I saw the following pic on the internet without any caption. I sure hope it's not what the riverbed crossing in the Tour de Tucson looks like if it rains on that Saturday!
I got a lot done today. First thing Tuesday morning is my hill route at 90% effort. I measure a ride by output, not by time because there are so many variables. Today I got stuck at a light that can take forever to turn green for my direction. So my average speed at the end of the ride was a little lower than what I'd hoped for but I think I gave it a full 90%.I designated today "Calendar Day." I holed up in the office/sewing room/laundry room and worked on my preaching and teaching calendar for the rest of the year, outlining what I'll do in each sermon and Foundations lesson through December. The hours spent doing that two or three times a year make a huge difference for me. It relieves the pressure of "what am I going to preach next Sunday?" It also allows me to think ahead as I approach a particular sermon or lesson. At any given point I know, for example, that in three weeks we're going to talk about "X," so even that far ahead I can think about how I want to frame our discussion of that passage or topic.
Way back in the beginning of my ministry I used to work one week at a time. Drove me crazy.
Maybe there are some parallels to a mom who plans out her menu for the week. It avoids pitfalls like seven consecutive nights of chicken. Balance is important in meal preparation.
My mid-morning break was a trip to the golf course. I have been disappointed in my last few rounds (I try to play the regular course Friday mornings), so I got a medium bucket of balls and worked on a couple of things, and then played nine holes on the short course. Much better!
When I play on Fridays I get too concerned about the number on the scorecard. It comes from being WAY too competitive. That leads to getting tense, which affects the swing. Thus starts a downward spiral, as the altered swing produces increasingly worse shots. So when I played those nine holes today I didn't keep score; just focused on good shots and replicating what I'd practiced on the driving range.
Can I do the same this Friday?
Tonight, after dinner with Pam at Paradise Bakery, I drove into town and visited with a young couple who have attended Pathway the last two Sundays. I always enjoy that part of my job - getting to know new people. We want to be a community of believers, not just a collection of people who are in the same place at the same time on Sunday mornings. Visiting with new people is part of that; it allows me to know them better than I can just seeing them at church.
The people are the best part.
One of the things incumbent on me as the first pastor of Pathway Bible Church is setting a pattern in key areas, a precedent for years and pastors to come. Accordingly, when we put together our Constitution and By-Laws I made sure the section on Ministry Staff included directions for annual performance reviews.
Businesses of all types and sizes include performance reviews for all the obvious reasons. Why should the Lord's work be any different? Nobody - neither the reviewers nor the reviewee - particularly enjoys the exercise, and the dynamics of the process in the church can be particularly tricky. But even in the best of situations it can be helpful, and if there are serious problems the objectification that comes through a properly conducted review can make the difference between a constructive resolution and spilt blood. How many church-destroying disasters could have been avoided by carefully done annual performance reviews?
Over the last month the elders at Pathway did my review, and Sunday afternoon I met with Matt to go over the results. They did a very good job with the process, but I expected nothing less. Each of the elders at Pathway works in a job that requires administrative skills, and they each possess both personal and spiritual maturity (which is why they're elders).
It's nice to know what I'm doing well and where I need to make some improvements. I'll go over the form at least one more time to cement in my head the latter items.
Lord, thank you for what you're doing at Pathway. Thank you for a continuing stream of visitors who then make Pathway their home church. Thank you, too, for the relationship we enjoy as elders. We are indeed blessed by you.
2 comments:
That picture is exactly how I saw the pool portion of the triathalon! I think I had my helmet on, too. All that's missing are the 3 foot waves that somehow don't show up in any of the pictures taken that day.
Dave has an annual performance review too.
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