Scott Cheatham’s Weblog

A Fun Idea!

One of the most important skills anyone can learn is how to communicate effectively. One of the key components of this skill is learning how to craft your message to your listeners. Who are you speaking to? Do you know what type of person they are and what drives them? That’s what the book “Kingdomality” tries to solve. Author Sheldon Bowles with help from Richard and Susan Silvano has crafted a fun, entertaining way of looking at yourself and the people you communicate with.

The book features a fictional narrative of an out of sorts King whose kingdom is not operating so well. A wizard happens along to grant him a wish and the king asks for wisdom in leading his people. From there, the king is taken to another kingdom where he learns about the various guildhalls (base types) and the people who live in them (more precise types). The book groups twelve different personality types into the four guildhalls (three in each group) and the king learns about each by meeting the various types. Such titles as the “Black Knight”, “Dreamer-Minstrel”, “Doctor”, and “Scientist” make up the kingdom. A read of the book (or listen to the audio book) is necessary to understand more about the various types. Titles are deceptive. For instance, “Benevolent Rulers” are not necessarily the kings in this kingdom. Any of the twelve types can lead but the key is to learn who YOU are and then learn about those you work with or lead. When you do that, you can be much more successful in being productive and leading those around you. By the book’s end, the king is grasping the fundamentals and is already making a difference in his kingdom.

What I liked about “Kingdomality” is that the book was a brisk, fun read. As a pastor, I see great benefit in learning how to improve in communicating with my congregation. Aside from the funny titles and engaging narrative, the book provides real, applicable ideas that can be tailored to your work setting. As a bonus, you can go to the author’s website and take the Kingdomality Profile test to get a handle on your type and its strengths and weaknesses. You can take the test by clicking here. I tested as a “Dreamer-Minstrel” which suits me perfectly. My wife is most likely a “Doctor” and that gives me great insight on the way she thinks and how I can best communicate to her as her husband. When you get the basic ideas of the book incorporated into your life, it’s amazing how much benefit you can draw for such a little book.

I’ve studied many management forms and personality typing. This book was the first of it’s kind to bring a bit of lighthearted fun to the process while stressing that nobody can be pigeonholed into just one main type. Our tendencies will always be found in a type, but there are shades of grey in the typing that the author addresses.

The book was released in 2005 and is available both in print and audio versions. The audio version is quite entertaining as the book authors elected to produce the text as a dramatic performance with voice actors, music, and various sound effects. This was also a nice change from the standard reading of the text in many audio books.

I recommend this book to you. Of course, as a “Dreamer-Minstrel”, I’m expected to be quite upbeat and positive about all things so my review should logically focus on the positive aspects of this book and what benefits you can draw from it! You’ll figure that out after you read it! Have fun.

A Fine Balancing Act

And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don’t forget for a minute that you, too, serve a Master–God in heaven.
(Colossians 4:1 MSG)

Finding good help in church or business can be difficult. Whether you are overseeing a volunteer ministry organization or running a company, there is no shortage of people looking for positions. So why is it that mid-level managers and Human Resource professionals, not to mention pastors, struggle with keeping quality people in positions of need? Perhaps the answer is staring them in the mirror.

When Paul wrote his letter to the church in Colossae all those years ago, there evidently was a management problem then too. Sometimes the overseers take for granted the faithful workers so they can deal with the problems of keeping the business afloat. There’s a great parallel for business today as managers look to deal with costs in order to improve their bottom lines in this tough economy. Unfortunately, they are looking at people rather than systems to fix the problem. Incentives are leaving the workplace so profits can be fattened and in many cases, employees aren’t even being communicated with as to why.

The same scenario plays out in local churches as pastors sometimes fail to recognize the thankless work of their volunteers. Many times we are guilty of just nodding our head on occasion and telling them “thanks” every few months. Meanwhile we turn our attention to people who many times aren’t contributing anything to the mission of the church but who pull at our schedules wanting to discuss this and that. We do this in the name of service and because we don’t want to “rock the boat”. Meanwhile, our volunteers just keep chugging along doing the thankless jobs that are so badly needed.

