I am NO ORGANIZATIONAL GURU. No way, no how.

I am merely a guy who has lived for so long without planning, without organizing, and without thinking ahead that something had to give. If I didn’t get a handle on my calendar, appointments, projects, and ideas I would run the risk of living an ineffective life. For me, ineffectiveness is a fate worse than death. So, I offer these tips and I publish the resources that have help me because I want you to be as effective as possible. Everyday is the Lord’s and I want you to be a major force for the kingdom- each and every day!

Last week, we looked at your calendar in a big 365 day chunk. Today we’ll break it into 12 parts as we seek to Measure Monthly.

As we set goals and make grand organizational plans we need to set aside some time to regularly reevaluate and stay on point. Searcy suggests two important habits to start each month to help you measure your life.

First, ask yourself this question: “Who will I be mentored by?” The answer to this question will be personal to you and your context. Will you meet with other local ministers? What about a network or even local conferences? Will you seek out a mentor in person or utilize technology to meet? How much time do you have to be mentored?

These are a lot of questions to consider but wrestle with them. For me I am planning on meeting with a handful of local ministers each month. I also will be sending out a few letters/emails seeking to have lunch with some ministers I hold in high regard around our area. Searcy challenged me with this thought- “You are the average of the 5 people you hang with most often?” Very sobering to think about.

The second part of Measuring Monthly is to set aside time to reevaluate and review your progress. Schedule some time away by yourself each month to reflect, make adjustments, and recommit to your personal growth. Go ahead and schedule this time for the end of August.

So, you’ve planned for the entire year through Abandoning Annually and now you’ve begun to find time to Measure Monthly. Next we will Withdraw Weekly as we continue to plan for personal growth.

Wednesday Night Teaching Series: 1 Corinthinas (Week 3)
(Our Wednesday night is a combined class with Junior & Senior High students. It is designed to drive conversation from the biblical text and to connect biblical truths to everyday living.)

Big Question: Are you maturing in your walk as a follower of Jesus?

Bible: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Understandable Message: The church in Corinth was struggling to overcome sin and petty behavior that was stunting their growth as disciples of Jesus Christ. In this section, Paul tells the Corinthian believers that, while they think that they are mature, their actions actually show that they are still very immature in their faith. Specifically, they are arguing over who is the better teacher- Paul, Apollos, or Peter? He challenges them to see their leaders as the servants that they really are. Their focus should be on God not human leaders.

Discussion Questions:

1. Paul says that the Corinthian believers were being immature Christians because they were jealous of and fighting one another (v3). What are other examples of Christians behaving immaturely?
2. If you could wake up tomorrow and find that you had been magically transformed into “a mature disciple”, what would be the first sign that you would see that would confirm to you that you had become a mature disciple? What would be different? What actions would you be doing? How would you approach your life differently?
3. Paul writes that he planted the seed of faith there in Corith and that Apollos watered it. Who planted the seed of faith in you? Who is, right now, watering your faith?
4. Have you planted the seed of faith in someone that you know? Have you introduced someone to Jesus?
5. Who are you watering? Is there someone that you are helping to understand their faith more fully? Who are you helping become a more mature disciple?

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: We had brownies!

Music Playlist: (I always play music as my students enter and leave the youth room) In Your Eyes, Times Like These, The Stand, All These Things I’ve Done

Favorite Moment: I loved hearing the teens tell stories about the people who have directly impacted their spiritual journeys. They talked about their parents or siblings, coaches and teachers.

Up Next: 1 Corinthians 3 pt. 2

The Nursery. We have the nursery put together. Sandy and her mother helped put the finishing touches on the paint and decorations during Spring Break. I put the crib together- which was a bit more of an ordeal than I anticipated. I managed to strip 2 screws with the stupid, ridiculously small alan wrench included in the box. No worries though. Simmons sent us 2 replacement screws and Sandy gingerly put them in place. Darn my fat fingers! Sandy’s coworkers are throwing us a shower this week. We are thrilled that we now have a place for the gifts and diapers and clothes.

Birthing Classes. We start parenting/birthing classes this week as well. Thankfully, the hospital is across the street from our house so we won’t have to worry about traveling. I am a bit nervous about the classes just because I don’t know what to expect- except I know that we will watch THE video. I’ll give you an update on the class on Friday and let you know how it goes.

Loose Ends. We are preparing the hospital bag. We have her hospital attire and essentials ready to go. I am creating a birth playlist for my iPod- Some soothing tracks from Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, David Crowder, Alison Krauss and, of course, U2. I am also packing DVDs for Sandy- Our room will have a DVD player and Sandy thinks (ha) that she will want to watch “King of the Hill.” I’m packing them but not holding my breath. We have a car seat for my car. I need to put the stroller together. Um…. We’re just getting everything we can think of ready for baby. Anything we’re missing?

