Skip to main content

What To Do First to Make a Profit

The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat  ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're  not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director.  Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year.  God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started inve

Why People Can Work LESS Hours and Be More Stressed

Two high students may take math class for the same amount of time per week, however one takes a class that is more difficult. A weighted GPA is based on the idea that some classes are much harder than others, and these hard classes should carry more weight. In other words, an 'A' in calculus represents a greater accomplishment than an 'A' in remedial basic math.

I am also of the belief that our work hours are weighted.



This may explain why you may work less hours than you used to, but be under more stress.
It may also explain why you might have the same job title in the same location, and be under greater stress this year than last year, depending on your current portfolio.

I have served as a pastor for 25 years, the last 18 of which have been with the same exact job title/position. During various seasons I have worked anywhere from 30-90 hours a week on church ministry alone, depending upon current needs. At one point my husband questioned me about why I was so stressed when I was actually working less hours than I had been previously.  My answer to him was that although I was working less hours than before, my portfolio at the time had changed and contained everything I absolutely hated to do, not to mention we were in a difficult season of the church. Functioning in such a situation can make 10 hours of work feel like 100!




You can actually work more hours and be less stressed than seasons where you work less and it's fulfilling work. To illustrate further, a pastor who is working 60 hours a week in a pleasant season where the church is moving forward in harmony and unity, who is operating in his/her primary God-ordained gifts will probably be much healthier than a pastor who is working 40 hours a week in a church that is experiencing conflict or hardship. The man/woman working in the business world for 40 hours a week doing things outside their primary area of gifting out of necessity may be less healthy than the person working another 20 hours on top of that in their sweet spot.

I am absolutely convinced of this.

Twenty-five years experience has convinced me.

I'm definitely healthier when I'm working in my God-given giftings and in a peaceful atmosphere for 60 hours a week than when I'm working under duress for 30 hours a week.

This should be so crystal clear to all of us, the wisdom of this. But it's not. We base so much on the "amount of hours one is working" and don't take time to consider the quality of those hours. I've come to believe that when it comes to work, the contents of the hours are more important than the cumulative hours themselves.


Perhaps you think, "why do that, then? Why not just do things you want to do and stay away from irritating people?"  There are times due to transitions, emergencies, etc. we need to step up and fill gaps or wear hats we don't normally wear. This is part of being a valuable employee -- that we are flexible and step up to handle unforseen things, emergencies, or transitions. Also, in any situation working with the public you will face irritating people and circumstances. Rare are the people who work absolutely alone with no interaction. So, that's how you get in these situation, whether in the business world, the church or wherever you work. At times it is truly unavoidable, at least for a while.


Do we need to be careful of the amount of hours we work, so as not to shortchange our basic need for rest, and our families? Of course. I'm certain that beyond that we also need to address the content of our work hours. For it's there that we find the difference many times between disease and health.

Monday I'm going to begin a series about workplace related stress that threatens your health. I hope you'll join me as we explore this important topic!

In the meantime do share with me your thoughts about "weighted work hours"...have you had the same experience I have, that you can actually work less hours and be MORE stressed?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Relevant Church doing something...

incredibly RELEVANT!

I just heard some news today that really inspired me. A church here in Tampa, Relevant Church is doing a new thing this month called the "30 Days Sex Challenge." (I've never visited the church but Pastor Trinity - our children's pastor - has visited or has met some people from this church and he was very impressed.) Realizing that this is a major element missing from some marriages (the frequency factor) their lead pastor, Paul Wirth, has issued a challenge for all the married couples to have sex for 30 days in a row. At the same time he has issued a challenge for all unmarrieds to completely abstain from sex. Of course we know the Bible says that those who are unmarried should not have sex in the first place but the point is, a lot of unmarried's aren't obeying the Lord's command to abstain and this is just one pastor's way of trying to get them to see that indeed, there is a better way! (God's way!) At the same time, many married couples are not

What Verbal Abuse is Really Like, and Why We Must Care
Guest Post: Terri von Wood

In my speaking travels, I meet the most amazing people. Some are connections that go beyond just a night or a weekend of preac hing. One day on my journey, I met Terri von Wood, and we immediately clicked and have been friends ever since.  Just a reminder that all of our guest bloggers this week are available to chat with you in the comment section here on the blog or on my facebook page where the blog is also published.   *** People who have never suffered through or witnessed abuse (including pastors) often don't know how to help women in abusive situations. Knowledge is power and it is my belief that if the church understood the prevalence of abuse, help would be made available.  First, we must acknowledge that the divorce rate is the same  in the church as in the world.  Second, we must understand that the 50% divorce rate does not include all the women who are abused but stay because they do not know what else to do or do not have anyone to turn to.  If those women we

Excellent teaching on Criticism

My friend Pastor Leanne posted this today on her Myspace blog and I thought it was excellent and so timely. It's a blog post from Pastor Perry Noble , about criticism. I think it's perfect for the pastors at Relevant Church right now, as well as any other person going through this. I would like to note that when he says, "when God begins to move" it wouldn't necessarily just pertain to your church but to your life, your family, your marriage, anything that concerns you. I have found that the greater God does things in my life and the more He blessed me the more I should expect it. This teaching is good, so good I was almost wavin' a hanky in my office. Okay, here we go... You Will Be Criticized When God Begins To Move–Expect It And Get Over It. (Pastor Perry Noble at http://www.perrynoble.com/ ) I've never met a devil worshiper–to my knowledge that is. When I first became a Christian I was convinced that I needed to do all that I could to be ready to comba