A Blog For Leaders In Ministry

Learn to Delegate

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:53:37 GMT

Learn to Delegate

Only secure people give power to others. Leaders that do not delegate soon burn or wear out and they cripple their efforts to touch people with the gospel. As a leader of others we not only have to learn to delegate but we also have to teach those that we have raised up as leaders to do the same.

Why do most leaders struggle to delegate?

· We assume no one else wants to help (but in reality that’s not true)

· We think it’s easier to do it ourselves than train someone (at first that’s true)

· We want it done right (at first others may not do as well as you – train them)

· Insecurities (how will look if they fail, or what if they do it better?)

4 things to delegate.

· Things that other can do better than you

· Things that others can do 80% as well as you

· Things someone else can do that would free up time for you

· Things than can be done less expensive by others

· Things that can be done more timely by others

If you feeling a bit overwhelmed today with all the “stuff” you need to do maybe it’s time to begin delegating so you can regain your life. Remember Jesus said my yoke is easy and mu burden is light.

Are you working harder than God intended? By Rick Warren

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:39:44 GMT

Are you working harder than God intended?

By Rick Warren

A recent survey by Lifeway Research reports that 65 percent of Protestant pastors work 50 or more hours a week. And many of the pastors responding to the survey say the extra time they spend results in less time with their families and less time with God.

My experience is pastors tend to overwork when they assume extra hours make them more effective in ministry. That’s simply not true, and this misguided notion can actually keep others in your church from developing into mature Christian leaders.

I know how it is, when you get frustrated with the way things are going, you tend to want to control everything. It is human nature but it isn’t the way God wants us to operate. It turns your ministry into one of those “whack-a-mole” games. The moment you whack down one problem, another one pops up. It’s never ending.

And that makes ministry frustrating! But it is also a natural by-product of trying to do everything yourself instead of teaching your members how to minister.

Trying to control everything or do everything not only saps your energy; it also means you’re not doing anything particularly well. God shaped you to do something specific with your ministry. You’ve been created with specific skills and gifts. When you try to be good at everything, you’ll end up not being good at anything. What’s the antidote to your overloaded ministry? The apostle Paul says it is “to equip God’s people to do His work.” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT) Your job isn’t to do all the work of the church. It’s to prepare your members to do it.

At Saddleback we do this through our C.L.A.S.S. 301 where we teach members to discover their God-given S.H.A.P.E. If you don’t have a tool for getting people involved in ministry in your church, this would be a great tool to use.

Help the members of your congregation develop their God-given ministry assignments. They’ll be blessed and you will be blessed by spending more time with your family and by spending the time with God that is necessary to keep your congregation pressing forward with purpose.

Building A Dream

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:55:07 GMT

Someone once asked me what my greatest passion was in ministry and my response was to empower and encourage people to live their dreams. As a leader it is our responsibility to do all we can to equip people to live their dreams. Every person reading this article has a dream concerning what they would like to accomplish in and through their life. The dream of your heart is a driving force and constant motivating factor when kept alive.

Webster defines a dream as a series of images or thoughts, yearnings or deep desires. It is my goal that the article will spark some things that are in your heart and hopefully stir up some things in you concerning your dreams. It’s easy to get so busy with life that you forget you had a dream at one time that gave you energy for living. Every great thing that has ever been accomplished started with a dream so lets keep our dreams alive.

The Power of A Dream

Henry Ford once said; “The secret of a successful life is to find out what ones destiny to do and then do it”.

1. A dream gives us direction.

It acts like a compass telling us which direction we should be traveling.

2. A dream increases our potential.

Where there is no faith in the future there is no power in the present.

3. A dream helps us prioritize our life.

A person with a dream knows what they are willing to give up in order to

see it become a reality.

4. A dream adds value to our work.

Even task that aren’t exciting or immediately rewarding take on added value when

we know they contribute to the fulfillment of our dream.

