There were several thoughts that went through my head.

1. I could reply and mention his tweet from yesterday, that might look like I was somewhat stalking him. Plus, if I did that, then I would be letting everyone in on my secret that I don’t keep up with all my followers.  I login 2 or 3 times a week and review the current tweets and click on a list or 2 of people that I want to keep up with.
2. I could just send him a Direct Message (DM) and no one would know…but my response was so clever that I wanted my followers to read. (Selfish ambition, I know!)
3. I could just not reply and laugh to myself at the clever response I had all written out in my head.
4. Tell him the next time I see him about my response to his tweet…that might even sound more stalker-ish, as if that was all I had been thinking about and couldn’t wait to talk to him about.

So, this got me thinking about the brief mark in time that we make when we tweet. It journals a moment’s thought that is soon passed by as time keeps moving forward. It’s a moment that is missed by many and only truly means something to the writer.

Then I got to thinking in the broader picture…And began asking myself these questions:

1. What kind of brief impact am I having on people around me?
2. Am I missing opportunities to connect with people because I’ve got my head in my next project or running around trying to build a name for myself?
3. Tomorrow will I look back on today and think, “Wow, I missed my chance to encourage that one person that crossed my path.”

Let’s hope not.

Photo By: Steve Keys

Here is a crack at paraphrasing Law 17 of John Maxwell’s “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” The Law of Priorities. For me, these have been life changing nuggets.

Regardless of how we want to think about staying busy, busyness does not equal productivity and activity does not necessarily produce accomplishment.  If you are not prioritizing, then you are not thinking ahead of where you currently are and this means that you also probably don’t have a handle on where you are in relation to your overall vision.  This can be a very scary realization.

We all know that the best things in life are fought for and are usually not obtained through walking on the easy path.  Prioritizing can cause you to do things that are uncomfortable and can be very painful, but it is necessary if we are to move forward.  One of the statements that really jumped out to me is that, “Prioritizing helps you to define reality”.  What do we call those detached from reality?  Insane.  Think about it.  The insane have a very difficult time coming to grips with the fact that they are extremely mentally ill.  We can’t do anything and be effective unless we have the clear honest picture of reality.  I have never thought about prioritizing this way, but I do now.

Maxwell also says that the top 20% (in importance) of your to do list, your goals or your core team are what you should give 80% of your time to, because it will give you the most return.

As any good article should have, here is the triad of alliteration: “The 3 R’s of Ordering Your Priorities:”

1. Requirement – Ask the question: “What can I do that no one can or should do for me?”
2. Return – Work in the areas of your greatest strength … get out of your comfort zone, but stay in your strength zone.  If it can be done 80% as well by someone else then delegate it.
3. Reward – Take time to do the things that you love.  Passion provides the fuel in your life to keep you going.

As always I pray that in some way this provides an honest self evaluation and adds life and efficiency to the church planting process.  And, of course remember to, “… walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Eph 5:15-16)

pic by gewhgill