I’m
old school. That’s such a funny statement
coming from a guy who for decades prided
himself in being part of the Church of
the ‘young generation’. We were the ‘young
punks’ who looked at the way things were
run and weren’t afraid to admit that
the Church was so behind with the times
that we probably turned more people off
of the Kingdom than we inspired. So for
years we fought to see change happen
within the Church and I must confess
that as I look around change has occurred.
Some of that change has been very good
and some of the change has resulted in
a lost from the days of old; and therein
lays the proof of my eclectic state…
‘I remember too much’. I have so many
memories of young people coming and going,
memories of events, lock inns; pizza
parties (along with the heartburn); parent
meetings; horror stories of students
who took Christ for a joke and success
stories of those who listened to the
words of Jesus and built their house
on a rock. So as an old school minister
whose seen it all before, how do you
protect yourself from having that ‘been
there—done that’ mentality that sucks
the excitement out of the life of your
ministry? So much more is caught than
taught when it comes to imparting vision
and there is nothing worse than getting
trapped in an attitude that communicates
disinterest or apathy. This month we’re
going to talk about maintaining passion
for your ministry program.
M.U.D. Reality (Here's what’s up)
Considering the complex combination of
students, parents, culture, community,
church vision and leadership it’s often
a tedious journey just to find out
what works best for you and your youth
ministry team. The good news is that
if you are persistent enough to give
detail to what works, and bold enough
to admit what doesn’t, you can discover
a program that will endure the fads
and trends of the moment. Now once
you find that customized combo, what
comes next is most important: consistency.
Nothing beats out the person who knows
how to stick to a successful plan.
It’s the moral of the rabbit and turtle;
the ‘hedgehog’ principle; the ‘One
Thing’ that so many youth workers lack:
the ability to lock in on a successful
strategy and work your plan. The truth
is we can’t afford to bounce around
in desperation from idea to idea as
if we’re grasping for straws because
the time is short and souls are at
stake. God is always faithful to reveal
a practical plan if we choose to reflect
that faithfulness in sticking with
the plan that he gives us.
M.U.D. Battle (Here's why)
Proverbs 21:30 says that There is no
wisdom, no insight, no plan that can
succeed against the Lord. God’s plan
is always the best plan. Remember we
serve a God who allowed a boy to face
with a slingshot; told a man to stand
against a King with a stick; and told
one of his closest disciples to go
get some money out of the mouth of
a fish. All of those stories remind
us that if we remain faithful to God’s
plan it will prevail in the end. It
my seem like a plan that flies in the
face of conventional thought, or even
against tradition but rest assured
that if you find God’s plan for your
ministry and stick with it there is
nothing that can stand in your way!
M.U.D. Tip (Here’s how)
Write out the plan as God gives it to
you. This may seem like a no brainier
to some, but many people fail because
they never take the time to map out
the plan as God gives it to them. It
doesn’t take long to write it out,
but it does take a long time to back
track and try to figure out where you
are off base in the middle of the game
if you never mapped out where the basses
are located! Carry a note pad for the
next 60 days and be faithful to write
down your vision as it comes. Believe
it or not, but as you write it God
often gives you greater detail.
Meticulously compare everything you
do to that plan. Do you find yourself
exhausted from trying to do it all? Maybe
that exhaustion is an honest indicator
that you’re doing too much. Once you
put your plan together began to trim
the things that are outside of that plan.
It may be a good thing, but if it doesn’t
match up with the plan, then it’s wasting
your time. Try for the next 30 days to
implement a To-Not-Do list. This is a
simple list of things that you will stop
doing. I bet that you’ll start to feel
the stress leave as you write out the
list, but be sure to carry (or not to
carry out) your new To-Not-Do list.
Celebrate each little victory. One thing
that causes you to stick with a plan
is when you and your team can see that
the plan is working! This means that
you have to become disciplined to have
a party! Each time that you accomplish
an objective be sure to celebrate every
small victory and mark it as a step toward
a greater goal. This keeps us faithful
and patient as the plan unfolds. For
the next 30 days try this with your team.
Catch them doing something good (Lord
knows they get caught doing bad enough)
and celebrate them publicly. You’ll see
the difference in the moral immediately.
Until next time…STAY in the M.U.D.
FREDDIE FREEBIE: I have a great web
site that I’d like you to check out.
If you caught my quick reference to the
‘Hedgehog Principle’ and wondered where
it came from, I got it from one of my
favorite books: Good to Great. I’d encourage
you to go and pick up a copy as soon
as you can. However if you already have
a ‘To-Read-List’ that’s up to it’s limit
and you’d like to check out a summary
of the book I found a great site that
offers summaries of great books it’s
called Wiki Summaries. Just go to http://wikisummaries.org/Good_to_Great:_Why_Some_Companies_Make_the_Leap..._and_Others_Don't
and check out the summary of Good to
Great. Please browse around for other
good books. You just might find a work
that’s on your ‘To-Read-List’ that you
can scratch off.
