Is There Time?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace."

As I was rereading this well known passage, which was popularized by The Byrds in their song "Turn, Turn, Turn", I was reminded just how precious and limited the resource of time really is. Unlike financial and human resources, time is the one resource that cannot be replenished. Time is also no respecter of persons. Time does not play favorites. It does not matter whether you are the president of a nation, the CEO of a fortune 500 company, a waitress at a restaurant, or a pastor. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, and 8760 hours in a year.

So why is it that some people seem to be able to get a lot more accomplished in the time they have?  It is because they understand that the question is not "What am I doing with my time?"  The question is "What am I accomplishing in my time?"  It comes down to priorities.

I came across the following story a number of years ago.  I have since seen it demonstrated in several conferences. It speaks of effective time management and its relationship to values and priorities.

One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” He then pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table. He produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them one at a time into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?”

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing it to work down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied.

He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand and started dumping the sand in the jar until it filled the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good.”

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”

One eager student raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!” “No,” the speaker replied, “that's not the point.”

“The truth this illustration teaches us is that if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are the 'big rocks' in your life? Your children, your loved ones, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching others, doing things that you love, your health; your mate. Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat about the little stuff then you'll fill your life with little things and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff.”

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

Effective time management cannot be disconnected values and effective prioritizing.  So how do I prioritize activities in my calendar?  I use a procedure I learned from John Maxwell.  It involves asking myself three questions:

What is required of me? In other words what must I do that no one else in the organization can can do for me?  For example, I am required to prepare and preach messages from God's Word every Sunday morning.  That is what my church hired me to do.  I cannot, on a regular basis, pass this responsibility off on someone else.  I have a number of other responsibilities that my job requires of me.  These I cannot dump on another person.  Once I know what is required of me, I must make sure that I schedule time to fulfill those requirements.

What brings me the greatest return? In other words, what are my strengths? What can I do that will bear the greatest fruit for me and the organization?  The key is staying in my strength zone and out of my weak zone.  I don't need to be working in areas that I am weak in.  For example, I am not good with my hands. I am not good at word-working, landscaping, decorating, painting,... you get the point. Whenever I try fix something at home I always end up making a bigger mess and calling a repairman anyway. I am good at teaching, preaching, vision casting, and leading. These are the areas that I need to spend most of my time on.

What brings me the greatest reward? What activities bring me the greatest joy and fulfillment?  What activities re-energize me?  These need to be priorities and included in my calendar.  I enjoy spending time with my wife on the water.  I enjoy reading.  I like to watch football.  I have to put these on the calendar.  If not, something else will end up taking their place.

The question is not, "Is my calendar going to be filled?"  It will be filled. The question is, "Who is going to fill my calendar?"  There are plenty of people who want to fill my calendar for me and they will fill it based on their priorities and not mine.  The danger is that, if not careful, I could find myself drowning in activities that accomplish nothing.

Is there time? Yes. But you must learn that there is a connection between time and priorities. Think of it like this:

Time minus right priorities = activity
Time plus right priorities = accomplishment

One more thing.  For the Christian leader time is not just about the hear and now. Solomon said God "has put eternity into man’s heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  The Christian leader understands that people were made for eternity.   The Christian leader works within the confines of time but always with eternity in mind.  The question that I constantly ask myself is "Will what I'm doing now help people to know Christ, grow in Christ, or go in Christ?"  I know that one day when time is over, I will stand in eternity before God and He will judge me based on what I did with the time He gave me.

12 Lessons From Leaders In The Bible - Part 4

In my last three posts we have looked at ten different leaders from the Bible and what we can learn from them.  I had originally planned for this to be a three part series. However, because my last post was a little longer, I decided to extend this to a four part series.  Today we will look at two more Biblical Leaders and lessons we can learn from their lives.

11. Peter: Leaders Fail Forward
When Jesus was arrested and being questioned, Peter, the most well-known of Jesus’ disciples is in the courtyard just outside where Jesus is being held.  Three times he is confronted with being a disciple of Jesus and three times Peter denies being affiliated with Jesus in any way.  What makes this failure even worse is that just hours prior to his denying Jesus, Peter assured Jesus that he would never deny him even to the death. Jesus responded to Peter by saying, “before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.”  When the rooster crowed,  Peter realized what he had done and wept bitterly. Fast forward a few weeks and we see Peter in Acts chapter 2, giving the first sermon after Jesus’ ascension, to a crowd of thousands of people.  Peter has emerged as the leader of the early church.  Leaders learn from their failings.  They understand that failure is a part of life and leadership.  They make the most of the failure by gleaning lessons from it and they pick themselves back up and move on having learned from their failure.

