rob's rules:

here are my top 10 personal rules for ministry:

1. never be without a watch, a pen,
and a pad of paper or breath mints
bad breath is the worst first impression-
so be mindful of your breath.
when it comes to having a pen and paper,
you never know when inspiration will hit-
and instead of just trying to remember,
write it down so you can be “fully present”
here and now.

2. be “fully present”-
this means be in the moment with the one you’re with.
don’t check your watch, don’t answer your cell,
don’t get distracted. this goes along with rule number 3:

3. there are no “little people.”
everyone deserves to be thanked, listened to, and valued,
no matter what they contribute, or what their title is
or isn’t.
this goes with rule #4:

4. be available-
billy graham was once a seeker-
and thank God he found someone
that could lead him to Christ.
as leaders, we have a reputation
for being inaccessible.
there is a sense that if people have spiritual questions,
they shouldn’t ask us,
because we’re too busy.
that’s bad.
nearly all of jesus’ miracles happened
when someone interrupted him.
we need to value our own time,
and at the same time,
allow ourselves to be interrupted.
that means making enough
margin for ourselves
that we have the space and time
to listen, care,
and hear the questions of others.

5. early is on time.
everyone is busy-
respect others’ time,
by showing up when you said you would.
this is a matter of integrity-
if you said you would be to lunch at 12,
show up at 12,
because you made a promise to be there.
if you’re going to be late,
call and let your appointment know.
you owe them that.
and when you do have to show up late,
make sure you have an apology and a good excuse.

6. leaders are readers
smart people write books.
if you want to be smart,
you have to learn from smart people,
and a great way to do that is to
read the books that they write.
its like a personal conversation with a great mentor.
reading takes a ton of time, and it can be boring;
you don’t have to finish a ton of books a year,
but you should always have one that you’re working on.
this goes along with rule #7:

7. listen to the culture
if 10 million americans are watching american idol,
do you think it would help you to be familiar with it?
if ‘the da vinci code’ was so important
that millions of people bought it and actually read it,
do you think that its important enough
for you to know what it says?
paul listened to his culture,
and it helped him to communicate the gospel on mars hill.
jesus used illustrations
that were familiar to the people in his culture.
i’m not saying, ‘read every book’or ‘watch every show,’
but if a bit of media is ‘scratching’
where millions are ‘itching,’
you should at least know why.

8. give it your best
we’re doing this for God-
and therefore, we ought to give it our very best effort.
he gave his best for us,
and he deserves nothing less than our best.
that means, we ought to use our best creativity
in our messages, graphics, events, etc.
everything should improve
and be better than it was last year.
good enough usually isn’t.
the world uses excellence so that it can get your dollars.
it uses excellence to keep its shareholders happy.
we are working for the almighty,
the Creator of all things;
and he is after something
far more valuable than dollars-
he wants to be reconciled
with his beloved lost sheep.
we owe it him and those sheep
to go the extra mile.
excellence can be expensive,
but effort isn’t.
go for it.

9. create margin
God speaks to us in the stillness,
so create time to be still.
ministry happens in the margins,
so make time for margin to happen.
be less busy.
this may mean that you have to make some hard decisions
regarding what is an important use of your time,
and what isn't.
and it may mean letting go of some activities
that someone else can gladly do for you.
this may mean that you have to temporarily
work ahead,
or schedule time to think forward-
do it!
you won't regret it-
the people we minister to
can tell if we are distracted, annoyed,
or feel too busy doing ministry to actually minister.
they aren't impressed with how busy you are!
build time into your day so that you can slow down.
your family,
your flock and your soul will be grateful.

10. leave them with a blessing
people come to church to meet with God.
so help them connect!
they meet with you,
because they know that they will be inspired,
encouraged, and blessed.
so bless them! inspire them!
look for ways to do that.
greet others warmly,
thank others sincerely,
listen intently,
laugh genuinely,
and send encouraging notes
(everyone loves to get mail!)
be an encouragement machine-
you can never underestimate
the power of an encouraging word.

so- if you’re a ministry leader,
these are some things that have been helpful for me,
and hopefully they will be helpful for you.