It’s not that we shouldn’t be trying to connect with new people. We should. But I have learned that great churches (and businesses for that matter) are made up of people who do the little things well. I’m blessed with a church family who will take time for the little things. Wiping down a table, picking up trash, refilling the coffee pot.  All of this being done behind the scenes so everyone can enjoy worship. As much as is possible, I try to do little things for all of them to let them know I care and see. In business, we should do the same thing. Cutting incentives just to save a buck may increase profits in the short term but when quality people leave for better situations you will suffer by spending more to retrain inadequate help. Here’s a few things you can do to show your appreciation to your workers/volunteers…

• How about a coffee card for someone? Is $10 too much to let them know you care?
• Take 15 minutes and make five, 3-minute calls to people in your church/organization. Let them know how much you value them and their time. You don’t have to be long winded. Just take some time to let them know you care about them.
• Take another 15 minutes and write three brief notes to other people in your group. Thank them for their service and let them know you are praying for them.

Those three suggestions alone bless 9 people in about a half-hour. NINE PEOPLE. Can you do that?

Being a good leader means understanding that you cannot do it all nor do you have to. Understand the gold mine you have with your people and serve them today.

I recently purchased an audio resource by blogger, author, and pastor Bob Franquiz titled “The Productive Leader”.  The resource is directed at leaders in any business setting but has great benefit for pastors and Christian leaders since that is where Franquiz is serving.  The resource is a two CD set with roughly 90 minutes or so of information. In it, Franquiz shares 24 productivity tips to get you on a path to getting more done in less time.

As most of my readers know, I enjoy this type of material. I read a lot of books to help me be a better leader and lately, many new audio resources are making their way into my library. David Allen’s “Making It All Work” is a great audio book as is “Getting Things Done”.  Nelson Searcy has a similar audio resource available for leaders in churches and business that I own. I share these resources with leaders in my church to give them ways to grow. Not everyone has my love of reading so an audio resource like this one is a welcome addition.

In all, I liked what Franquiz did here. He gives you doable ideas, he’s to the point, and he doesn’t waste a lot of time. I listened to it twice in a week’s period and am now getting ready to share it with my other leaders. My only “negative” is this review is that the audio on the CD’s was each one long cut instead of “chapters”. This is a big deal for me since I rip these over to my MP3 players to use when I exercise or am in my car. I would have liked to have been able to bookmark the cuts rather than make a mental reference as to where I left off so I can fast forward there when I return. This is minimal though. I am in the process of taking the MP3 tracks I ripped and cutting them up myself into chapters for future use!

Franquiz did a nice job with this resource. If you are looking for something to jump start your productivity, then give “The Productive Leader” a try. And no, I’m not being compensated for this endorsement!

I was talking with a pastor friend of mine about my thoughts on the blog this week when he shared an awesome vision for his church. He didn’t even realize he’d done it but I got excited just hearing him talk from his heart about his burden for the work and where he could see it going. The problem is, would others even buy into it? That’s a big question.

Building a culture in your church is an investment of time. Sometimes it takes years before you’re ready to make that bold move. It just depends on people. As I’ve shared this week about the cost of following Jesus and why it should be a joy for us, I’m painfully aware that sometimes, that isn’t the case. People don’t always buy in. They criticize the dream. They tell others and can potentially shipwreck any voyage into the depths of God’s amazing blessing. These “vision villains” can be anyone, including your family. They can really stifle your dreams if you let them.

I encouraged my friend to write down his vision and do it while it was fresh in his mind. Patience is the key in many instances. When we model a life of sacrifice to others, some will get on board. As others see the numbers increase, their influence will also increase and your “dream team” takes root. Jesus started with 12 disciples and left them to evangelize the world. It can happen!

When we understand the reality of the gospel and internalize it. When we make a bold stand for the Lord and strive to follow only Him. When we really pull up anchor and not look back. When all these things stir our hearts, then God can begin to work. He just calls us to a step of faith. A step that has no guarantees. It’s excited, scary, and refreshing all at the same time. Do it and you’ll never be the same.