12. Paul: Leaders Are Passionate For What They Do and Believe.
When you read the life, ministry, and teaching of the Apostle Paul, one thing stands out very quickly - he is consumed with his mission.  As a Pharisee, he zealously and violently opposes the spread of Christianity.  Paul said himself that he was zealous to kill and imprison Christians.  In Acts chapter 9 while Paul is on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, he has an encounter with the risen Jesus, resulting in a transformed life and a new purpose.  As passionate as he was about destroying Christianity he is now just as passionate for the spread of the gospel.  Paul travels across the known world establishing churches.  Leaders are passionately driven by a sense of purpose.  Leaders have a fire lit under them and are consumed with their mission in life.  There is no place for apathy in the life of a leader. Leaders are passionate about what they believe and what they are doing.

12 Lessons From Leaders in the Bible - Part 3

The greatest leadership lessons I have learned have not come from leaders of today but from leaders in history, most notably leaders from the Bible.  Some of the greatest examples of effective leadership can be found within the pages of Scripture.  For leaders today, there is much to learn from these ordinary people who made decisions that transformed them into extraordinary leaders.  In my last two posts we looked at seven of these great leaders and what we can learn from them.  Here are three more Bible leaders we can learn from.

8. Daniel: Leaders maintain their values and principles even when it will cost them.
Many of us are at least familiar with the account of Daniel in the lion’s den. In the sixth chapter of Daniel, Daniel is a highly esteemed government official whose colleagues become jealous. Seeking to get rid of him and knowing that he is a man of faith and prayer, his colleagues convince the king to enact an official decree stating that prayer can be made to no god except to the king himself.  When Daniel found out about the law he had to decide whether he would submit to the kings edict or stay true to his convictions.  He continues to pray to God as he had always done.  When he is caught, the king, albeit reluctantly, is forced to throw Daniel to the lions.  The next morning, the king finds Daniel alive and unharmed.  Daniel’s faith, values, and principles is what made him a great leader to begin with.  And he maintained those values, even when he knew it would cost him. Great leaders have values and principles that enable them to make decisions quickly and confidently, even when those decisions may require a great cost.

9. John the Baptist: Great leaders are great followers.
In Matthew 3 people are coming out in throngs to hear John the Baptist preach.  At this point he had already developed a strong following and had a number of disciples.  He is baptizing scores of people and preaching about the coming of Jesus the Messiah.  John knew that his purpose and role was to point people to and prepare people for the coming Messiah.  And when Jesus came John humbly submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. While John was baptizing, Jesus approaches him.  John laid his ego aside and publicly said to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you.”  At another time when Jesus’ popularity was growing John’s disciples approached John and pointed it out.  John, once again demonstrated humility and respect and said, “He must increase but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30).  Great leaders “yield to stronger leaders when they appear because the cause is more important than personal popularity” (John Maxwell).

10. Jesus: Leaders are servants.

The greatest leader in the world proved himself to be the greatest servant in the world.  One of the most powerful images in the life of Jesus is when he washed the feet of his disciples in John 13. When he finished, he said to them, “You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Jesus, of course, isn’t talking about feet. He’s talking about servant-leadership. Jesus always focused on the needs of others.  Great leaders focus on serving those who follow them. One day when Jesus caught his disciples arguing over who was the greatest among them, he didn’t rebuke them for wanting to be great, he gave them a formula for greatness: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).  Great leaders are servant leaders.

12 Lessons From Leaders in the Bible (Part 2 of 3)

The greatest leadership lessons I have learned have not come from leaders of today but from leaders in history, most notably leaders from the Bible.  Some of the greatest examples of effective leadership can be found within the pages of the Bible.  For leaders today, there is much to learn from these ordinary people who made decisions that transformed them into extraordinary leaders.  I discussed four of them in my last post.  Here are three more Bible leaders we can learn from.


5. Joshua: Leaders lead and inspire by example.
In Joshua 24:15, after leading his people into the Promised Land, in one of the most inspiring speeches of the Old Testament Joshua places two choices before the children of Israel. “But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living” (HCSB)  Joshua said, “You have two choices.  Choice one: Serve the God who brought you into the land. Or choice two: serve the false gods of other peoples.  And then, Joshua leads by example by revealing his choice. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (ESV).