I returned home with 3 books, 13 main session recordings, 27 lab session recordings, notes in two “note-zines”, and a few notes scribbled on my legal pad. I want to be a good steward of these resources and so the last thing I want them to do is rot on a shelf somewhere. These resources are a gift so I must do everything I can to put them to the greatest use in my life and ministry.

Now obviously I won’t need to re-listen to everyone of those recordings and there are some that I’ll probably never get too. So what is my process for processing?

First, I gather together all my notes and type them out. Due to the fact that a one-armed monkey can type faster than me means that this is probably the hardest and most labor inducing step. Once I finish this, I have a better idea of what I missed, what I need to hear again, and the order of need.

Next, I begin importing the recordings into iTunes and create a playlist full of sessions to go through. If you’ve been reading this blog for any period of time you know that am a believer in the iPod. I know that the iPod is the greatest tool for leadership development. Long before universities were giving out iPods and iPhones to their students I had sermons, books, and lectures loaded on my white knight making me a better student and leader. If all you have on your iPod is the latest songs from Top 40 “artists” than get on the ball and help get your lead on with a few challenging books or lessons. Need some ideas? Leave me a comment and I will personally send you some resources.

The Third step in the processing adventure is to Prioritize and Schedule. Since I have already worked through the material typing it out I know what lessons challenged me but, more importantly, I know what lessons are going to have the greatest impact on what I am currently doing. That is a big plus. I can spend an hour being wowed by a great lesson that inspires me to reach for the stars or I can spend an hour listening to a lesson that will help learn how to better turn on the rockets. Do you see the difference? I love and desire and need to be inspired to do great things but sometimes… sometimes I just need to learn to do something more effectively which will enable me to do something more excellent down the road. So I prioritize the lessons based on need. I make out a listening schedule and set aside development time in my planner. This fall I have designated Mondays and Thursdays for development days. (maybe one day I’ll post about what I do on Development days)

Step 4 begins as I listen or re-listen to lessons. I take new notes down on a legal pad and then update my typed notes when I return to my computer. What I am left with is a pretty good set of notes and usually a few actions steps on implementing what I’ve learned. Sometimes, I walk away from doing this and I may not have any action steps. That’s ok. I have the notes and I’ve activated my Reticular Activating System (Thanks Mark). So whenever I’m faced with a problem or idea that was mentioned in one of these talks, because I took good notes and invested time in making sure I understood the content, I’m able to cut my research time in half. G.I. Joe was right: Knowing IS half the battle. Bonus: Part of being a good steward of these resources is that when I know a friend could use the teaching or insight I can be quick to help them out with notes, outlines, ideas, or the recordings themselves. (This is my favorite part!!!!)

Well folks, that’s about it. I was truly blessed by Catalyst 08. I can’t wait for next year!

Speaking of Catalyst 09
Wouldn’t it be cool if me and the 2 of you who read this blog went to Catalyst next year as the Kicking at the Darkness group? I bet we’d be the only blog group there!! Sounds pretty cool to me. If you’re interested let me know. Let’s make it happen! Catalyst 09 is October 7-9, 2009. Mark your calenders!

I’ve cleaned up my home office and I’ve laid out all the books I think I’ll be using for references this week. I teach 3 different classes, 3 times a week. Sometimes due to the nature of what we’re studying I need only two prep times because we will build upon (say) Sunday morning class during our Wednesday night class. That is not the case right now. On Sundays we are studying the life of Christ. On Wednesdays we have more of a discussion based class. We recently finished studying Philippians and I’ll soon start a class on God @ the Movies. Both of these teaching times are more or less formal teaching times with a big dose of discussion. Sunday nights are a bit different. On Sunday nights we gather for a teen worship time complete with singing, prayer, and a “sermon.” This week we will not do this on Sunday night. That means I don’t have to prep for this but I will spend a little time looking ahead and planing out the Sunday nights for the month of May.

In personal study time, I’ve been studying through Acts 11-15 and I’m working on a book proposal. The proposal has been time consuming but very enjoyable. I hope to have it finished in the next two weeks. As it comes together I’ll be posting information here and would love feedback from you all. I’m reading Bulletproof Book Proposals to aid in my completion of the proposal. Each chapter ends with a writing assignment that helps you think through the various aspects of a winning proposal. I have really liked working through and thinking through my ideas. I would buy my book idea! Maybe some editor will think the same thing!

So that’s where I’m at here at 1:50 in the AM. Maybe I’ll crash here a few hours. We shall see.

I hope that you are fast asleep. I hope that you are getting your rest.

I’ll join you sometime. Until then it’s back to work.