Structure that Leads to Flourishing

This is part one of Structure that Leads to Flourishing—an excerpt series from Ben Stuart’s book Rest & War.  How do we go about what we are on earth to do? We need a plan of attack. We need to harness our calendar for the greatest of all causes. We need to organize our days. This may not sound particularly spiritual or profound. But what I am advocating is not simply putting dates on the calendar. I am calling us to order our world, and it begins with deciding what we’ll put our hands to throughout the day. This is not simply about the modern practice of keeping a calendar. This is about figuring out how to sync up eternity in our heart with the wristwatch on our arm. Lack of preparation opens us up to the dual attack of unproductivity and stress. We feel like we have so much to do but also do not know what to do. So we check our email or social media two hundred times a day, or take long lunches that have no strategic purpose. We feel busy but not productive. We are like an octopus on roller skates. There is plenty of movement, but it is not necessarily forward! Several years ago I read a book that discussed lion tamers. The author set out to answer this question: Why do animal trainers carry a four-legged stool when they go into a cage of lions? We understand what the whip is for. We get the pistol—that’s for if things end up not really working out. But why the stool? The answer was fascinating: “He holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the wild animal. Those who know maintain that the animal tries to focus on all four legs at once. In the attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal, and it becomes tame, weak, and disabled because its attention is fragmented.” Some of us look just like this. We’re doing a bunch of random activity, or we’ve got analysis paralysis. But we are meant to live far more purposeful and productive lives! I have heard people say that Jesus had a ministry of interruptions. I absolutely disagree. Jesus did not go around letting other people set the agenda of his day. He often told people no—more than you might guess. The morning after a late night of healing people, the disciples pressured Jesus to get back into town and keep healing. The people were demanding it. But Jesus’ answer was no. He told them he must preach, so they would be moving on. The crowds did not hand him his cause; his Father did. And miracles were meant to authenticate the message. He preached and healed in Capernaum. Then it was time to head to the next spot. A man tried to slow him down once, basically saying, “I want to follow you, but let me bury my dad first.” Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:19–22 NIV), and he kept walking. He didn’t even break stride! When another cried out, “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me,” Jesus responded, “Who appointed me . . . an arbiter between you?” (Luke 12:13–14 NIV). This guy was trying to set Jesus’ agenda, and Jesus wasn’t having it. Arbiter was not on his list of identities. However, when a blind man cried out, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” Jesus stopped in his tracks and called the man to him (Matthew 20). Why? Because that request aligned with Jesus’ strategic purpose. He was the Son of David and he had come to give mercy. The activity matched his identity. Jesus was willing to adapt his schedule but not outside the boundaries of his calling. Jesus was not wandering around spouting quotable lines and randomly hanging with people. He was methodically and strategically implementing a plan for the global spread of his message. And he executed his plan brilliantly. He set his agenda by priority, not proximity, and we are meant to do the same. You and I have been commissioned by God Almighty himself to steward his creation. We need to learn how to be strategic like Jesus was, to set our agenda by priority, to get serious about stewarding what God has given us the very best we can. Paul told the Ephesians to “[make] the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16 NIV). Life is too precious to waste time. We are meant to leverage every moment for redemptive purpose. Proverbs 12:24 states, “The hand of the diligent will rule.” We are meant to be rulers in our environments, not victims. And diligence is an essential, celebrated, and commanded quality of rulers. Jesus told the parable of the managers entrusted with talents (Matthew 25). The master expected his managers to take those talents and invest them in a way that would be maximally profitable. This was an illustration of our lives under God. We have been given days. We have been given resources. We have been given talents. And we are meant to organize them in such a way that yields the maximum potential out of all life under our care. This stewardship begins with our own lives, by cultivating ourselves. So say this with me: “I am not the victim of my schedule. I am the master.” Say it out loud. “I am not the victim of my schedule. I am the master.” Say it like you believe it! This is neither arrogance nor wishful thinking. This is the child of God raising his or her voice to agree with the Maker’s command. Take the resources within your reach and maximize their potential. Start by harnessing your time. To keep reading this excerpt from Ben Stuart’s book, Rest + War, click here for part two and click here to grab a copy of this special resource.

