Identify Threats

This past Sunday, Patrick Nachtigall (www.three-worlds.com), led a seminar for the Bulgarian Church of God entitled, "5 Reasons the Church is Not Growing." Patrick has identified these five reasons after traveling across 6 continents in which he interviewed leaders and members of congregations and ministries within the Church of God, Anderson, IN. 

One of the key responsibilities for anyone in a leadership position is to identify any potential problems that threaten the environment, culture, and overall health. An effective leader does not bury their head in the sand and assume all is well. A good leader will identify and assess any current threats and deal with them head on. Better yet, a great leader will anticipate potential threats before they become a reality. 

Here is a simple exercise that you can perform based upon your current leadership context (work, home, or other): 

1. Make a list of what is currently threatening to destroy or cause injury to your environment. 
2. Create a second list of anticipated threats. 
3. Identify solutions, safeguards, and accountability measures to implement. 

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If interested, here are the "5 Reasons the Church is Not Growing" as identified by Patrick.

1. The lack of understanding the historical and cultural factors of the home country. 
2. The fear of change and risk.
3. Churches don't understand that all Christians are missionaries to their own communities.
4. Churches do not invest in young people.
5. Churches tend to treat the symptoms and not the disease. 

(Patrick, along with his wife Jamie, are the Regional Coordinators for the Europe/Middle East Region for Global Missions. Global Missions is the mission arm of the Church of God, Anderson, IN. You can read more on this topic in Patrick's most recent book, "Mosaic." This book is highly recommended for all church leaders!)

Seasons of Life

When I started out to create this blog the idea was not to post once every 2 years. My original goal was to write 2-3 posts a week, not annually. So what happened? Life happened! It amazes me how many times I set out to achieve something, or to maintain a disciplined regimen of prayer, devotions, diet, or whatever else I feel needs my attention, and then 2 weeks later nothing has changed. My intentions were good, but my delivery was poor. Looking back, I did not have a proper perspective of the season in which I was living.

So many things in life are fluid and temporary, yet when we start a new project, hobby, job, discipline, or relationship we fully convince ourselves that these will be permanent fixtures in our life. That couldn't be further from the truth. A recent study at the Bureau  Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), shows that Baby Boomers held an average of 11 jobs from the ages of 18-44. That means on average Baby Boomers held 11 jobs in a 26 year span. That translates into changing jobs every 2.36 years. Nothing is permanent.

Our relationships change as well. If you have kids, your interaction, influence, and time spent together will fluctuate as they grow older. We have very few friendships that last a lifetime. Typically a job change, house move, or some other trigger will terminate or change the type of friendships we have.

When we begin something new in our life, inevitably we are forced to make a decision to end something. There are tipping points for everything in life. We can only have so many friendships. We can only read so many books at a time. (What?? Am I the only one that reads multiple books at a time?) We can only have so many house projects going. You get the point.

As leaders, it is important that we are fully aware of the season we live in and how it affects what we can realistically accomplish. Depending on the season we are in, we may not be physically drained, but emotionally or spiritually we are dried up. We cannot under estimate how inseparable our work life and home life are as they are connected to one another. Nor can we be naive to think that a busy and stressful public life will not spill over into our personal life. 


When I made the decision to begin this blog, I had no idea what was waiting for me on the horizon. Since I started this blog I have moved into a different role at work, which involved making a lot of changes as well as starting new teams and ministries,  (I think this took a lot of mental energy that kept me from blogging/journaling on a regular basis), I graduated with two degrees, my wife went back to school and started a new job, and my children are becoming increasingly busy as they grow older. 
Remember that your current season is not permanent. It took me 10 years to complete my degree. That was a long season and many times I was on the verge of quitting. However, I reminded myself that this was only for a season and that it would not last forever. 


Below is a short list to consider as you navigate through your current or future season. Remember, a season is not forever. If you are going through a dark and difficult time, there is joy on the other side. If you are going through a particularly good season, beware that you will not stay on top forever. 

1. Identify the season you are in and project how long it will last. What is particularly difficult or easy about this season?
2. If your mental or physical capacity is full at work, how is it affecting your home life, or vice-versa?
3. Breakdown your projects and to-do list into little steps. Be realistic in how much time and energy it will take you to complete the tasks. Don't add a new project without finishing or deleting a project first.
4. Leave room for margin in your life. Don't overextend yourself or your family!