Greetings all,
Recently I was encouraged to take a look at a post by Christian coaching and leadership guru David Kraft. He'd posted Three Top Priorities For Every Leader, and we thought they'd be a good thing to keep in focus during a month dedicated to ministry survival.
David suggests that there are a lot of things that contribute towards a healthy long-term ministry, but three in particular that will keep you from sinking under the weight of your 'God-sized vision':
- Regularly listening to God – “Of all the voices that I need to listen and respond to, first is that of God himself. I need, with his grace, to live and lead for an audience of one.”
- Constantly developing leaders – “If you are following a God-given, God-size vision, you would be a fool to try and do it by yourself. You would also cheat others out of using their God-given talents by doing it all yourself. All leaders, regardless of their roles and responsibilities, need to be constantly pouring into the next generation of leaders.”
- Pacing yourself – “We need to remember that we are in a marathon–not a 100 meter sprint. By his grace, discovering and maintaining a healthy balance between ministry, personal and family is paramount. Learning how to practice Sabbath as a principle– not just a day–may save your life.”
There's a treasure-trove of insight here, but in particular I was encouraged by David's observation that it was too easy to be taken up by the work, and neglect our employer:
“'Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.' Proverbs 3:6 (The Message) Whatever your “spiritual disciplines” are, make them a consistent, regular part of your daily and weekly rhythms. Cut down on all the other noises around you so you can tune into what he is saying to you and live in responsive obedience.”
We encourage you to head over to David Kraft's Leadership from the Heart blog and have a good read of the rest of the article … and more importantly, pray that God will all help us to put it into practise!
– Ed.
