I steward Productive Pastor, a podcast and community of ministry leaders focused on how productivity and strategic ministry in the average church. I write about practical approaches to ministry productivity. I also write emails about church stability/development and my own theological musics in our current social moment.
Tracking Progress and Maintaining Personal Accountability | Productive Pastor
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Hey Friends - It's the last day of 2024. I've spent some time over the last few days working on my hopes and plans for 2025. Here is what we have covered so far in this series. Why think about values rather than goals. | Read here Rhythms for repeated practice. | Read here Today, I want to write about how we can build out systems of accountability as we work toward the best 2025. You've got to track it. Often, when I work with individuals or congregations, they struggle. I find they aren't naming specific inputs or tracking progress. This is essential! You've got to build in named behaviors. Once you have those, you've got to have a way to track them. Whether you use a spreadsheet or a paper tracker, I suggest building one out. Jerry Seinfeld, the actor and comedian, tells a story about how he learned to write jokes. He started writing a joke each day. After he wrote his joke, he crossed off that day on the calendar. Seinfield gamified his skill by following an "don't break the chain" admonition. He tried to string as many successive days as he could writing a single joke. The practice makes perfect. I've been doing this more this past year. I make a note every day I read scripture in my Bible. I made it 200+ days in a row, and deer hunting this November when I accidently missed a day. It broke my heart. But I started over the next day. Hoping to hit 365 in 2025! I also use Readwise's daily review to go over 10 previous book highlights. Today marked 250 days in a row doing this. That slow tick mark strategy is a huge motivator. Don't try to add 18 new behaviors into next year. It can be overload. Think about what 2-3 in your personal life and 2-3 in ministry can domino all sorts of other parts of your values. Here is my list I am working on. Personal 10,000 + steps daily. Read scripture and take notes each day. Sub 3hr screentime. Ministry (these focus on my growth transitioning from local church to denominational leadership) Inbox zero each day. Stay consistent in weekly communication schedule. Don't let projects go dormant for more than 2 weeks. I'm tracking them through my Trello Weekly Dashboard and will keep an analog list of weeks accomplished on my desk. I don't know what big goals you have, but I've been sharing about the power to manage change by identifying values. I hope this has been helpful. So think through those goals, and take the time over the next few days to consider how a daily or weekly tracking system on the values can help you get there. Chad |
Hey. I'm Chad Brooks.
I steward Productive Pastor, a podcast and community of ministry leaders focused on how productivity and strategic ministry in the average church. I write about practical approaches to ministry productivity. I also write emails about church stability/development and my own theological musics in our current social moment.
Hey Friend - Last email, I shared a story about a workshop conversation. A participant worried that their church, focusing on reaching new people, would leave older members in the dust. I've heard it before, but it made me start thinking about why it is a common worry. This sort of conversation is more complicated than we realize. The fear of being left out is real. The need for a missional priority for reaching new people is real. Church leaders have to navigate both of these fears. I shared...
What walls are standing in front of you right now? Ministry walls are barriers that inhibit moving forward. Personal walls are based on leadership. Organizational walls limit your church's ability to live fully into your mission. There are all sorts of walls. If I wanted to define the idea of ministry walls, I’d put it this way. A ministry wall is some outside force, appearing to be beyond natural control, which sets a defining boundary of effectiveness. Let’s dig into that definition a bit...
Let me share a recap of a workshop session I led this spring. I was in Louisiana and teaching a session on engaging new visitors to the church. A good friend was bringing several people from his church and warned me to be ready. About halfway through the table conversation, one of his leaders said: “It’s all good and fun to talk about reaching new people, but what about the seniors who have been at our church for decades?” Honestly, it wasn’t the first time I'd heard this comment, but this...