Follow God boldly where he leads. You might be surprised just how far He’ll take you!

Be blessed this weekend.

Today’s church has many stresses placed on it by a culture of expectation. More than ever before, church planters are facing an ever higher mountain to climb in order to reach others with the gospel. The stress to have ready made teams to work in a variety of areas at the start, a large cash budget to pay for the many “things” that will attract others, and the basic need of trying to raise funds to support the team members themselves all put tremendous pressure on the team to succeed coming out of the box.  The established church isn’t immune either. It’s pressures might be a bit different in scope but the problem is the same. We build a church culture around performance but not spiritual expectation. What do I mean?

Look at it this way. You want to come to church expecting God to show up. I know I do. Many times though, the work can get stifled when we are so focused on other items, programs, and “things”, that we forget that the reason we gather to worship is not just to be taught, but to be challenged to expand beyond our limits to reach others with the life giving message of Christ. Is this the driving force of your worship? Author Neil Cole is asking many of these same questions on his blog recently.  His new book, Church 3.0 (pictured at right) is a manifesto of what he feels is the next wave of church life. It is due to be released next spring and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Some have criticized Cole for his ideas but I for one find them refreshing. In a sea of books awash with the latest fads, Cole is asking for a resurgence of the basic things that made the church great. You can do this in the context of modern culture but it takes work. Cole has overseen the planting of hundreds of churches so he speaks from a position of execution and not just theory. That makes a big difference.

It doesn’t matter the size of demographic makeup of your church. What I want to know is why we gather? What is our purpose in mission? Are we seeking Christ or self gratification? All good questions to ask at midweek as we ponder the weekend. Are you making a sacrifice for God’s church so that others might be saved? In life, we teach our children to make the sacrifice of getting up early to go to school, working hard and making something of themselves. This is sacrifice. We do this in every aspect of our lives so should our service to Christ and his church be different? Only when it costs us something, can we really feel fulfilled in our spiritual walk. God does incredible things with people who live a sacrificial life. I encourage you to search the scriptures, see how many times we are told to love others, and then challenge yourself to take action! Your life, and your church, will never be the same!

Under Construction!

In October, I’m preaching a series of messages on the sacrifice of the local church. If we are to be the kind of church Jesus died for, than the blessings of the Lord should come at some cost to us. This tends to fly in the face of people who routinely take scripture out of context and say that the Bible tells us that the blessings of the Lord are free and that we are not able to buy our way into anything. That is true to some degree. You cannot buy salvation. The bible is clear on this:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

My reply to people who take this route is to ask the question “Then what do we do about this passage:”

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  (Luke 9:23 ESV)

It is not enough to just accept Christ’s grace in your life. As we are called to serve Him, we should also understand that the grace that purchased our salvation was not without cost. Indeed, it cost Jesus His life. In light of that, shouldn’t our focus as a church be on what we can give back to Jesus rather than what we can get? For many today, church is just too expensive. Thousands are spent on the various baubles and toys to attract people because we’ve been told it’s the only way to get them. But are we teaching people to die to self and to live for Christ? When Paul was training Timothy to pastor the church he said these words:

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,  (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV)

Really? Does all include me? If so, does all include the congregation? If it does, then are we teaching this to them? In my own church I was convicted that I was not and my studies into God’s Word kept drawing me deeper and deeper into this topic. It’s not a flashy topic. It doesn’t look good on a postcard and it sure doesn’t make for a good marketing campaign does it? Some might think it points to negativity or hopelessness but far from it. In fact, the Apostle Peter said as much when writing this:

Resist him (Satan), firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:9-10 ESV)

An eternal glory! That’s a great promise. That doesn’t sound negative at all. The problem is, many times, we forget to teach about the sacrifices we must make to follow Christ. To take up the cross and follow Him. I want to be a part of something that costs me. I don’t want to ride in for free. If it has eternal consequences, than I should welcome a commitment and a cost. To deny that is to deny the blessing of the Lord in my life.

