As a web designer, you would think that I spend most of my time in Photoshop designing web pages. Well, you would be wrong. I spend lots of time managing projects. When I pastored, I never thought in terms of project management. And that was my mistake. I had projects all over the place, but simply managed them like tasks.

• Mail newsletter
• VBS
• Schedule summer missions trip
• Get van fixed

One of the things that I learned from Getting Things Done by David Allen was the difference between next actions and projects. Nothing in the above list is a next action and most 3 of 4 are really projects with many next actions. For example, Get van fixed is not a next action. Find repair shop for van is the real next action.

Mail newsletter, VBS and summer missions trips are all projects that have many next actions. Every ministry has projects like these to manage. If you apply a few easy principles, you can start feeling productive and less stress out (hat tip: FreelanceSwitch):

1. Write out the desired outcome. I find that I procrastinate more when I do not know what I’m trying to achieve with a project. This is even more true if you have been “assigned” the project rather than creating the project yourself.
2. Get the outcome approved in writing. One of the sources of conflict in the church is miscommunication. Conflict can be reduced by getting written approval from your stakeholder (pastor, team leader or board) that you are on track before you start. This includes getting a time and date for when you need to deliver your project.
3. Create an ordered list of “next actions”. This may get a little pedantic. Basically, you can not do “mail newsletter”. But you can “Email pastor for his column”, “Ask church administrator to print off labels” and “Schedule volutneers to prepare mailing”.
4. Review your “next actions” and estimate the time. I find it best to take that number and TRIPLE IT. Yes, multiply it by three. This will account for all the things you do not know that you do not know.
5. Communicate to all stakeholders while you finishing your next actions. Tell them what you did, what you are doing now and what might be at risk. Get in the habit of talking about the bad news before people hear about it from someone else. If you are not going to have all your classes covered on Sunday morning, tell the people who need to know before Sunday! I also am in the habit of just asked open ended questions like “How do you think this is going?” as a way to engage the people I’m serving.
6. Stay focused. Once you list your next actions, work hard not to add to the list of the project. This is called scope creep and is a sure way to destroy a project.
7. Celebrate. When your finished, share and enjoy your success.

How do you feel productive in ministry? Add your comments below.

Marc Andreessen, the man who co-created the first web browser and co-founded of Netscape, started blogging only five weeks ago. He recently summarized eleven lessons he learned about starting to blog for the first time,

Eleventh and last, the most common reaction that I got from starting my blog that I didn’t expect was, “finally he’s blogging”.

I found that to be quite humorous because of course from the perspective of bloggers who have been active for several years, it’s completely true, and yet here we are still living in a world where most people who have interesting things to say are not yet blogging and have no idea that they’re behind the trend curve.

When I started reading his blog, I thought the same thing. If anyone should have been blogging for years, it should have been Andreessen. But his observation is correct. The most interesting people in the church are not yet blogging. The ChurchReport list of the 50 most influencial Christians have few bloggers (most have podcasts but that is a distribution sermons):

• #16 Rick Warren blog and podcast (RSS)
• #19 Paula White MySpace
• #23 Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. Blog or Crosswalk
• #44 Beth Moore’s Living Proof Ministry has a blog (RSS)
• #45 Mike Slaughter Blog
• #46 Phil Vischer Blog (RSS)
• Let me know if I missed any by adding a comment to this post…

Now, none of these blogs are any good or even worthy of getting into my RSS Reader. If you look at the list, you will see a generational bias. But basically of the none of the most influential Christians are involved in the conversation about Christianity online. Now, this may not matter today or in the next few years.

However, if you review this list in five years, I will bet that most of the most influential Christians are blogging or podcasting (more than just putting sermons online).
Take A Ways 

• The old path to being influential in the church you passed through certain gatekeepers: denominations, academics and publishers. In the future, you can be influential because you are networked and skilled at sustaining and generating conversations. You no longer need “influence” bestowed upon you via a denomination, seminary or publisher.
• The other lesson to learn is that if you currently are a person who has interesting things to say about ministry and are not blogging; if you do it well, you can gain audience very quickly.

Now its a whole other discussion as to how to gain influence in the church without losing your soul in the process (or maybe the questions whether you should seek to gain influence)…

Without irony, I present the Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen board game [via ysmarko], Your Best Life Now: The Game is an entertaining and educational way to take inventory of yourself and accountability of your actions.” It is for 2 or more players, ages 16 and up.

The person responsible for this game is Kevin McNulty, VP of Sales of Endless Games (PDF),

“We are privileged, honored and excited to create a multi-generational board game based upon Joel’s inspirational, uplifting, and remarkable book,” said McNulty. “The game will make a difference in the lives of people that play it,” he continued. “Its play has a unique twist that integrates the game’s results into the lives of the players after they finish playing.”

[…] The Game was conceived by game inventor Richard C. Levy, whose credits also include board games based upon the best-selling books Men Are From Mars, Women Are from Venus, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

I just think this might be not such a great idea…