Because the people believed in Joshua’s leadership, they follow his example. “Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God” (Joshua 24:16-18 ESV).  Joshua didn’t have to force or threaten them; by his example he inspires them to follow his lead.

6. David: Leaders are willing to face giants head on.
The story of David and Goliath may be the most famous story in the Bible.  In 1 Samuel 17, the Israelites are being humiliated by the Philistines and their 9-foot tall giant - Goliath.  Goliath taunts the Israelites and challenges them to send him one man and, if that man should defeat him, the Philistines would become their servants.  David, a small shepherd boy who will not even fit into the armor he is provided, volunteers. When Goliath mocks him, David says, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (v45 ESV).  He then takes a stone, slings it at Goliath, striking him in the forehead and knocks the giant to the ground - dead.  Leaders understand where their real strength comes from.  Therefore, they don’t run from problems, they face them head on.

7. Isaiah: Leaders rise to the occasion
In Isaiah chapter 6, God lays out a need for someone to go and speak for Him.  God has a message and needs a messenger.  Isaiah responds, “Here am I. Send me!”  God issued a call for someone to go.  Isaiah saw it as an opportunity to make a difference for the glory of God.  Leaders don’t wait for someone else to step up when something needs done. They take initiative. Leaders rise to the occasion when the occasion calls for a leader.

Growth Through Multiplication

If you really want to see growth in your team or organization you must learn what John Maxwell calls “The Law of Explosive Growth.”  The Law of Explosive Growth says, “to add growth, lead followers - to multiply, lead leaders.”

As you pour yourself into developing followers to be leaders you can multiply yourself exponentially. Leaders who develop followers grow their organizations only one person at a time.  But leaders who focus on developing more leaders will multiply their growth because for every leader they develop they also reap the fruit of that leader’s followers.  In other words, add ten leaders to your organization and you have the results of not only your leadership, but the results of ten other leaders.  You have growth from not only those who follow you, but also from those who follow the ten leaders.

Effective leaders who really want to see their organizations grow focus not so much on gaining followers, but on developing the followers they have to be leaders.

How did Jesus grow His church?  By developing ordinary men to become extraordinary leaders.  We find the process He used in Matthew 10.  Here is the process He used.

1. He called them. (vv1-4)
2. He commissioned them. (vv5-6)
3. He equipped them. (vv7-8a)
4. He empowered them. (v 1)
5. He prepared them (v14)
6. He encouraged them. (v15)
7. He evaluated them. (Luke 9:10)

Here is the progression of equipping leaders:

I do it - you watch.
I do it - you help.
You do it - I help.
You do it - I watch.
You do it.

How do you equip leaders?

Home Run the Movie

I had the privilege to preview the soon to be released movie "Home Run" today.  It is a great story of forgiveness, second chances, and power from above to overcome addictions.  I highly recommend it.  A great story.  In theaters beginning April 19.

Managing Multiple Tasks

I sat in my home office reflecting on the week ahead.  As I was reviewing my calendar and the responsibilities I had for that week I quickly realized that I had a multitude of tasks for which I was responsible.  People were counting on me to be well prepared.  I had a weekly staff meeting, two sermons to prepare, two leadership classes to teach, a mastermind group to lead, a  meeting with a new young pastor I am mentoring to lead a new church we are planting, plus a number of other responsibilities.

I immediately thought of Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”  How do I balance the meetings on the calendar with phone calls that need to be made, the sermons that have to be written, and so many other tasks that call for my attention?  I knew, especially for that week, I needed to be a good steward of my time.

Four Tips For Keeping Your Life In Balance

Set Your Priorities
A  simple to-do list does not work when you have so many responsibilities.  You need to have a prioritized to-do list.  You must constantly be asking and answering the question, "What matters most?"  You need to identify what is really most important.

Get it Together
In other words, “Get organized.”  You need to find a system that works for you.  I use Google Calendar and Google “Go Tasks” to help me keep it together.  It does not matter what system you use.  What matters is that you have a system that works for you.   Some people can use notes on index cards very effectively.

Learn to Delegate and Empower
There are some things that only you can do.  There are many things that you do not have to do.  When you have weeks like mine described above, you can't do everything that needs to be done.  Therefore you must delegate some tasks, including important ones, and empower others to accomplish them so that you are able to focus your time and attention on what is most important.