This past week I was working out in a local gym and a young man crossed my path with an interesting t-shirt. On the shirt it said in bold letters “Pain is the body’s way of removing weakness”. There’s spiritual truth to that. How can we know joy without sorrow? How can we know love without experiencing evil? How can we achieve success if we don’t know failure? In the next few weeks, I pray my messages will touch hearts in our church and change the lives of those around them as they serve others. We are planning a big outreach day on the week following the series’ conclusion. My hope is that our hearts (mine included) will be ready to receive God’s blessings when we are well aware of the cost.

The final installment in my personal growth planning is the daily plan. After I’ve looked long range at my annual goals, broken them down into monthly goals, then put them in executable format in my weekly plan, the next step is to plan each day to make things happen.  The key phrase in that last sentence is to PLAN EACH DAY.  I think it’s a good idea to plan each day in advance if you’re going to have any success in getting things done.  You may be aware of my reasoning for this but if not, consider your present day plan (if you have one).  You may write a few things down from time to time but nobody plans for interruptions do they? Funny thing is, they happen all the time.  Phone calls, friends stopping us, that “must be done now” project the boss throws on your desk, you name it.  Before long, your list gets tossed and you just react to the input around you.  This is a sure road for disaster and NEVER accomplishing the things you want to.

Start your day the night before.  I give roughly 15 minutes at night before retiring to look over my weekly plan and include a few things on my daily plan.  I use a small Picadilly (Moleskine clone) notebook that I’ve tabbed for my use and use a fresh page for each day.  I look first at my time sensitive commitments.  Any appointments there that need to be figured in?  Once I have that settled, then I plan at least three items I want to accomplish on that day.  These are my “Big Three” and I make them a priority to complete.  In fact, my goal is to accomplish at least one of these three tasks before the bulk of my day begins.  I do this because it gives me a sense of accomplishment and “get up and go” for my day.  Now I’m down to only two and I still have the whole day!

Underneath the big three, I put some “batch” tasks on my page that I can accomplish in differing contexts.  Phone calls, errands, computer tasks (both those that require internet access and those that don’t), and other similar tasks go below my priorities.  I do this so if I’m found with a ten minute window with nothing to do, I can quickly review my list and see that I could make a quick phone call (or two) and take something else off my list for the week.  Perhaps something happens and I’m left with a half hour to kill.  If I’m lucky enough to be at a place where I have access to a computer I can type a quick letter, reply to my email, or communicate with my associates through any number of social networking sites.  The key here is to maximize your time in whatever way is most efficient for you and to build new habits to see hidden opportunities to get things done.  This way, when you are home, you can disconnect if you choose and know that you are not cheating yourself.  Too many times I came home with phone calls to make, letters to write, visits on my list, and so many other things that I felt overwhelmed.  Now, I can relax on most nights and have quality time with my family while still achieving!  So what goes on my day planner each morning?  It changes from day to day but here’s roughly what it looks like…

My first priority is my time with God.  I can’t be an effective pastor if I’m not spending time with God each day so I look over my time commitments and I schedule in my “appointment” with God.  This is like any other appointment and I’m very guarded about moving it in any way.  For me, this time is most available to me in the early morning and that’s my favorite time anyway so I pencil it in each day.  Prayer and meditation are a part of this time also.

Next is my daily commitments.  I’m trying to lose weight so I MUST plan some time for exercise in my day.  This is an easy commitment to break since it’s for yourself but I’ve had to learn that it’s only through consistent training that I will see any progress so in it goes on my planner.  My wife and children need my time too so I look for ways I can get time in with them.  My oldest daughter is going through dental school so her schedule is limited.  My wife works full time and we have to coordinate date times so we can grab some coffee or a late night bite to eat without the kids.  All of this is considered so if I’ve planned wisely on my weekly plan, these times should go in easily.  Do you see now why I said all part of the plan are vital?

I also take time each day to pray for those that don’t know Christ.  I have many names on my prayer list so I make time each day to ask God to make Himself very real to these folks.  To me, this is one of those “key” areas that need to be a priority for me.

