Every year, early on in the year, the President of the United States delivers a state of the union address to the country, which serves the following three purposes:
- It informs us about the current state of the country.
- It informs us of presidential priorities.
- It aims to unify us around shared goals.
Well, this is basically what I aim to do today. Last Thursday I had my first Drive and Think day of 2024 and I gave a lot of thought to the following questions:
- What season are we in?
- What are our priorities in this season?
- What season is coming next?
- What will be important in this new season?
And today I want to share the answers to those questions, beginning with “What season are we in?”
Since our vision is to fill our region with Jesus-loving, gospel-preaching, disciple-making churches, we are always in one of three seasons: We are either 1) preparing for a new church, 2) actively launching a new church or 3) recovering from having launched a new church. And obviously, right now, we’re in the actively launching season.
That being the case, the most important thing right now is doing everything within our power to set up our Agawam location for success. This includes but is not limited to:
- Providing Jon & Dan with the manpower and expertise to complete the AVL install.
- Overcoming all the obstacles to securing a certificate of occupancy.
- Freeing up Pete so he can focus more of his time and attention and energies on Agawam.
To get Jon & Dan the manpower they need we’ve recruited both volunteers and paid seasonal help. We’ve also lined up partnerships with local churches so we can tap into their expertise in areas that we don’t have expertise in. Likewise, Andrew and Pete have been working to secure the certificate of occupancy, particularly by trying to shore up anything we’re lacking concerning handicap accessibility (the main thing that is currently threatening us from hitting our timeline). And to free Pete up we’re exploring a new hire (more details on that as we have them).
Ok, so far I’ve covered 1) what season we’re in, and 2) what our top priority is in this season. Now I want to discuss 3) what’s coming after this season.
Right now, everyone is being stretched.
- Andrew is doing his normal job + overseeing the construction (and costs of construction).
- Peter is doing his normal job + preparing to be the campus pastor.
- Jon is doing his normal job + installing the AVL.
- So it is right on down the line.
- And since I’m over everything (which now equals more than ever before), it’s also been extra on me.
- So for everybody: Responsibilities have been added, which has increased workload, stress, and the overall number of problems we have to deal with. More locations = more issues, so it’s just been a lot on everyone.
This being the case, when this season of launching ends, we will, of necessity, move into a season of recovery. Right now we are being depleted. If we were smartphones, our battery icons might be red (or close to it). So once we launch we will move into a new season where we will begin focusing on recharging, getting us back to full battery. How will we do this?
- Besides me working on the groundwork for a leadership pipeline and the DLT working on launching Kingdom Builders, we’re not adding any new major initiatives for 2024. So I don’t want you to worry about having to climb another major mountain directly after we finishing climbing the Agawam one.
- I talked with Katie last week and her and Rachel are working on a number of staff funtivities for later this year, which will allow us time to have fun together vs only work like rented donkeys together 🙂
- We’re giving all full-time staff some extra time off (details to follow in the weeks to come).
So what I’m trying to communicate is hope! This is a season. Just as it came, it will go. And when it does we’re going to focus hard on recharging the batteries.
So what do we need to do in the meantime? (the time between then, when we will recharge and now while we’re working like crazy)
- Honor the Sabbath. Since you’re working so hard, it’s extra important for you to make sure you have one day off. Remember, the Sabbath is God’s burnout prevention plan.
- Make time for fun – even a little.
- Be on guard. Our spiritual nemesis, Satan, prowls around like a lion looking for someone whom he may devour, and just as a weak/tried/drained animal is easier prey than a healthy and rested one, so it is with us. With Jesus we learn that Satan waited for an opportune time. And that’s what he does with us. So this is a time to be extra on guard for how Satan might try and trip us up during this super busy season where we’re extra depleted.
If we’ll do these things, it will help us to successfully bridge the gap between now (launch season) and what’s coming soon (recovery season) so I want to encourage you to focus on these things.
DISCUSSION QUESTION: What color is your battery right now? (green = fully charged, yellow = on the way to being drained, red = drained). What’s one thing that would really help you from ending up with a dead battery before we move into this season of recovery?