This is part three of Structure that Leads to Flourishing—an excerpt series from Ben Stuart’s book Rest & War. Click here for part one, click here for part two, and click here to grab a copy of this special resource. I will go ahead and share with you the schedule I’ve found works for me, and along the way I’ll point out how being a student of myself helped me become a better steward of myself. Usually my time with the Lord in the morning flows naturally into strategic planning for the day and for the ministry I lead. At 7:30 a.m. I grab breakfast with the kids. We read a passage of Scripture and discuss, then they are out the door by 7:50 a.m. and I am back in the study at 8:00 a.m. I have discovered that my mind is most creative in the mornings, so every weekday I dedicate 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. to sermon writing and strategic thinking. Frequent interruptions from texts or emails destroy the flow of creative thinking in those hours. So I instructed my staff, “Do not reach out to me at all from eight to eleven every weekday morning. If you have a question, write it down. It can wait.” I’ve also stopped checking emails in the morning. I always found that it put me into a reactive mindset rather than a creative one, and it was not a good use of my time. But as a leader, I need to give my staff vision and offer myself to them as a resource so they can accomplish their goals for our organization. So I place meetings with leaders at 1:00 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Monday we have a meeting that sets and clarifies the agenda and allows them to get the direction they need from me to execute their plans with confidence that week. Wednesday is a brief check-in to answer any clarifying questions. I lead best coming out of my thinking times in the mornings, so I stack those meetings in the 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. zone. I rarely do lunch meetings now. I realized they typically ate up two hours, even though the meeting was usually about solving a problem that only required fifteen minutes. My counseling meetings are scheduled in the 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. range on weekdays. Usually by three o’clock I can’t think creatively or strategically anymore, but I can listen. These are great times for me to pastor our people. I also stand out in front of our church on Sundays after each gathering and answer questions anyone may have.  Sometimes people ask if we can grab lunch to talk. I have gotten in the habit of telling them no—not to be rude, but because I just know it probably won’t happen. I tell them, “I can’t promise an hour or two down the road. But I am all yours right now. How can I help you?” Normally, all they want from me can be given to them right there. Only occasionally will someone have a problem that is so acute and specific to my skill set that we’ll need to meet during the week. From 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. I work out. I allow myself one night out a week with church activities. Every other night I am with my kids. From 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on those nights, I am 100 percent dad. I turn off the phone and put it away. In this current season my kids go to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., so that means I only get two to three hours with them on weekdays. I am not going to lose that time to a phone call or email or a TV show. The screens go off. We do homework and eat dinner and share our best, worst, and weirdest moments of the day. Then we read a book together and pray before bed. From 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. I catch up with Donna about our day. We usually sit out on the back porch and talk. Then from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. I get ready for bed. I don’t take screens into our bedroom since they disrupt sleep patterns. Instead, I write a few sentences in a journal, spend a few moments reflecting on the day in prayer, and read two to three pages of a biography. And by 10:00 p.m., Lord willing, I am out.  Fridays are my days off. I use them to handle a lot of the family stewardship stuff we need to get done. Saturdays are my day of rest. I stay off the iPad and computer—they remind me too much of work! I read a book I like. We go on adventures as a family. Sometimes an adventure is heading out to find a waterfall at a state park, or it’s a walk around the neighborhood. But the kids know that Saturday I am theirs. It is common for us to have twelve meals a week together as a family: six breakfasts and six dinners. My kids are young and I know it will not always be this way, so I don’t want to miss these moments. Does this automation of my schedule stifle creativity? No. It liberates me to channel my creative thinking toward the projects and plans I care about. I don’t have to spend decision-making power each day figuring out when to get up or when to schedule meetings. It is already done. When we organize our time and resources in a way that is efficient and productive, we are free to invest our energy where it really matters: building up our family and friends. That’s why we do it. We calendar as a way of loving the people around us. We structure so that they can flourish. Take a moment before you move on and let the reality sink in that you have a divine calling under God. Your life has extraordinary purpose. You are meant to image God by organizing the resources he has given you so that all the life under your care, including your own, can flourish.  