All of that is wrapped into my daily planning along with my “big three” and “batch” tasks.  In all, this entire system has worked for me and has allowed me to achieve more in the past few years than I ever have.  My only regret is that I didn’t discover it sooner.  I hope what has been shared here will be of use to you as you plan for the coming fall season.  Get started!  Do it now! Don’t procrastinate any longer.  Re-read all the part of this system and customize your own plan for growth and change in your life! May God bless you on your new journey!

Today continues our series on personal growth.  So far we’ve discussed annual and monthly planning and now it’s time to narrow our focus further into a weekly mindset.

I want to stress that each part of the plan is vital.  The parts fit together in a well run system that guide you in your planning each year.  Do not try to skip any part of the planning process in order to speed things up.  What will happen is you will stunt your goals, get frustrated, and eventually give up.  So let’s talk about our weekly planning and what goes into it…

If you recall, in the monthly planning I mentioned putting certain things on your annual calendar so you could be more efficient in your growing process.  As the weekly planning begins, we now must look at our notes and goals, and begin putting real action steps on our plan that we can execute for success.  For me, this process is Sunday evenings.  I like to go to a coffee shop somewhere, sit down with my planner, my goals, and a weekly printout of my calendar commitments and put my week together.  In his best-selling book “Getting Things Done”, author David Allen asks for a “weekly review” as part of his organizational process and this step is very much like that for me.  I begin by reviewing my past week and seeing what commitments are still outstanding and need to be given priority in the coming week.  I also look at things like my wife’s ever changing work schedule and the school calendar for my children.  Certain days are early release days for us so I make it a point to mark these on my planner so I don’t forget.  Depending on my wife’s schedule, I might have to drop the kids off at an activity so I make sure to note this as well.

Another important step for me at this stage of planning is to schedule a day off!  Sometimes, I cannot do this because of commitments so I’ll look for a block of time where I can free myself from work to do something with my children.  If at all possible though, I will try to make it a point to take an entire day off each week.  This is healthy and needed if we are going to be effective.  I try to schedule my time off in concert with my wife so perhaps I can take her to breakfast, walk the mall with her, go to a park, or something else she might like.  I also want to schedule some quality time with my kids if possible.  All of these things need to be looked at in advance if you want to have success here.  It’s too easy to try to “shoot from the hip” and accomplish these things as time happens but the reality is most likely you will not do it because life gets in the way.  My oldest daughter is married now and time is short.  If I don’t plan something with her, we won’t get together at all.  She’s busy learning to be a wife, a full-time student, and a soon-to-be mom.

The point is, look ahead each week and try to block out time for important things.  My quiet time with God is scheduled.  Exercise is planned. my reading goals are reviewed and I try to block out time for books.  Your life may be different but there’s enough “stuff” for you to plan ahead for.  The idea is to maximize your time with a well thought out plan that will let you move further toward your goals.  The weekly planning is where the wheels start to hit the road for actually DOING the things you need to do to move forward.  Take a little time each week to look ahead seven days and plan your next week!

On Wednesday, we finish our series with a look at the final phase of personal growth…the DAILY plan.

Today, we begin the journey of personal growth with the first step in our planning.  The annual plan.  As I mentioned yesterday in my introduction, I use several ideas I’ve gleaned over the years to prepare my goals, projects, and tasks for the coming season.  When I sit down with a notepad and begin putting my personal growth plan together, I start with the next 12 months.  Here’s a breakdown of what that looks like for me.

As I stated previously, I have many long-term goals that may take years (A Master’s Degree for instance) that I plan for.  I keep a list of these in an online file I manage about three times a year.  I go over the goals I’ve set and add new ones.  I look at goals that will take several steps to achieve and I line out those steps or at least the first ones in view.  My goals may include physical, spiritual, financial, or relational targets.  These are the big four in most people’s lives.  This season, one of the goals I’ve moved from my long range plan to my annual plan is weight loss.  I use this only as an illustration because I have several pounds to lose and it’s not something I can plan to do in a month or two.  I set an annual goal and break it down into smaller pieces that I will include in later steps that I will share with you in future posts.

