Perhaps you are spending too much time away from home trying to keep your team afloat.

Perhaps you can’t seem to find the time to train new volunteers and leaders, preventing you from finding the time to train new volunteers and leaders, which keeps you from finding time…

Perhaps you are at the limit of what you can take because you are overwhelmed.

Whatever the case may be, it can seem like life is out of control.

How can you get control? By stopping the cycle.

Stop thinking that one more day will solve your problems.

Stop thinking that you can gain control doing the same thing every day.

Stop thinking that you can develop a “time stretcher” that will make a 24 hour day into 28 hours.

Just stop. Stop doing one thing that is less important than all the rest. Just stop. See what happens. Then stop and realize that things can change.Â

Here are some questions to ask before diving into a new solution:

Who? – who is impacted by the problem? Knowing who needs the solution is a good part of the problem, as the solution often needs to be tailored to the audience

What? - what exactly is the problem? We often forget that some time needs to be spent fully understanding the proble?m upfront. Otherwise, how can we test the solution and know that it addresses the original problem?

Why? -  why is there  a problem? Is it because a process is failing and just needs to be adjusted? Is it something related to specific people or bad habits that need to be addressed? Or, is this truly a problem that requires a solution to be built?

Before launching your team into a brand new project or direction, stop and ask the simple questions. Spend some time digging into the problem, including the source(s) involved, and determine what the right solution should be.  Don’t lose sight of the problem by getting caught up in the “how” part of the solution. 

Leading sideways means that we need to spend time listening to the needs of the leaders next to us.

Leading sideways means that we need to be willing to join up with others to accomplish something bigger than a single team can do.

Leading sideways means coaching one another as we lead our teams through the great and the difficult times.

Take some time to consider where you could help out another leader. Perhaps it is simply listening and praying. Perhaps it involves assistance or some time coaching one another.  Whatever it is, be willing to open your eyes and ears to what is happening alongside you and your team.

A savings account is about investing in your life and the lives of others. A credit card  sits until there is no other option.A savings account is always giving back. A credit card keeps taking and never gives back.

A savings account brings a smile to the faces of young and old. A credit card brings stress and regret until it is finally cut and tossed away.

Each of us has the potential to be a savings account or a credit card to those we lead. Which one are you?

• Be encouraging. Remind people that God may be directing them to new avenues of service and trust. People are starting new businesses and careers, but they often need lots of love and encouragement to do that.
• Pray for people—that God will meet practical needs in extraordinary ways and that their faith would be strengthened and their hearts encouraged during this time.
• Spend time with people—in every loss from a death, to job loss as mentioned previously, the loss of relationships is primary. People are lonely in times of loss and if you can’t help in tangible ways, help with time. Taking an unemployed person to lunch or a couple out to dinner just for fun can be a tremendous encouragement.
• Actively help. Network; help the unemployed find work. Hire them if you can; refer them if possible. Retrain them if you have the ability. Pay for retraining. Keep them accountable and encouraged. Make a house payment; give a grocery gift card. Take their kids to the dentist. Pay for medical care. Buy clothes.
• Don’t forget homeless shelters, food banks, any group that serves those in need. Their challenges expand at times like this. Think outside the obvious. Homeless folks need clean underware; consider a “Tidy-Whitey Drive.” Don’t forget the ladies also.
• Whenever you spend money on yourself or your family, think about if you could do this if you were unemployed. If not, do it for another family.
• All of the previous suggestions presuppose that you know your brothers and sisters in Jesus well enough to be aware of their needs. If you don’t, start there.

She also discusses what the church shouldn’t do, including how the church should be a better steward of its finances. This leads to her final suggestion:

If you have excess of anything, share. Many families today have more cars than they do people in the family. If a car breaks beyond repair for a person out of work, it is a tragic loss. Consider giving away a vehicle. To see someone in need and to say, “Oh, we just love this van, it’s been in the family such a long time,” as an excuse to keep one of five vehicles for two people, doesn’t not exactly shout the love of God.

I would suggest reading the full post to prevent missing some important points.

Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it’s unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside.

Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.

The book’s authors suggest that fixing problems when they are small will prevent bigger problems from emerging.

I think it is a good idea to reflect on our own lives to determine if we have broken windows that need to be repaired. Perhaps we have strayed a little more than we have in the past. Perhaps we are letting a little more of the world dominate our time and tear us away from God than we should. Perhaps our ministry has taken up the “good enough” stance a little too much recently.

Whatever it is, it may be time to fix those broken windows, before we begin to accumulate litter in our lives and our team.

Ever slow down long enough to look at whether your discipleship strategy is actually working?  I know…who has time?  Here’s the thing, we better make time!   As I see it, you don’t have to read between the lines to see the link between leadership and accountability for results (See Matthew 25 or Luke 19 if you doubt me).  That said, how can we determine whether our discipleship strategy is working?

He goes on to answer the following questions:

What 21st-century challenges are testing the design limits of our discipleship strategy?

What are the limitations of our model that have failed to keep up with the times?

Whether you have a broken discipleship strategy or just want to  evaluate your current strategy, check out the post.

Read the full article

When we inspire, we cause others to strive to be their best. When we injure, we cause others to never be their best.

When we inspire, we listen to what others have to  say. When we injure, we force others to listen to us.

When we inspire, we do whatever we can to serve others. When we injure, we see others only as people that can serve us.

Which option will you choose?

Your team tells a story as well. It might be a story of a passion to help those in need. It may be a passion to use skills to serve. It may even be a vision to make something new and amazing.

What is your story?

Have you written it down?

Have you shared it with someone?

Your story isn’t real until you create your story, write it down, and share it.

Those of us willing to listen will realize that people are interesting. People have stories about their personal lives,business, and history.They have stories that reveal their dreams, and stories that reveal their triumph over tragedy.

When was the last time you listened to a story from someone you lead?

When was the last time you listened to a story from someone you follow?