Then ask yourself, How can I cultivate my life this week? What needs to go into my schedule? What needs to come out? What needs to be restructured so I can be maximally fruitful in the hours God has given me? Try making a list of your titles and organizing your tasks beneath them. Then see how they might fit into the time God has given you. I pray that you will experience the joy and deep satisfaction of seeing meaning fill the mundane and eternity touch earth. RHYTHMS OF REST How can you rearrange your schedule to cultivate and maximize your potential? What needs to be removed from your schedule? What needs to be added? What needs to be rearranged?Try the exercise described in the previous section: make a list of your titles, then write out all your tasks beneath them.Take a weekly calendar and see if you can schedule your activities by priority and not simply proximity. This is an excerpt from Ben Stuart’s book, Rest + War. Click here to grab a copy of this special resource.

This is part two of Structure that Leads to Flourishing—an excerpt series from Ben Stuart’s book Rest & War. Click here to read part one. Planning helps keep our priorities present in our practices. It reduces stress and it helps us get more done and miss out on fewer opportunities.  So to begin, we start with our titles. We begin with who we are. Our activity is meant to flow from our identity. Boxers box. Dancers dance. Students study (theoretically). Whatever identity you believe is most fundamental to who you are will determine how you conduct yourself in this world.  I encourage you to follow an exercise I did with interns when I served as a youth pastor. I gave them titles that were tied to the directives of our ministry—evangelist, counselor, teacher, servant, and worshiper. These five identities became the headings under which every activity of their week was organized. We gave them a piece of paper with these titles listed as headings at the top of the page, and underneath each heading they listed all the tasks they could think of. More than just a long to- do list, it helped them see how the work they were doing tied directly to their reason for being there.  Then we gave them a second sheet of paper with the seven days of the week broken down into thirty-minute increments. At the beginning of each week, they took their tasks listed under their titles and put them into a specific time of the week.  What first appeared to them to be a tedious act of calendaring ended up becoming their favorite part of the week! Something about seeing their eternal purposes touch down on specific times of their week filled their souls with something we struggle to define but desperately need: a sense of purpose. I promise you that when you see the eternal touch the mundane, it will thrill your soul with a sense of meaning. I want that for you. And it starts here. Identifying your titles. Listing your tasks. Organizing your time.  I personally do this same practice I taught those interns. In the current season of my life, I am in the role of pastor of a church, so my titles look like this: Teacher. Leader. Administrator. Pastor/Shepherd.  Then I include a fifth column for Child of God, and under it I place the subheadings Husband, Father, and Steward of our Financial Resources. During my devotional time on Monday mornings or Sunday nights, I fill out these two sheets.  By strategically planning out my weeks, I’ve discovered I am able to be fully present in every moment. I don’t listen to a friend tell a story while my mind is on the phone calls I need to make. I know I’ll return calls later, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., so in the present moment with my friend, I can be all his. I like having an undivided mind. Jim Elliot said it best: “Wherever you are, be all there.” Scheduling helps me live into this. By giving each task its space, I allow my mind to be fully engaged in whatever moment I am in. This simple rhythm of deciding when tasks will occur in advance brings an enormous sense of relief. There is freedom in this kind of order. There is peace in structure.  This is where being students and stewards of ourselves becomes so crucial. I’ve realized that I am a more patient and loving dad if I can get up and sit quietly with the Lord before my kids wake up. So that’s what I do every morning. To keep reading this excerpt from Ben Stuart’s book, Rest + War, click here for part three and click here to grab a copy of this special resource.