You have several types of resources: 

- Financial

- People

- Energy

If you want to be highly productive, the key is to get all 3 of these in alignment. That's why I believe we need to take inventory of our strengths and the strengths of those around us. 

Once you know what your sweet spot is, you focus on that 80% of the time. 

If everyone in your organization was spending 80% of their time focused on their strengths, there would be no stopping your organization. 

If your budget was driven by focus, there would be no stopping you. 

If you were driven by your focus to do what you're most gifted at, there would be no stopping you. 

For 24 principles to get more done in less time, check out my new resource, "The Productive Leader" by clicking here. 

***To pick up a copy of "The Productive Leader" for 20% off, simply enter the code Productive during check out.***

For the month of December I've been giving away copies of my book Zero to Sixty: 60 principles and practices for leading a growing church as a Christmas present to church leaders.  

However, the last day to get your free copy is tomorrow (Dec. 24th). 

So if you want a free copy, simply click here. 

(Remember, all you pay is the shipping and the book is free)

Merry Christmas!

Most leaders that I know have a "to do" list each day. But that doesn't mean their time is focused. 

The problem is, a "to do" list isn't enough. Most "to do" lists have no rhyme or reason to them. Item #1 may say, "Write Sunday's Message". Item #2 may say, "Check voice mail". 

Both items matter, but they need to be categorized and prioritized. That's one of the keys to prioritizing your time. You need a "To Do" list that not only has the tasks that you need to accomplish, they need to be in order of priority. 

That's why I recommend having a plan before you get into the office each day. This way by the time you sit in your chair, you've outlined the things that need to get done and the amount of time they should take. 

When you say, "I've got 3 'must do' items on my list. I'm not going home until these 3 things get done." When you operate like this, you become infinitely more effective because you're completely focused on the most important things for that day. 

For 24 principles to get more done in less time, check out my new resource, "The Productive Leader" by clicking here. 

***To pick up "The Productive Leader" for 20% off, enter the code Productive.***

I know I'm going to sound like an anal-retentive, non-creative type here, but humor me for a moment: 

if you want to be more productive, you've got to clean up your work space. You can't be productive and disorganized at the same time. The guy who says, "I know where everything is in this mess" is kidding himself. Why? Because although he may be able to find that proposal he wrote in the piles of papers surrounding his desk, the 20 minutes is took to locate it is gone forever. 

So here's what I recommend: take the time to organize your work space so that everything you need is readily accessible. This way, when you're at your desk, you have everything you need within arm's length and it take moments to get the files you need to reference. 

For 24 principles to get more done in less time, check out my new resource, "The Productive Leader" by clicking here. 

***To pick up "The Productive Leader" for 20% off, simply enter the code Productive during check out***

- Great day today! Here are the highlights...

- I rocked a suit today. Yes, it does happen on occasion 

- I taught Luke 1:26-56. The message was called, "Mary of Nazareth". I focused on Mary's reaction to hearing the news that she was going to carry the Messiah. Lots of great feedback. 

- The band did a great job today! 

- Also, we put together a children's choir that did a great job. (Btw - parents just love this stuff :) 

- For the record, the weather was unbelievable! It was about 60 degrees and sunny. Doesn't get any better than that. 

- I gave away my car last week (long story). But I should be getting a new (to me) car this week. Please pray. Not having a car is a bit of a hassle. 

- On the www.church-strategies.com front, this Tuesday's newsletter has my list of the 10 best books of 2009. I read a lot of books this year (about 150). I think we've got a good list to countdown.  You can subscribe here if you want. 

- For those asking if I'm still giving away copies of Zero to Sixty, the answer is yes! I'm giving away copies until Christmas. You can pick up a copy here. 

- I've got next Sunday off. Then January 3rd I'm kicking off a new series in the book of Esther called, "Engage: Unleash the power of Now!"  

- Merry Christmas! 

Awesome question! Here's the tools I use:

- Omnifocus for my Mac and my iPhone

- The Getting Things Done system that David Allen outlines in his book. 

- I listen to resources that have helped me create my life in a way that maximizes my productivity. 

What I've done is take all the best ideas I learned from others (and a few I came up with on my own) and created a resource specifically for church leaders to get organized and become more productive. 

It's called, "The Productive Leader" and it's a resource that has helped a lot of leaders. It's one of the resources that we've released that has gotten the most instant feedback. 

Why? Because there's 24 productivity principles. Even if you only implement 2 or 3 of them, you'll still increase your productivity considerably. Implement 8 or more and you'll become a productivity machine! 

If you're looking for a resource that will allow you to get it all done and still have a life, pick up a copy of "The Productive Leader: The Art of Getting More Done in Less Time"  by clicking here. 

"Mini-Easters" is a phrase that I use to talk about big Sundays that churches can have throughout the year. They happen when the church has an event that the entire congregation can rally around and invite friends to. 

I teach guys is my coaching network that they can have 8-10 "Mini-Easters" throughout the year. Here's a 3 ways to do that: 

#1 - Build on Sundays that are naturally higher than regular Sundays - The Sunday after President's Day. The Sunday before School lets out. 2 Sundays after Labor Day. Time change Sunday in November. All of these days are higher than normal. With some effort, they can be huge. 

#2 - Create your own holidays - I have a friend that has his highest attendance of the year in June. Why? It's their church anniversary. The Sunday after MLK Sunday is huge for us. Why? It a Sunday that we've always brought in a national speaker. It's sort of a tradition for us. It also sets up our mini-Easter in February. The point is, you can think of holidays that your church can celebrate and boost attendance. 

#3 - Do your special events on Sunday - I am not a fan of Easter egg hunts the day before Easter. Why? It impacts your ability to promote Easter. Plus, unchurched people will choose one or the other. So do your special events around your Sunday services and you'll see that boost your attendance. 

For more information about how to create Mini-Easters that reach people far from God, check out our resource, "How to Make Every Sunday Like Easter" by clicking here. 

I got this question recently and here's how I answered it: 

"I think I understand the heart of your question, but I would rephrase it to: How can I raise the commitment level at my church? 

The truth is, when we have to enforce church attendance, we're in trouble. Having said that, I believe that a strong Membership system should outline what it means to be committed at your church. 

When you don't have a membership system that outlines what commitment means, people decide that for themselves. If they think attending once a month means their committed, that's what they'll do. If they think giving $20 a year (when they're able to give much more due to God's blessing) is commitment, that's what they'll do.  

The point is: people have freewill and can decide to attend whenever they want. However, if they want to be involved or lead in some way, that's when a strong membership system becomes a great ally for you as a Pastor. 

My recommendation is to set the commitment bar high. If they don't want to commit in the beginning, they won't commit is you set the bar low."  

For more information of developing a strong Membership System from A-Z, check out our Complete Membership System by clicking here.

This is a great question! We follow up with Catholics the same way we follow up with everyone else. 

What I have found in my experience with Catholics who come to know Jesus is that they know a lot about God, but just don't know Him. (I know I'm generalizing and that this can be said of many people, so please forgive me for painting with a broad brush.)

But one thing that I've seen in Catholics when they invite Christ into their lives is a hunger for God's Word. They want to learn God's Word. That's why any follow up plan for new believer MUST include a means to educate them in the Bible. 

So here's what I suggest: Develop a plan for following up with new believers that includes a new believer's class as part of the process. This will increase you retention of new believers and will kick start their discipleship. 

To learn more about the New Believer Follow up System we've developed at Calvary Fellowship, click here. 

To pick up a copy of the New Believer's class that we use at Calvary Fellowship, click here.