I’ve been thinking much about young ministers lately. About their dreams, the abilities, their disabilities, the skills they have and lack. I can do this—I believe fairly—because I once was one.

One of the things that occurs to me is that (here come the rotten tomatoes) most ministers I know spin their wheels and don’t accomplish much. They generally have good intent, but feeble execution. Nothing in their training or their apprenticeship teaches them “how” to work effectively, and how to “accomplish” with all their doing. So they spend energy and create heat and friction, but, at the end of the day, the answer to the critical question of “Has the ball been moved forward for God” is often “No.”

I believe one of the reasons for this is ineffective use of their time. Again, nothing in ministerial training or apprenticeship teaches them how to maximize the output results from their efforts. In fact, the theological life cultivates a “have another cup of coffee and ponder and reflect some more, oops, wait, I’ve got lunch scheduled down at the coffee shop” kind of mentality. The effort is physically exhausting. Expending energy and not accomplishing much usually is. And it is mentally and emotionally draining as well. Therein lies a susceptibility to moral failure (sexual impropriety) that affects not only ministers, but rising professionals and executives of every stripe.

In the absence of a full, and meaningful schedule that is effectively accomplishing much, there can be too much idle time and too much discouragement. It’s in that idle time and feeling of ineffectiveness (impotence?) that the seeds of immorality germinate and sprout.

We all know the story of David—the chosen one of God; “a man after God’s own heart” the scripture says—and his dalliance with the likely alluring Bathsheba. What may be overlooked in the story where David was and what he wasn’t doing when this whole affair began. History records that David was strolling on the rooftop of his palace and his gaze innocently enough fell onto the naked bathing beauty during “the Springtime, when all the Kings had gone off to war.”

Wait! David was a King. Why wasn’t he at war?

We don’t know the answer. But the implication is that David was in a place if idleness and un-achievement during this most notable incident of moral failure. We can speculate that not being where he was supposed to be (with the other kings at war) was demoralizing to him, emotionally discouraging, and that he wasn’t experiencing fulfillment. That left him emotionally vulnerable.

Work is highly over-rated. Nobody much talks about achievement. But its the achievement and accomplishment that are satisfying and progressive for everyone who is depending on you, and achievement is the purpose of the work. The “forty vs. sixty” hour work week is irrelevant when compared to the larger issue of achievement. But I think most of us sacrifice our achievement by whoring around with the “validation” that comes from saying we worked long hours. Those long hours create an emptiness that haunts us when we consider our lack of achievement. We fill that emptiness with things that aren’t necessarily good for us, and are sometimes immoral.

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A Note to Ministers: I know you ministry types are reading this and likely feel like I’ve been “reading your mail.” If “achievement” matters and you want tools and teaching to help you “engage your transmission” so that all the energy your spending results in forward progress, respond to the blog using the link below. I’ll share some ideas privately. And, if enough respond, we’ll even gather a group of you and learn together. I care about you. You are good men and women tasked with important work. May God bless your efforts with the great satisfaction of progress.

If your church isn’t attracting the kind of people Jesus attracted, then you aren’t preaching the message that Jesus preached. (From Tullian Tchividjian)

Oh. Wait. We really don’t like those people do we?

Gonna have to deal with that.

Repent.

(This blog post is really for my internal team, but everybody is welcome to peek inside.)

We talk alot about right thinking. It occurred to me this morning that when right thinking is obviously displayed, then we need to capture it and make a big deal of it. Here are a few cases of it I’ve seen in the past few days.

#1.Elijah: A lady wanted to rent a house, but pointed out a couple of minor repairs that she wanted done. She was right. They needed to be done. So, we said we’d fix it. She blew up into a rage jabbering about “bait and switch” and “unprofessionalism.” Two hours later she is back in our office saying that maybe she misunderstood, and that she really would like to rent the house anyway. Elijah said, “I don’t think renting to her would be a good idea. She is likely to become a ‘tenant’ instead of a ‘resident’.” He was right! Good thinking Elijah!

#2. Brian: The #1 homebuyer in America recently went off on a boys weekend with some of his buddies from college. While at the lake he saw a beautiful view of the setting sun and it inspired him. He appreciated it so much he snapped a photo and put it on Facebook with a comment about the beauty he’d seen. Meanwhile one of his college “buddies”(?) commented on his Facebook post calling him a “fag” and challenging him to “grab a beer and get loaded.” (There’s that maturity thing that men are famous for.) Ignoring the buddy, I’m grateful that Brian noticed the sunset, allowed it to inspire him, and I hope it caused him to reflect on who makes the sunsets and to give thanks accordingly. Good job Brian!

#3. Phil: Phil and Justin were in a conversation about repairing a house and specifically “where to stop.” Phil advised Justin to “Make it funcitonal. It’s a lived in house. We don’t freshen the paint after every move out. We repair what isn’t functional.” That was wisdom. I call it “right thinking.” Good job Mr. Long.

#4. And finally, there is Justin. He’s been struggling for a while with his duel career path. I’ve been haunting him about the fact that at 29 he can produce a volume of work and effort that he won’t be able to at 49, and his work is already taking a toll on him. He came in this week and told us about some decisions he’d made that will allow him to focus on developing one professional/career area. It’s scary. His income is likely to dip temporarily. But my guess is that in 18 months he’ll be making 150% of what he earns today. But like the trapeze artist, he’s got to let go of the bar behind him and fly through the air for a bit before he can grab the bar ahead of him. Realizing that. Being willing to do that. It’s a demonstration of right thinking. Good job Justin!

My buddy Jim Labaito is a sales performance enhancement consultant. He says these are the most powerful closing questions for a consultant:

#1. Do you believe I understand your situation?

#2. Do you believe I know what I am talking about?

#3. Do you want my help.