4. Be open handed.
Opportunities come and go, and they’re not about you anyway.
The more open handed you are about it, the better things will go. Every year, my wife and I revisit all of my outside commitments, and after that, I have the discussion with our elders and our leadership team. If you hold that outside work loosely, you will be able to adjust according to what the leaders around you believe is best.
5. Make sure the church benefits.
The net benefit of any outside work should be that the church is further along in its mission, not further behind because you’re distracted or disengaged as a leader. This is part of the discussion with our elders as a team. Selfish motives need to be squelched early in any outside ministry.
6. Learn to say no.
I have always loved helping other churches and leaders, and for years, I had done it wherever the opportunity arose.
But a few years ago, the opportunities started to outpace the time available to do them. At this point, my assistant Sarah and I end up saying no to the majority of requests that come in. I don’t enjoy doing that, but it helps me honor the principles above and do a better job with the commitments I take on.
7. Develop a filter.
So how do you say no fairly? We’ve developed an unofficial filter than helps us figure out which requests will be the best investment of time. (It’s not always the biggest events or the ones that might offer the most lucrative proposal.)
Other times, the calendar is full enough, and I just can’t take on more. In the end, we want to make sure that Connexus is well served and that we engage this strategically. We start by asking everyone to fill out this form that helps us better understand the purpose of an event.