Your Life in Rhythm

In a book by Bruce Miller called "Your Life in Rhythm", he essentially says it is a myth to live a life in balance. This requires a continual balancing act that is always compensating based upon the demands life. He states that we should stop the balancing act and yield to a higher calling from scripture that is described in Ecclesiastes 3. In essence, Ecclesiastes tells us that there are times and seasons that come and go. Miller tells us that we all have personal seasons in life that are unique to us as well as rhythms that come with stages in life. A stage in life can be teenage years, young adult, married life, family, empty nest, retirement etc. A personal season might be an immediate crisis that is unique to us.

A great question every healthy pastor needs to answer is what stage of life am I in and what personal season is affecting my life? Once we have answered that we can find rhythm by practicing these three disciplines.

1. Release expectations. Take the pressure off by rethinking priorities based upon stage and season and let go of those things that are least important.

2. Seize the moment. Rather than wish you were in another season or stage, embrace the stage you are in. Look for the blessings of the moment. What opportunities that are unique to the moment that can be seized?

3. Anticipate what comes next. This is a matter of hope for the future. We need to anticipate light at the end of the tunnel while embracing the present.

Tis the SEASON!

Spiritual Receptivity

I was recently reading one of my favorite authors and came across this devotional from A. W. Tozer.

Pick at random a score of great saints whose lives and testimonies are widely known. Let them be Bible characters or well-known Christians of post-biblical times. I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which they had in common was spiritual receptivity. They acquired the lifelong habit of spiritual response. They were not disobedient to the heavenly vision

Receptivity is not a single thing; it is a compound, rather, a blending of several elements within the soul. It is an affinity for, a bent toward, a sympathetic response to, a desire to have. It may be increased by exercise or destroyed by neglect. It is a gift of god, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any other gift if it is to realize the purpose for which it was given.

The idea of spiritual cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast flowing dramatic action. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

It will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and return to biblical ways!

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME

Ephesians 5:17 tells us to make the most of our time. Americans seem to be the most time poor in all of the world. Full-time ministry probably ranks as high as any profession, when it comes to demand for our time. The needs are endless. The guilt piles up. The ability to set boundaries becomes more and more difficult. Let me suggest some ways you can be a better time manager.

1. Make a time budget. We have financial budgets to see how we spend our money. Why not make a time budget for a week and see where you spend your time? You might be surprised where your time is spent.

2. Be purpose driven. I would suggest taking the time to sit down before God and develop a mission statement for your life. It will help set your priorities so you know what the "big rocks" are. The apostle Paul tells us to run the race with purpose. Without it the tail can wag the dog.

3. Know your rhythms of effectiveness. What are the most productive times in your average day? Are you a morning person or a night owl? How much rest do you need to stay energized and alert? Make good use of working on your priorities during those productive times.

4. Simplify. The recession of the last couple of years has taught us to downsize and simplify.

What are the activities that need to cease? How can you integrate your systems of efficiency?

What kinds of projects or responsibilities can be downloaded?

5. Prioritize some extended time with the Lord. There is no higher priority in life than to maintain your relationship with the Lord. Out of those times God will reveal his will for your life and thus set your agenda.

6. Learn to say no. It is important for us to pay attention to the signals of burnout in our lives.

5. Prioritize intimacy with G

Personally Transformed

I recently asked a group of pastors, "What is the one thing you would like to see in your ministry above anything else?" The answer was, "To see lives transformed".

I would assume all of us in ministry would respond the same way, but let me ask a different question. How have you been transformed in your ministry this past year?

If God isn't moving us toward Christlikeness then how can we expect those we minister to be conforming to the image of Christ.

As I have asked that question to numerous pastors recently, here are some of the responses.

- I have become more comfortable in my own skin.

- I have become a more courageous leaders.

- I have learned to set better boundaries and maintain my priorities.

- I have grown in the area of intimacy with my wife and kids.

- I have become gentler, more approachable.

- I have become more assertive in my leadership.

- I haven't changed a bit.

- I have developed a little tougher skin.

How has God transformed your life this past year?

PAST PRESENT OR FUTURE

I was talking with a young ambitious pastor the other day. He was sharing with me how disappointed he was in the progress of the church. The reality was, that God had been doing great things in his church.

As leaders we are called to be visionary. We dream dreams. We set goals. We have a great desire to "become". To become what? A finally tuned organization with all the bases covered,

or a fully staffed team team hitting on all cylinders, or a dynamic ministry that attracts people to the services like a magnet, or maybe a more attractive facility to accommodate the growth.

During my pastorate, it was difficult for me to enjoy what God was doing in the present or rejoice in the victories of the past because my mind would always take me to the future. The tapes kept playing like: "If we just could hire that next staff person". "What do we need to change to be more effective?" "We need to do a better job of assimilating." The list could go on and on.

While thinking ahead is a part of leadership, we dare not get so caught in the future that we miss the blessings of present and the victories of the past. Getting caught up in the future can breed impatience, a critical spirit, and great discouragement.

When was the last time you just sat down and contemplated the Lord's blessings of the past and present? The old hymn we used to sing, "Count Your Many Blessings" name them one by one" might be appropriate.

Keep being farsighted, but don't forget 20/20 hindsight, and the joy of being near sighted as well.

Are You a Prophet?

A. W. Tozer has always been one of my favorite writers. I was challenged by these thoughts in one of his devotionals.

"To be effective the preacher's message must be alive; it must alarm, arouse, challenge; it must be God's present voice to a particular people. Then, and not till then, is it the prophetic word and the man himself a prophet.

To fulfill his calling the prophet must be under the constant sway of the Holy Ghost; and further, he must be alert to moral and spiritual conditions. All spiritual teaching should be related to life. It should intrude into the daily and private living the hearers

Without being personal, the true prophet will yet pierce the conscience of each listener as if the message had been directed to him alone.

Really to preach the truth it is often necessary that the man of God know the people's hearts better than they themselves do!

Thus a minister is driven to God for wisdom. He must speak the mind of christ and throw himself on the Holy Spirit for spiritual power and mental acumen equal to the task. "

May God put more prophets in the pulpit!

COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP

For many of us as leaders of ministry there are times when we have to be courageous. These are times when consequences can trump what God wants us to do.

Pastor/shepherds probably find it most difficult to act courageously because it may require some tough calls that leave some segment of people disenchanted. Let's face it, most pastor/shepherds would rather avoid controversy or confrontation at all cost. However we also know there are those moments when we must step up to the plate and lead courageously.

So the question becomes this: How do we find the courage to confront or make the hard decisions that come with the responsibility of leadership? Here is how I have discovered a "holy boldness" over the course of 30 years of ministry.

1. It always starts with "communion" with God. I first must spend enough time with God listening to what he has to say.

I truly believe that God wants to speak to us if we take the time to listen. Hearing from God is the key.

2. It is important to seek "counsel" from others. Scripture says there is wisdom in many counselors. (Be certain that they are mature

objective and trustworthy people).

3. Once we have heard from God and others there must be "conviction" established. This is where we are fully convinced in our own mind as Paul tells us in Romans 14. Once that is established, conviction will trump consequences. Paul goes on to say, "happy is the man who

doesn't condemn himself in what he approves.

4. Conviction will lead to ultimate "contentment". This means that you can rest assured that no matter what the cost, God is pleased with

us. We are most content when we sense that God is pleased with us even if there are men who are not.

So let me encourage you to find that holy boldness in your ministry.