How many “chances” should you give to someone in your congregation before you “confront” them about their conduct?

Here is some thought-provoking advice from the world of business for addressing employee misconduct.

I need a rule because it’s often hard to know if something’s a big enough deal to address until it’s too late and then, well, it’s too late. It’s already gotten out of hand. On the other hand if I jump on every single issue the first time it comes up then, well, I’ll be out of hand.

The first time someone does something that makes me feel uncomfortable, I notice it. The second time, I acknowledge that the first time was not an isolated event or an accident but a potential pattern and I begin to observe more closely and plan my response. The third time? The third time I always speak to the person about it. I call it my rule of three.

Is this transferable wisdom for pastoral ministry? Obviously major sin requires immediate confrontation. But for the day-to-day humdrum annoying behavior of the sheep, I think this is wise counsel.

And what about parenting?

I’ve mentioned before how Jim Collins (From Good to Great and Built to Last) divides his time into blocks:

• 50% creative time
• 30% teaching time
• 20% other stuff (random things that just need to be done).

But here’s an article which illuminates this even more and challenges all preachers to be far more disciplined in time-management. Collins says:

“I block out the morning from 8 am to noon to think, read and write. ” He unplugs everything electronic, including his Internet connection. Although he has a reputation for reclusiveness, when asked about this, he replies: “I’m not reclusive. But I need to be in the cave to work.”

One of his favorite quotes comes from the famously disciplined French novelist Gustave Flaubert: “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” For Collins, high-quality work requires long stretches of high-quality thinking. “White space,” as he calls it, is the prerequisite for fresh, creative thought. It’s the time that he spends with nothing scheduled, so that he can empty his mind, like the proverbial teacup, and refill it with new thought.

He aims to spend 100 days next year in the white space. “As a great teacher, Rochelle Myers, taught me, you can’t make your own life a work of art if you’re not working with a clean canvas,” he says. (Another smart bit of Collins philosophy: “Speak less. Say more.”

So how much white space do you have in your life?

As semesters are ending, infections bugs and flus are beginning. Why?

Why can we get through weeks of busy and stressful studies in reasonable health, only to come down with flu as soon as we relax and start enjoying our “freedom?”

Paul Rosch, MD, president of the American Institute of Stress and clinical professor of medicine and psychiatry at New York Medical College, has the answer.

When you’re straining and struggling under the burden of work or family pressures, your body releases a number of chemicals — including stress hormones — which mobilize your immune system against illness. But when the stressful period ends, your immune system pulls back its troops, and the body becomes less vigilant in weeding out invaders. At the same time, a reservoir of body chemicals called prostaglandins, left over from the stress response, tends to produce inflammation, and can trigger problems like arthritic pain and migraines.

In fact, this effect has been noticed in even more significant life changes as well:

While the let-down effect can cause trouble at any time, many people with pressure-packed jobs seem particularly susceptible to illness when they ease up on weekends, or when they finally reach retirement age and come down for good from their high-wire act. “For someone used to a high level of ongoing activity, who has their identity tied up in their job, retirement can be a real problem. It may become a source of stress in itself.”

Dr Marc Shoen offers some tips to defuse the “let-down effect.”

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  • Schoen recommends techniques that activate the immune system a little, and thus keep it from slowing down too rapidly after a period of stress. Try short bursts of exercise — even just five minutes in length — which can trigger a positive immune-system response.
  • Try some mental problem solving, like crossword puzzles, under time constraints. “Several studies show that doing math computations at a rapid pace actually increases immune-system activity,” says Schoen.
  • Practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, which can give your mind and body a rest stop from the day’s anxieties.

Can we learn from the computer game industry? I think so. Here is a fascinating article in pdf format from this gaming design website.

Most important points are:

• 60 hour+ weeks deliver a brief increase in productivity but you need recovery time right after or productivity plummets.
• When overwork becomes the norm, people think they’re more productive. They aren’t.
• Knowledge workers should only work 35 hours/week.
• One of the main proponents of the 40-hour work week was Kellogg’s. Not out of idealism but because it increased productivity for them.

Ever got to the end of a busy day and felt you did nothing? Here are some good tips for how to avoid this which can be easily transferred to pastoral ministry.

If you can, early in the day, do one or two things that have lasting value, you’ll be taking steps in the right direction–even if the entire rest of the day is shot.

Here are some things that may be important tasks to do early in the day:

1. Read a chapter of a book – If you are trying to get better at what you do, reading is probably going to be a pretty important activity.  Spending some time reading before the day gets started makes sure you are making incremental progress.
2. Networking — Keeping in contact with your business acquaintances is a very valuable activity, but one that is often pushed to “tomorrow”.  Spending 30 minutes sending emails, making phone calls or sending out birthday cards can go a long ways toward keeping you in touch.
3. Practicing — We tend to think of practice as something that is reserved for athletes and musicians, but if  your job requires a skill, there is probably a way to practice it. The trick is to practice something that helps you get better at what you do.
4. Writing — Writing can be a very good way to develop your thoughts and perspective on something.  Spending a few minutes on a regular basis writing about a topic where you want to become better will deepen your understanding.