remember that busy-ness idea?

I have been thinking about the pace of life a lot lately. I believe that it was Socrates who said, "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." Yep, that's deep stuff.

Don Simmons is a church consultant who has come to our humble town to help us think through the hows and whys of what we do as a church. He's a sharp guy--friend of Rick Warren, Reggie MacNeal, Eric Swanson, and probably a bunch of other bigwigs. He was Saddleback's first Children's Pastor. He knows what he's talking about.

In one of our first sessions today, he outlined 3 levels or types of leaders:
Influencers, Strategizers, and Implementers. Implementers are the lower level, if you think about them as a pyramid. The Implementer finds it more comfortable, or easier to do most of the work rather than Influence others to get on board with passion/vision. The ideal is to help people find their calling, and in doing so, find joy in the journey.

Turns out that we are heavy with Implementers, and I think I'm one of the biggest culprits.

He also pointed out that the key to effective ministry is helping people find their niche, eliminating competing goods, being less busy...

Ach...the barrenness of a busy life...it applies everywhere.