5. A dream predicts our future.

Pro.29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish:

Vision = dream, mental picture

Perish = go back to the same place

A Good Attitude Is A Main Ingredient In Living Your Dream

A dream without a positive attitude produces a daydreamer.

A positive attitude without a dream produces a pleasant person that can’t make progress.

A dream together with a positive attitude produces a person with unlimited possibilities and potential.

Your attitude not intelligence, talent, education, opportunity or even hard work is the main factor in living your dream.

Your attitude determines your actions and your actions determine your accomplishment.

People with bad attitudes major on minors in life.

How to Live Your Dream:

1. Rediscover what you want in life.

2. Believe that God wants it for you and has empowered you to live it.

3. Talk it.

4. Make plans.

5. Don’t let others stop you or talk you out of it.

6. Never let circumstances stop you.

7. Be willing to sacrifice for it to happen.

8. Step out of your comfort zone.

9. Live it one day at a time.

10. Never think it is too late.

God Is With You

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:04:31 GMT

When I read or think about the life of Joseph in the Old Testament I often ask myself a question that I want to ask you. What would somebody in your circumstances do if you were absolutely confident that God was with you? In each of these cases, Joseph acts with the confidence that God is with him. He doesn’t get dismayed that things don’t go according to plan. Most of us equate God’s presence with comfortable circumstances. When things are going good, God is good. When things are going bad, where did God go? God, what are you doing, taking a vacation? Are you resting? It leads us to ask this question – what would somebody in your circumstances do if you were absolutely confident that God was with you?

The Error of Ultimate Reconciliation by Jim Richards

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:04:33 GMT

George Santayana, the Spanish philosopher once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it!” Solomon, the wisest man in the world, once said, That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. (Eccl. 1:9) Sadly, those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat the failures of the past.

Church history is one of those topics that the “hyper-spiritual” deem to have little value. Putting down the study of church history ranks right up there in the “ignorant Christian” poll with those who boldly declare, “I don’t want to study theology or doctrine; I just want to read the Bible!” Jesus knew the history of His people and He knew the doctrines of the day, as did the Apostle Paul. It was their knowledge of these practical areas that made t

Is Haiti Cursed?

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:14:33 GMT

When you think Pat Robertson can't say anything more stupid than he has in the past he does... He has no doubt accomplished some great things but to keep blaming God for tragedies is beyond belief. He has repeatedly said through the years "God said" certain things would happen that did not so you would think he would learn to keep quiet in times like this. Don't be drawn into this thing Pat said about Haiti being cursed. Gal 3:13 says Christ has redeemed us from the curse by being made a curse for us... God never causes pain in our lives, NEVER! James 1:16-18 says; "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Godliness – The Forgotten Result of Grace

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:17:39 GMT

Any good thing we experience in this world is a grace thing. The Bible says in Eph. 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” These verses are very clear that we should not think for a moment that our goodness has earned us any good thing from God. There are some core statements and beliefs that I often share in our church that I want to share with you, all of which are made possible because of grace:

God is GOOD all the time!
God’s not mad at you no matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been
Having a

Live In the Now

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:52:57 GMT

My interest is in the future, because that’s where I am going to spend the rest of my life! (Isa 43:18-19 "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.) Stop thinking about I should have and if I could do it over again… Whatever you focus on you get more of it. Look to the future!

10 Things I Wish I Had Known

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:25:31 GMT

In my early years of ministry much of what I did like everyone else starting out was based on trial and error therefore I did not know what was really important in growing a ministry nor how to properly view things. There are a lot of things had known the value of and others had I known how to view them that would have saved me much pain and confusion in my life. In this issue I will list and briefly discuss “10 Things I Wish I Had Known”.

First Things First

office@safeharbornetwork.org — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:53:00 GMT

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Planning ahead may not seem important but even God planned before He created the world. Ephesians 1 says, “Long before God laid earth’s foundations, he had us in mind. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family. He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need.” In other words, God anticipated and made provision for every need you will ever have before you were even born because of the value/importance He placed on us.