On a typical work day I leave the house by 7:30am. My first 60-80 minutes of the day, depending on my schedule that day, is what I call “personal time.” I use this time to start my day with the Lord and to get caught up on responding to my e-mails. One of the things I have always tried to do, especially as the church has grown, is to return any e-mail I receive within 24 hours if at all possible. I get many e-mails in a day from people within the ministry and I enjoy getting them and responding to them. Most of the time these e-mails are asking for advice on an issue or asking for an answer to a Biblical question. Sometimes these e-mails may be expressing a concern over something in the ministry. A lot of times these e-mails are forwarding items to me that people feel I may be interested in seeing or reading. My favorite ones are the e-mails in which people are sharing how God is working in their lives and using our ministry here at Grace to move them in their walk with the Lord. I take time each morning to read each and every e-mail sent to me and to respond to each of them personally.
On the first and third Thursday of each month I meet with 4 other Elders at a local restaurant at 7am. We use these times to discuss a book we are reading together that can help us individually and hopefully ultimately help our entire Elder Board in Leadership Development. Currently, we are reading and discussing Alexander Strauch’s book called, “Biblical Eldership.” On these mornings my personal time is moved back as I do not get into the office until about 9am.
One a month we also have a pastoral staff meeting which includes our 5 pastors. This meeting is led by Pastor Tim, our Executive Pastor. All other Thursday mornings are spent working specifically on my message for the upcoming Sunday. By this time of the week I am pretty much done with the majority of the study regarding the passage. I use this time to go on-line and see how other pastors preached on this passage by reading through some on-line sermon transcripts or listening to some on-line messages of pastors I know and trust.
Lunch each work day can be different. Often I use my lunch hour to meet with people for a variety of reasons. Sometimes many of the guys in the office will spontaneously decide to go grab a bite. Most days, though, I bring something from home and use my lunch time to continue to study while I eat in my office.
Thursday afternoons I often spend in appointments that people have scheduled with me. Each Thursday at 2:30, I meet with Rick Bernhardt, our Sr Administrator of Lititz Christian School and MorningStart Childcare. Rick is one of the two individuals in our ministry that reports directly to me. We spend anywhere from 90 minutes, sometimes up to two hours, talking through the major issues of our educational ministries here at Grace.
Thursday evenings are Elder meeting nights. Our full Elder Board, made up of all of our pastors and several other men form our church, meets every 3rd Thursday of the month. The Executive Committee of our Elder Board then meets every other month on the 1st Thursday. These meetings begin at 7pm and typically last 2-3 hours in length depending on the agenda.
On the first and third Thursday of each month I meet with 4 other Elders at a local restaurant at 7am. We use these times to discuss a book we are reading together that can help us individually and hopefully ultimately help our entire Elder Board in Leadership Development. Currently, we are reading and discussing Alexander Strauch’s book called, “Biblical Eldership.” On these mornings my personal time is moved back as I do not get into the office until about 9am.
One a month we also have a pastoral staff meeting which includes our 5 pastors. This meeting is led by Pastor Tim, our Executive Pastor. All other Thursday mornings are spent working specifically on my message for the upcoming Sunday. By this time of the week I am pretty much done with the majority of the study regarding the passage. I use this time to go on-line and see how other pastors preached on this passage by reading through some on-line sermon transcripts or listening to some on-line messages of pastors I know and trust.
Lunch each work day can be different. Often I use my lunch hour to meet with people for a variety of reasons. Sometimes many of the guys in the office will spontaneously decide to go grab a bite. Most days, though, I bring something from home and use my lunch time to continue to study while I eat in my office.
Thursday afternoons I often spend in appointments that people have scheduled with me. Each Thursday at 2:30, I meet with Rick Bernhardt, our Sr Administrator of Lititz Christian School and MorningStart Childcare. Rick is one of the two individuals in our ministry that reports directly to me. We spend anywhere from 90 minutes, sometimes up to two hours, talking through the major issues of our educational ministries here at Grace.
Thursday evenings are Elder meeting nights. Our full Elder Board, made up of all of our pastors and several other men form our church, meets every 3rd Thursday of the month. The Executive Committee of our Elder Board then meets every other month on the 1st Thursday. These meetings begin at 7pm and typically last 2-3 hours in length depending on the agenda.
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