too much to do.

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Today I’m on overload– too much to do, not enough time to do it.

Albert Bridge [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Thoughts of unfinished tasks, decisions to be made, come rushing through my head like a flash flood- unstoppable.  Capturing them on paper only seems to aggravate the feelings.  As I”m pausing to write this down, I’m reminded of two things.

A number of years ago,I watched a skit at a retreat.  It started out with a woman sitting across the table from someone representing Jesus.  They were having a conversation about her day when the phone rang.  Immediately you could tell that there was some crisis that she needed to address.  As she stood up and began pacing around the room, you could see a bag tied to her ankle.  Every step she took the bag just dragged along behind her.  At the same time, the Jesus character walked alongside her, trying to get her attention, tapping her shoulder.  “Not now!” she exclaimed.  “Can’t you see I have so...

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“So much of our lives is horizontal!”exclaimed a team-mate.  We looked at the “I AM” statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John,  and his frustration over how oriented we are towards our physical realities spouted out.  Jesus’ words about Himself interrupted each of us…and made us think.

I AM the bread of life.

He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

What do I tend to pursue in order to be filled?

I AM the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

How do I try to provide light for myself?

I AM the gate of the sheep…

whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Bob Jones [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Where do I try to find safe pasture on my own?

I AM the Good Shepherd.

I know my sheep and my sheep know me—  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Whose voices get my atten...

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Finish this sentence: Too often, the good is the enemy of the _____.

It’s exciting to be around leaders who are creative, innovative and productive. One of the downsides, though, is that these types of leaders are creative, innovative and productive. They are always generating more stuff. Not all this stuff is valuable. In fact, each additional idea/product/program generated cheapens the overall value of the batch.

Most of us have many good opportunities coming across our path each day. If we’re serving others in any kind of leadership role, we owe it to them (and to ourselves) to ruthlessly evaluate each one. How does one become great at a few things? By learning to say no to the other ten or twenty. Greatness comes from one’s ability not merely to avoid the bad, but to prune away the good to make way for the great.

Focus brings power. Focus breeds fruitfulness.

Before we add something, we must cut something else.

Before we say yes, we need to know where we will say no.

Before committing to a new project,...

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These are the top 5 things that keep me from life-on-life campus ministry (discipleship and evangelism).

• Dealing with ministry related financial rules and regulations
• Conferences/travel
• Responding to voicemail/email/facebook/twitter
• Developing ministry funding
• Planning and logistics for events

These aren’t necessarily bad things right? But they so easily sidetrack me from why I chose my job. Which is to step foot on campus and engage students with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Just something I’m thinking about.

What should our perspective be about these things, and how do we deal well with them?

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Why do I blog? Top 5 reasons.
2. What’s your hedgehog?
3. “That Great City” (Cowtown to Urban Hipster #2)

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