Leaders are falling around the world each year.
While I am sure fallen leaders thought they would never descend from their lofty position, the Scripture still rings true, “So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall (First Corinthians 10:12 NIV).” As Christian leaders, what are some leadership pitfalls we can avoid so that we are not making the same mistakes others have made? Here are three Leadership Pitfalls to avoid.
As leaders, let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past. Let us grow in godliness, serve those we lead and learn more today than ever have before. More importantly as Christian leaders, let’s seek the glory of God in our leadership rather than our own glory.
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ver 2.1 billion people in the world own a smartphone (Source). From social media posts to text messages, we are able to connect to one another instantly. While there’s the possibility of unproductive smartphone usage, I want to look at eighteen different ways we can use our smartphone for ministry.
Let’s begin... Notifications - My smartphone is always with me, so I take advantage of notifications. Notifications are simply alerts displayed on smartphones. Notifications can typically be controlled by the user. My notifications are generally for calendar alerts, scheduled to-do lists or prayer needs. Calendar (Widgets) - Often someone will want to schedule an appointment or a meeting with me. In the past, I would take their name and number then call them later that week to schedule a time. Now, I simply use the Calendar app or look at my calendar widget to see what times I have available. The most popular calendar apps: Google Calendar; Sunrise Calendar; Microsoft Outlook. App Organization - I have organized my apps into separate, labeled folders. So instead of taking time to look through a screen full of apps, I have my apps organized into four folders: Productivity, Finance, Social Media, Communication. On most smartphones, you can label and organize as many folders as you would like to have. Note Taking - As I make hospital visits with church members, it’s often difficult for me to remember the details of each visit. So I take time after each visit, using my smartphone, to type a few notes about the visits and ways to pray for the individual using my note taking app. I personally use Google Keep, but there are others like: Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, and Simplenote. Camera - This may seem simple, but the camera is one of my most productive ‘apps’ on my smartphone. Not only do I use it to take pictures of church events, but when I notice a maintenance issue or an out-of-date promotional poster, I simply take a picture of the issue and email it to the proper staff member or keep it in my camera roll as a reminder to resolve the issue at a later time. Minimal Gaming/Social Media - Personally, games can be a distraction to my ministry, so I have deleted all games from my smartphone. Also, I have minimal social media apps downloaded on my smartphone as well as social media has the reputation of distracting employees in the workplace. Don’t misunderstand, I am not saying playing games or social media use is a sin, but when they distract me from Kingdom work, then I delete the apps. Voice Assistant - This aspect of the smartphone has become controversial in recent years, but I use my smartphone voice assistant more for productivity related issues. When I’m driving and need to add something to my to-do list, I use my voice assistant by saying (for example), “Hey Google, add Call John to my calendar tomorrow” and the assistant will automatically add it to my calendar. I understand privacy concerns, but I mute my voice assistant during any important conversation and counseling sessions. Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa and Cortana are some of the more popular voice assistants. Bible - While I don’t use the Bible app on my smartphone for personal devotion usage, I have uploaded it for emergency use in the event I have forgotten my Bible. I do know ministers who use their Bible app for preaching/teaching. The Bible App from Life.Church is the app I trust on my smartphone. Podcasts - Whether I’m driving or walking to an appointment, I occasionally like to listen to podcasts from my smartphone. Podcasts from Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, and iTunes are apps that you can use to listen to podcasts. Email - I have both personal and ministry related email apps on my smartphone. However, recently I decided to turn off notifications from my email apps as I found myself checking every single email notification I heard. Now, I have to manually refresh my email app in order to upload any new emails. Video Calls - I only use these apps for family use. Often, ministry takes me out of town or I simply like to check in with my kids from the office. I’ll use a video app