The annual plan should include a calendar.  Here’s a tip.  USE ONE CALENDAR.  Don’t try to manage your personal life on one calendar and your work life on another.  I use Google Calendar for ALL of my date specific events and reminders and I color code them with the helpful “tags” feature in Google.  When you look at the next twelve months, you want to include everything.  Put birthdays down.  If you are married, list your anniversary.  If you have kids (or grandkids), make sure you have a copy of the school calendar and include pertinent information that affects you like their spring break, holidays, early release days, etc.

Next for me is my vacation time.  Once I know when my kids are out of school, I can plan some time away.  How about long weekends?  I haven’t done this enough with my spouse but in 2010, we are planning a few long weekends to just travel out of town (not too far), stay in a hotel, and just enjoy some time away to ourselves to be with each other.  Maybe the kids have a special event they would like to go to.  Now is the time to see if that can fit into your annual plan.

Professionally, I next look to dates that will affect me in my work.  As a pastor, this includes my denomination’s annual convention which is a four day event in mid-July each year.  I write that down and make a note to myself to schedule a speaker for that week in my church. (see how this all works?)  I then include any conferences or special events I might like to attend.  There are good conferences on leadership, spiritual growth, student ministry, and other related items that I may choose to go to.  I can plan ahead by jotting these down and adding them to my Google calendar so it’s all in view.  I also consider that I may have to book an event or speaker ahead of time in my church so now is a good time to look at potential dates for that and make myself another note to run those by people who have to plan months or even a full year ahead!

By now, your calendar should have quite a few things on it.  You should a better global view of your year.  Now, begin to look at those goals you’ve set for yourself for this coming year and let’s break them down into smaller spaces of time.  You can do this.  It’s not difficult when you invest in yourself by planning.  As I said previously, I can guarantee if you do not do this, you will still be spinning your wheels in a year and wonder where the time went.  Don’t make that mistake.  Start today by setting up a calendar that works for you.  Use these steps to put everything on it.  Review your goals and get ready to plan those out.  If you don’t have goals set for yourself, set down for at least an hour or so and write those down before you do anything and be ready to challenge yourself to grow like never before in this coming year.

Next up…our Monthly planning schedule.

You Must Have a Plan!

Each year at this time, I sit down and begin to prepare for the year ahead.  I have long term goals that I plan for several years out but each year, as I look at those goals,  I begin the process of whittling them down to ones I want to achieve in the next 12 months.  This “Personal Growth” calendar/plan also includes some short-term goals that come along in my day-to-day life and then there’s the daily tasks we all must manage.

For certain, if we do not invest the time to plan ahead and make an “action” plan for our goals, we will NEVER achieve them.  Some goals are so big that we think they are unattainable but if we break them down into smaller pieces, we might be surprised what a year, three years, even five years might bring.  I’m living proof of that as I’ll share later.

The skills I want to share over the next few posts were ones I should have learned long ago.  I didn’t but tried to make up for lost time as best I can.  With my 43rd birthday looming on the horizon later this month, I know how precious time is.  I’ve learned a lot from several sources including books, audio resources, and other professionals to name just a few.  I’ve also put these skills to work in my own life as a pastor and they have been life changing.

I write a lot about time management skills but these are “life” management skills I will cover.  These skills work hand-in-hand with time management to help us bring about the life we want.  Now that doesn’t mean that everything will work out exactly as you plan it.  I’m living proof of that as well.  As a pastor, I know the “God” factor that plays a role in all of this.  God ultimately controls our destiny.  But he wants us to plan.  He wants us to be successful so we can be a blessing to others.

Starting tomorrow, I will share some practices and ideas I include in my own annual personal growth plan.  I might include that this plan is always a work in progress.  I’m constantly on the lookout for new ideas and strategies to make planning more effective.  What I share might be something you can really use or it might be something you need to adapt to your own special learning style.  Whatever it takes, YOU NEED A PLAN.  We need a target to shoot for if we are ever going to achieve our life goals.  It starts with you, a quiet place, a pencil/pen, and a notepad (at minimum).  Let’s begin the journey and share ideas tomorrow!