Archive for May, 2008
children’s camp 2008
Thousands of kids that have just finished 4th – 6th grades have descended upon Falls Creek and for some reason I’m right in the middle of it!
Every year Children’s Camp at Falls Creek is an amazing time of rejuvenation, revival, and evangelism in the lives of countless children in Oklahoma. This year our church returns again with a great group of children eager to learn more about God, connect to His Son Jesus Christ, and discover how they can be authentic followers of Christ at home, school, and in their communities.
Now I’m not exactly sure how the bunk beds fit into the grand scheme of things – but I can assure you that sleeping in a dorm filled with middle school boys and trying to get any kind of rest – that will truly change your life!
This morning I was reading a scripture again that has meant much to me in my journey in life – Luke 2:52. The Bible says there, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
It reminds me of my personal commitment to change and grow in wisdom each day and to build relationships to connect to others. Jesus was never satisfied but he was constantly learning and getting to know new people.
Something that strikes me about the relationships Christ developed is that He wasn’t developing them to benefit Himself – Jesus befriended people so He could help them!
How often do you seek out a friend in order to help them? Perhaps we would grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men if we’d focus on their needs before our own – echoing Jesus thought in 3 of the Gospels – “What do you want me to do for you?”
removing distractions to increase outreach
Sunday morning I preached about removing distractions to find your “core” or the purpose that God has created you for uniquely.
Recently I’ve been reading much on productivity, reducing distractions, and becoming focused in what I’m doing. As I evaluated my own personal core I discovered one of my key purposes and passions is connecting people to Christ and His church.
But there are many obstacles that get in my way: paperwork, administration, email, facebook, etc. So I’ve made some changes and adaptations to my schedule to help me eliminate, streamline, and remove distractions so I can get back to working on my core purpose.
Here are some of my ideas about removing distractions that you should evaluate for your own core:
- Checking email only once per day – immediately responding to emails that need a response and using short/faux-sentences.
- Chekcing voicemail only once per day – responding immediately to those that need a call back.
- Implementing an online calendar with automatic reminders to check email/voicemail.
- Reducing email spam by using strong filters (gmail)
- Set my alarm for 9:50 PM each night to get ready for the next day – set out clothes, breakfast, go over tasks for next day.
- Utilize online tools like basecamp & highrise to manage calls among staff.
- Limit facebook interaction to once per week and clear to dos etc then – unsubscribe from email updates from facebook.
I’m hoping these ideas will spur you to evaluate your own productivity and how you can shear off some more minutes to give yourself more time to focus on your core!
Let me know if you have any other ideas!
About
Clark Frailey is a husband, father, and Lead Pastor of Coffee Creek Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma.
clarkfrailey.com