to say hello to my family. Google Duo, Facetime and Skype are each popular apps to use for Video Calls. Lastpass - This app saves passwords to websites and app logins. This can save time because if you’re like me, I have about 37 different passwords to choose from memory each time I try to log into an app or website. With Lastpass, one Master Password is all I need to remember. Trello - I use this app for events and event planning. Each phase of an event has its own board and each board has individual ‘cards’. If I’m walking around the campus during the planning stages of an event, I can utilize Trello to review how planning is going or add an action item to the plan. To-Do Lists - I am not a fan of to-do lists, but they are necessary at times. Often if I am out of the office, I will utilize my to-do list app to record an item before it slips my memory. I use Google Keep, but other apps include: Todoist, Wunderlist, Asana, and Microsoft OneNote. IFTTT - This app can bring different apps together to help you become more productive. For example, during schedule meetings on my Google Calendar, IFTTT automatically will mute my smartphone. Or if I post a picture of a church event on the ministry Facebook page, IFTTT will run an ‘applet’ that will repost the picture to my personal Facebook page. There’s hundreds of different ways you can use IFTTT. Pocket - I enjoy reading articles. Often when I’m reading an interesting article and want to refer to it at a later time, I will save it to the app Pocket. Even if I am offline, Pocket will make the articles I’ve saved available to read. Cloud Management - I don’t like to use the storage space on my computer or phone for work related items. I use a cloud management system, Google Drive, so I can access all my work items from anywhere. If I want to see a budget report while I am out of the office, I can utilize my cloud management system to view the report from my phone. Microsoft Office, Dropbox and Google Drive are some of the more popular systems. NOTE: Many church membership management systems are using the cloud so it makes it easier to access membership information. Check with your church membership management system to see if it’s available. Rewards Cards - Finally, there are different stores I shop at that provide rewards cards. Instead of filling my wallet with another card or having miniature cards attached to my key-chain, I have downloaded an app that allows me to scan my rewards cards. Now, when I’m an a store that uses a reward card, I simply open the app, find the reward card, show them my smartphone and they scan it. Android Pay, StoCard and others can be used for rewards cards. These are some of the ways I use my smartphone for ministry. What are some of the apps you utilize most for your ministry or area of work?
I promise I'm not trying to get a Taylor Swift song stuck in your head by titling this article: Blank Space. However, when talking about time management, including some blank spaces on your calendar can be beneficial. While I have written a past article about scheduling my to-do list, I also leave about three blank spaces a day (three hours total) on my calendar for three reasons.
1. Conversation - Yes, I am an introvert and I am refreshed after time alone, but I also understand the importance of conversation. So I leave blank spaces on my calendar to allow for conversation. Whether it is conversing with members of my team, or calling a key volunteer or a co-worker dropping into my office, I have some blank spaces on my calendar for moments of conversation. 2. Get Ahead - As I finish one task I look ahead to the next item on the calendar. When I approach a blank space on my calendar, I often look ahead and try to finish one item from the next day's agenda. This will free up space on the next day for items on my 'important/non-urgent' list (like personal development, prayer, lesson planning, etc.). 3. Interruptions - Finally, every leader will have interruptions. For my calendar, having blank spaces scheduled each day allow for interruptions. Whether it's a work emergency, helping a co-worker or a surprise visit from a key volunteer, I am not worried about being off schedule as I know I can adjust my blank spaces and arrange accordingly. When I first began my current time management system, I had every minute of the day blocked off and something was scheduled during those blocks of time. However, I noticed I was not intentional with conversation and when an interruption happened, I was stressed. However, now that I am allowing up to three hours worth of 'blank space', I am allowing some flexibility into the daily calendar. How do you arrange your daily calendar? Do you have any flexibility in your schedule?
The more leadership books and articles I read, I become more aware of self-awareness. True, I am learning more about myself as I read, but I am also learning more about this concept of 'self-awareness'.
