Hey Friend - Over the next few weeks, I want to help you understand the unique way we are wired to do ministry. I talk with pastors all the time about how each day brings a new sort of challenge. We all know Matthew 25:23, but sometimes we might wrap up a work day and repeat “well done, good and faithful servant” after having to pivot and deal with insurance or other frustrating issues all day. So let me ask you two questions. What fills you? What drains you? Do your favorite parts of ministry leave you wanting more, staying focused for hours? And what about the least favorite thing, and you feel like doing it for one hour is equal to a 12-hour workday? I had the conversation just yesterday with a pastor friend about ministry being a fulfilling job, but we have to sometimes work to make it that way. Yes, I think there is an intentional design behind our working life that can either make it better or worse. Today, I want to teach you what I call the 3D framework. Draining | Dealing | Developing I introduced this WAY BACK in the first episode of the podcast, and I still go back to it all the time. In fact, over the last few weeks, I have gone back to the idea as I’ve been on an intentional journey to reorient myself to my current reality of ministry work. This isn’t about listing what you like and what you don’t like, but developing an energy-forward approach to ministry work. Draining tasks are those things you can do, but have a significant energy drain on you. It might be “busy work” or even crucial ministry tasks such as counseling others and leading meetings. A draining task doesn’t mean it isn’t important; it just takes a different cognitive load. Tiago Forte, in his book Building a Second Brain, talks about how the cognitive demands of life grow every year, but our brain doesn’t grow alongside them. Dynamic Stabilization, a theory from my current sociology crush Hartmut Rosa, describes this feeling as well. Draining tasks drain us of energy in a significant way. Dealing tasks are those things that keep us at our current level of energy. They neither contribute or detract. Essentially neutral, you must manage these things throughout the day. I find that dealing with tasks is the necessary fuel to keep things burning. Developing tasks are energy positives. They make us more excited, more alive, and have this weird ability to take us out of a slump and get gas back in the tank. We all have unique developers, and what might be draining for me is developing for you. The better we get a handle on our personal 3D’s, the easier it is to design a daily and weekly approach to ministry which doesn’t have us wrecked at the end of the week. Action Step In my course Becoming Productive, I give away a worksheet on listing out your own 3D’s. You can grab the first module and the worksheet for free. So get out your calendar or journal from last week, and start looking at how you spent your time. Reflect back on the things that might not have been on it. Print out that 3D framework worksheet. Start listing each ministry task or action item within the categories. If you know you typically do something, but it didn’t happen that week, add it to the list as well. Once you get done, circle a couple that might surprise you. Or, you might have a task that got filtered in a surprising way. This simple clarity exercise can be surprising. Action Reflection What’s one draining task you can delegate, delay, or change how you approach? Here is a truth I believe in 100%. Knowing what drains or fuels you isn’t selfish - it’s stewardship. Next week, I’ll be back to talk about how we can understand our time inside the 3D framework. Chad PS. If keeping track of things seems like a chore, try my most recent Day Sheet. It’s the tool I’ve used for over 15 years to plan my day and stay on track. My latest YouTube video where I talk about my favorite way to track new visitors and create a visitor integration system. |
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.
After 20 years of working at a church, I have seen countless approaches to my own ministry productivity. Now, I am in an admin role and boots on the ground since I work within the denominational system. I've been thinking through some shifts over the past month, and I realize these are applicable to a broader spectrum. Especially if you are stepping into a staff-sized church of a few hundred people. I am low-key curious about how this would have affected my last full-time ministry gig when I...
I had a conversation last year with a family member that is making its way into nearly all conversations with the churches I work with. My brother-in-law’s Grandmother is a regular part of our family. We see her at least weekly. I enjoy it because I have no one left in my family of her generation. She is 87 and is a ball. Last year, we were talking about how she felt the world was becoming crazy (because it is) and she kept referencing how no one is part of church anymore (she isn’t wrong)....
Hey Friend - How's your spring been? Let's just say I've been busy. I'll tell you more about my super not-so-secret project I cooked up at the last minute around 6 weeks ago at the end of the email. But let's talk about CliftonStrengths. Many of us are familiar with Strengths. It used to be called Strength Finders...and funny enough, Gallup has even started changing the language to refer to them as talents, because the tool is so much more than simply learning what you might be good at. I...