Where should you start when you move to a new ministry? Here are six strategies to help you settle in: People are #1. Get to know the landscape. Literally. Find out what’s normative. Seek out the sacred cows. Figure out what to do now – and what to postpone. Give yourself some grace.
Weekends can be really tricky for church workers. They’re busy for us, but often, that’s when our families and friends have time to spend together. Bill and I share how we’ve navigated the challenges—and opportunities—of working on the weekends.
I’m in a new-to-me place: a full-time ministry position with a reasonable expectation of being here for many years. Of course only God knows the future, but with past positions, I knew I would probably move for my husband’s job after a year or two. But with this job, there’s no move on the horizon, …
How to Develop a 5-Year Ministry Plan (And Why You Should) Read More »
I have a really hard time distinguishing between my professional and personal goals. That’s because my professional goals almost always spring from who I am as a person. Lucky me, for sure, but it’s not always a good thing to have overlapping goals.
Is your annual report due soon? Mine was due today, so I just spent some time thinking about the past months and summarizing the music ministry’s growth and direction for the congregation I serve. I also had an annual review a few months ago. Both my report and review were a bit different because I …
How to Use Your Annual Review and Report to Evaluate Your Ministry Program Read More »
Spoiler: I made sleep my #1 priority. ALSO if you aren’t interested in sleep, there’s a cool goal-setting template at the end of this post. So: sleep. It’s my #1. Not God. Not family. Not job. Nope: sleep is #1. Simple as that. And yet, not so simple.
Dear Creatives and other people with flexible schedules: I used to work on a lot of different things every day. I would work on my podcast, and my music, and send emails and and and…all on the same day. Oh and that book that I was “writing”? Ha. Yeah, that never got my attention. But …
Theme Your Days for More Deep Work and Less Stress Read More »
Earlier this year I switched to a 6 week work cycle. Here’s what it is: 6 weeks of concentrated work on a handful of goals/projects, then 2 weeks of buffer time to tie up loose ends, rest, and plan the next cycle. When I finished the cycle, I realized something had fundamentally shifted in my …
I switched to a 6 week work cycle, and I’m never going back Read More »
This summer, I tried a 6 week + 2 week work cycle for the first time. And I loved it enough that I’m doing it again. Here’s what is it: make plans and goals for a 6 week time frame, and give yourself 2 weeks of buffer afterward to tie up loose ends, rest, and …
What I Learned from a 6 Week + 2 Week Work Cycle Read More »
Interview: Dr. Carrie Allen Tipton is a musicologist who hosts the podcast Notes on Bach, sponsored by the Bach Society Houston. Notes on Bach is a monthly series of interviews with scholars and musicians who work with Baroque music and issues around music like theology. Today, we discuss the benefits of bringing a researcher’s mindset to the ministry …