Shepherding Like a Prophet, Priest, and King
This is a guest post by Jeff Brewer, lead pastor of Hope Fellowship in Lombard, IL (Acts 29). Hope is the most recent church plant of College Church. Jeff also wrote “10 Things to Remember After a Missions Trip” for The Resurgence blog. You can follow him on Twitter. With so many tasks to be completed [...]
This is the second of three posts leading up to the 2012 Together for the Gospel Conference. If you are more than a mere peruser of the book tables at conferences, this will be a money saver for you. Caution: you are entering a book buying temptation zone if you are going to T4G next [...]
It’s a mistake to say that neatness, organization, and productivity are all synonymous. You might not be able to discern this from the desktop organization aisle at Office Depot. Organization and productivity must go together, but they are not the same thing. It’s the difference between keeping your tools in the toolbox (organization), so that [...]
Pastors are most likely to start a new year disorganized. The holidays are a busy time personally, and in the life of the church. Do you need to get back on track? The problem is that ministry doesn’t slow down. We need a simple process that will get us back into organizational shape without a [...]
Has the time and effort of building and using an illustration file caused you to stop using yours? Is that the reason you haven’t bothered to put an illustration file together in the first place? Yet the merits of having illustrations filed away can’t be overstated. Having them on hand is much easier than thinking [...]
The complexity of the Getting Things Done method of productivity scares a lot of people away. It’s not a perfect method, and it does take time to learn. But if you stick with it, there is a simplicity on the other side of the complexity that will help you, well, get things done. David Allen summarizes [...]
Last week I had on of those distracted and unmotivated days in the office. I was grinding it out. My eyes kept drifting from my books. I couldn’t concentrate on my sermon prep. I broke my “check email three times a day” rule, like, twelve times. And it was only 10 a.m. For motivation, I [...]
Have you been struggling to devote your energy to what has the biggest payoff in ministry? Has time in the Word, in prayer, and with people been shuffled to the corner for more urgent tasks? Maybe you’re busy all day, but nothing important seems to get done. From my own experience, when I don’t accomplish [...]
Hacking our non-omnipotence is one of the most important things for us pastors to learn. We have a job that includes too much for us to do. The goal of our job – the salvation and sanctification of people – is something that we cannot attain, in and of ourselves. And our work never, ever, [...]
How much more could you accomplish with an extra thirty minutes a day? Would you tackle those conference-discounted theological tomes that still enjoy crisp binding and clean margins? Would you follow up with the names on your lists to call or visit? Would you brainstorm new ministry opportunities? The only way to get more time [...]
Wait, John Piper thinks efficiency is important? Doesn’t he only care about prayer, preaching, theology, and scholarship? These things aren’t mutually exclusive, my friends. On the contrary, efficient habits are the bridge to the land of effective pastoral leadership. “A leader does not like clutter. He likes to know where and when things are for quick [...]
If there is anyone who can justify being a workaholic, it’s a pastor. Our work literally never ends. There’s always a sermon to prepare, someone to counsel, or a meeting to lead. We can also trick ourselves into thinking that the more we work, the more we show we care. But being a workaholic is not [...]
Do you want to stop burning the midnight oil on Saturday night? I’m actually not sure what that phrase means, but my 8th grade English teacher said it all the time. Michael Hyatt lists 10 obstacles to getting important things done. These are just the headings; he provides an explanation of each pitfall. Any of these [...]
Yesterday I said that when it comes to goals, unrealistic is not synonymous with impossible. But my Microsoft Word thesaurus tells me that it is synonymous with improbable. This post is about how to approach your unrealistic goals in a way that makes them less improbable. It has to do with your expectations. (By the way, this post is a [...]
Pithy and profound, as usual, from Seth Godin. Which of these four roadblocks is holding you back from achieving your goals? “You don’t know what to do. You don’t know how to do it. You don’t have the authority or the resources to do it. You’re afraid. Once you figure out what’s getting in the [...]
Does your time management stink? It’s easy for pastors to sit in their office and waste time on unproductive activities. Is that you? (Me nodding.) Edwards says your time is too precious to waste In his sermon, “The Preciousness of Time,” Jonathan Edwards tells us why and how to improve our use of time: [...]
This is the fourth article in a series on How to Get Organized. Don’t forget to read articles one, two, and three! When it comes to filing, there are two kinds of pastors in the world. Black hole filers keep everything, but the stuff will never see light again. Anti-filers don’t file anything because they [...]
Have you ever thought about how efficiently your office is set up? There’s a reason why fighter pilots don’t have to reach behind their head for missle triggers. Matt Perman, over at What’s Best Next, wrote a great series on how to set up your desk. Find a setup that aligns best with your study habits. Or [...]
Welcome to Eric McKiddie's blog about doing the work of a pastor with theological rigor and practical efficiency. Find out more.
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