired defeated, exhausted and will, yes, even consider quitting.
Some one once asked me when I was in Management, Randy are you working hard
or are you working smart? I thought they were the same thing, but they are not.
Plan your Work, Work your Plan!
Make sure your plan:
I. Comes from God! Neh. 2:4 "So I prayed to God"
A. All that we DO should be for the Glory of God.
B. All that we DESIRE should be for the Glory of God.
C. All that we REQUIRE should be for the Glory of God.
Make sure your plan:
II. Has forethought ! Neh. 2:6 "and I set him a time"
A. Set some goals.
1. Make sure they are reasonable goals.
2. Make sure they are attainable goals.
3. Make sure they are Godly goals.
B. Set a time to start.
Some never accomplish anything because they never start
anything.
C. Set a time to finish.
Many are great at starting projects, but never finish
anything.
Make sure your plan:
III. Can be accomplished! Neh.2:7-8 "Let letters be given unto me."
A. Many spend time on plans that can not be done.
B. Many do not spend the time to make sure a plan can be done.
C. Many do not know how to make a plan!
Conclusion: Neh.6:15-16
When our plan is from God,
When we plan our work and work our plan,
Then,
1. We will finish the Job. "52 days"
2. Our enemy will be cast down.
3. God will receive the Glory. AMEN, & AMEN!
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Missionary Bob Dodson, as all missionaries should be, is a church planter.
He offers a response to the question of the week. Everyone needs to find
something that will help them balance demands on their life and many of us
constantly have to adjust to meet new demands. Thanks for your response Bob.
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The main help for me was to WRITE OUT a mission statement. It is one
paragraph long. It describes what I feel that God has called me to do - and -
what the end result should be in tangible items (e.g. souls saved, church
built, Bible preached, etc.) I make all decisions based on that statement. I
have made changes to the statement, it is true. But for the most part I can
define all activities (as well as grade them) by the statement. This is not
an item that comes overnight. The statement I use now has been hacked out for
some time. Yet, I am not completely satisfied with it. But the working model
is a great help in daily decision making. Every person will have a different
statement. God made us all different. But at the core - Christ must be
glorified - or the statement is off center. Hope this is a help.
my call. I did not have a buzz word for it. I found out about 4 years ago
that this was my "vision". Regardless, it did help to write it down and
focus my efforts and the new church's efforts through this vision statement.
I made the same distinction between vision and mission that Barna does in
his book. Whatever you call it, it helps to stay focused.>>>>>>>>>>>>
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Ken Liles is a former missionary to Iran and was one of my Bible College
professors before taking his present church in Topeka KS. Brother Liles is
a welcomed contributor to this list and for those of you who seek counsel
from books (as I often do) this post is for you. Thanks Brother Liles.
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Re: Balancing the Responsibilities.
I wish I'd read Steven Cohen's book, Habits of Highly Successful People a
long time ago and developed the habits he outlines in his book.
A course on the dynamics of Christian Leadership best course I ever had along
this line. Dealt with delegation, prioritization, time management and
scheduling. Too much to include in an email. Good books are:
Feeding and Leading, Gangel (Most helpful)
Spiritual Leadership, Chambers (Gets "Leadership" in focus)
The Making of a Christian Leader, Engstrom
Strategy for Leadership, Dayton/Engstrom (basic and good practical ideas)
Developing the Leader Within You, Maxwell
Developing the Leaders Around You, Maxwell (The most useful of the two)
the above books above but will take full credit if you read and enjoy them
:)>>>>>
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Tim Whitefield is a missionary to Kenya and brings a spiritual response that
we cannot and must not ignore. I believe that we must focus on ourselves
and our relationship with the Lord in order to give the quality of
leadership and guidance to those we love the most. Great post Tim, and thanks.
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Although I was taught it all my life, the most important thing I have
learned by experience is that my time with God must be the priority in my
life. When I take time to meet the LORD, it seems that there is time enough
to accomplish everything that is important. But when I fail to spend time
with Him, there isn't enough time to get much of anything done. IF I AM TOO
BUSY TO SPEND TIME WITH GOD, THEN I AM TOO BUSY FOR ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE!
I do not consider myself to be an expert concerning the wise use of time.
In fact, I still struggle at times with this most basic priority of life.
However, I have learned that my personal time with the LORD is invaluable.
I cannot do, or rather BE all that He wants me to be, without Him.
Someone gave me a book which I am in the process of reading now. It is also
proving to be a help in this area. It is titled "ORDERING YOUR PRIVATE
WORLD" by Gordon MacDonald.
above book but will take full credit if you read and enjoy it :)>>>>>
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Michael O'Neal is the pastor of Gospel Light Baptist Church, Albany, GA. He
uses a system that may be familiar to some and coveted by others (me). I
used to use the same system but lost it somewhere along my life :) Now that
it is in computer form, I am sure I will find it again. Thanks Mike!
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I don't claim to be that good at managing time, brother, but some folks
think I am. Around 1986 I began using the Day-Timer system of pocket
planners. That helped greatly. The greatest thing that has improved my use
of time, however, has been an audio cassette tape seminar on using the
Day-Timer system. It was conducted by the Charles Hobbs Corp. and was
called "Time Power." Following the instructions in that seminar helped me
organize my priorities in life. It literally increased my productivity by
200 - 300%.
Then about a year or so ago, Day-Timers became available as a computer
program. I have the Day-Timer system in my computers at the house and at
the church, and I recommend it very highly. The software runs around $99, I
think. I believe a sample can be downloaded off the Web at daytimer.com.
I will be happy to give more details, such as addresses and phone numbers,
on the Hobbs seminars or the Day-Timer system, if you're interested.
us (me) could use it :)>>>>>>>>>>>
Michael followed up his comment about the daytimer system that I want you to
have. Though I have little experience with it, it seems to be a good way
for the busy pastor to stay focused. Granted, this is only a tool. How
disciplined you are to use it will probably tell how much you may or may not
like it. Thanks Mike for the trouble.
----------------------------------------------------
The sample Day-Timer software can be downloaded from
http://www.daytimer.com.
I use my Day-Timer program EVERY DAY.
The Time Power Seminar cassettes were purchased from Nightingale-Conant
Co., but I have lost their address and phone number. The cassette seminar
was produced by The Charles R. Hobbs Corporation, 4505 Wasatch Blvd., Suite
200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84124 (1-801-278-5381). You may be able to order
it with a credit card from their toll free number: 1-800-332-9929. You must
realize that I bought this cassette album around 12 years ago, so I can
only assume that they still stock it.
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Bill Britt is a missionary to Zambia but has also started two church in the
Northeast. He is a new member to the list and veteran church planter. His
wife and boys were a real blessing to our church and we (FBC) have supported
him since 1995.
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>How can a church planter (or any busy pastor for that matter) better balance
>the time demands on his life? What are some things you have learned that
>you wished you had learned when you were starting or what has been a
>blessing for you in balancing the demands that are placed on a pastor,
>husband, father, friend?
I worked while I started churches for several years, and the one mistake I
made consistently, was not taking a regular day for my family. We went over
two years without a vacation, and family times were irregular. When working,
pastoring, and raising a family, you must say NO at times, and to people
that you really do not want to, and learn not to let the guilt get to you.
God knows what we can do, and can get along quite well without us, even when
we don't believe He can.
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End
2003 BCP HOME PAGE
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Pastor Harry Shelton Cole Moderator
bcp@baptistchurchplanting.com >:-o