Where Discipline Pays Off

I used to get angry when people critiqued my speaking ability.  They said I would speak too long, or I made too many points.  The truth was that I lacked discipline.  

Courtesy of Grotuk/Creative Commons License

Youth ministry is messy but it needs structure.  In order to create a laid back, relational, come as you are environment you need to have systems in place.  The problem is:

DISCIPLINE ISN’T EASY

Discipline takes hard work and focus.  It means valuing excellence, commitment and simplicity.  But, when you have discipline you can improve your:

COMMUNICATION

To get the word out effectively you need to know how, and when to communicate.  Learn about your audience.  Research different mediums and determine which ones are most productive for each audience.

Practice your message, have people review emails and always ask the question, “Is this clear enough?”  If the answer is no work at until it is.

PLANNING

To reach your goals and meet expectations you need discipline.  That means looking at everything you do and asking the questions:

• Why are we doing this?
• Who owns it?
• What’s the expected results?
• What does it look like when we are succeeding?

Discipline in planning allows people to be on the same page.  It promote preparedness and builds your capacity to do more.

SCHEDULE

Youth ministry is a marathon.  You need to be able to pace yourself through the weeks, months and years.  A schedule is a huge part of it.  You need to block out your time and have someone hold you accountable.

Make sure you are giving yourself time to grow and time to just refuel.  When you make your schedule a priority you provide for yourself margin.  And that margin is key during the busy times.

ENVIRONMENTS

If you take care of your resources, equipment, and space you’ll create an irresistible experience.  No one wants to walk into a place that’s dirty and disorganized.

Build a team of volunteers that focus solely on the environment.  Ask them to keep an eye out on trash.  Give them authority to rearrange the set up.  Teach them the value of excellence.

There are going to be times when you want to just get it done.  There will be times when you are too tired.  Fight those urges and embrace discipline.  In the end your discipline will pay dividends.