Apparently, leadership guru's like to talk about self-awareness. John Maxwell states, "If you want to change and grow, then you must know yourself and accept who you are before you can start building." -- John Maxwell. However, one Bible verse alone let's me know about who I am - "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it." Jeremiah 17:9. How then can we lead a people if we are deceitful, sick and full of sin? Proverbs 1:7 is a great place to begin. To lead well, I argue that instead of leading from a foundation of self-awareness, leaders should begin by becoming a "Proverbs 1:7 Leader". Let's explore it together: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." First, a Proverbs 1:7 Leader will lead from an understanding of who God is. The Majestic King of the Universe created all things for His glory, yet mankind sinned (Genesis 1-3). Because of mankind's sin, death entered into the world. Now, we have all sinned and deserve eternal punishment and eternal death. But God's plan was to send His perfect Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus was our substitute when He died. So now, when we place our faith in the work of Jesus, we can be saved from eternal death and punishment. Once a Proverbs 1:7 Leader recognizes his or her own need for a Savior, he or she will 'fear' the Lord. Fear in this passage means to be in awe or reverence. The more a Proverbs 1:7 Leader knows and understands about God, the more he/she will grow as a leader. Secondly, fools despise this type of knowledge. If someone is not in awe of God, then who would they be in awe of? Self, money, fame, and possessions. We have already noted above that the human heart is sick and and deceitful. So when someone is not in awe of God, they are in awe of their own sick heart and they place their trust in the deceitfulness of their own heart. Since we are deceitful and sick, the Proverbs 1:7 Leader must follow someone before they can lead others. So in order to be a Proverbs 1:7 Leader, you must: 1. Be in awe of God. 2. Revere God. 3. Recognize your own sinfulness (self-awareness) 4. Rely on God's wisdom and strength as a leader. Are you a Proverbs 1:7 Leader? What is the foundation of your leadership? In May of 2016, I suffered a concussion from a simple bump on the head. Since that time, I have been dealing with Post Concussion Syndrome. Psychological issues, emotional changes, headaches, memory loss, an absence of visual memory, and more has caused some changes in my life that I had to learn to deal with over the past year. With all that my family and I have dealt with regarding PCS, one positive outcome has been my desire to read books. Over the course of my life, I have never had a desire to read books. It's true, because of my undergraduate and graduate school work, I had to read numerous books during my days in school. However, aside from my assigned reading I have read ZERO books...until 2017. As I ponder this new routine and the 20+ Leadership Books I've read this year, a few things come mind about reading. Focus - I've found that reading a book enables me to focus on one idea at a time, rather than jumping from one idea to the next. Multitasking and jumping from one idea to the next takes more brainpower than we truly realize. So focusing on one idea/concept has been a big part of the healing process for my instance of Post Concussion Syndrome. I also do not move on to another book until I finish the one I'm in the middle of reading. Not only does it keep me focused on one concept, but it also motivates me to finish and move on to the next book. Memory - I understand many other people who suffer from PCS may have different experiences than what I faced, but my experience has greatly affected my memory. Granted I didn't have the world's best memory before my accident, but my short term memory and especially my visual memories have suffered since May 2016. While I don't remember much of what I read this year, I have learned to take notes and use postcards to capture thoughts I have about a page or chapter I finished. And I even use my phone at times to take a picture of a quote or certain page I wanted to remember. I now have a folder in the photo section of my phone for all of the John Maxwell pages I've enjoyed reading this year. Rest - I am aware that for some people, reading a book and trying to focus while reading can be stressful on the brain. However, after my concussion, I find reading a book to be restful and relaxing for my brain. I have found that reading a chapter from a book before I go home at the end of the work day can be beneficial in helping the brain rest after a long day in the office. If you do find reading a book more stressful than relaxing, try reading until you find a book/genre you enjoy. Start with a small book as well. You can also download a book and listen to it while driving or running. These are a few of the benefits I have found from reading this year. There are many other benefits I have found along the way in my new routine. But these have been more beneficial considering the change my body has gone through since May of 2016. What benefits do you receive from reading? |
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