A few months ago I had the opportunity to spend a week in San Diego with some Executive Pastors who serve in large Churches from all across America in a round table conversation about life and ministry. As we built the agenda for our conversation a request came from the room down the hall where many of our wives were meeting, “Would you please discuss coming up with a better plan to minister to your family while ministering to the Church?” A fair request, but in a room full of driving, get it done guys who have a tendency to be addicted to progress it quickly became a sobering conversation.
The concern that arose in that room is the classic case of the shoemakers’ kids going without shoes. Call it a priority problem, neglect, or just plain sin the truth is that most of us in ministry know that conversation all too well. So is it possible to build an intentional plan to minister to your family while ministering to others?
Some time ago my wife came to me with a similar concern. The conversation pretty much went like this, “You help plan teaching series for thousands of people, mission trips, multimillion dollar budgets, hiring and staffing plans, and strategies to move an organization with over 6,000 people in it forward, you think we can come up with a plan for our family?” I had nothing. She was right. I was a schmuck and needed simply to repent and lead more effectively. After all people write business plans, marketing plans, financial plans, education plans, personal development plans and so on. Why not a plan for our family? So we went to work discussing the following categories:
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Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation