Wayne Hedlund

Category: GENERAL

  • Tactical Tip: Reminder Calendar

    Last Friday I received a text from my wife informing me that the inspection was overdue on our minivan. We decided a long time ago that things like vehicle inspections are my responsibility in the home. Oops. So I called the garage and got an appointment for Monday morning. I got a little chuckle from the auto mechanic as I left the garage. Evidently he sees a lot of ‘overdue’ stickers there!

    So I did what I should have done long ago, I added a reminder into my “Reminder Calendar”. I don’t think I’ll forget again.

    The Reminder Calendar is perhaps one of the coolest reminder systems I have ever stumbled across – and it’s super easy to setup and use. Even better, it’s free! This is not to be confused with the Appointment Calendar! I keep them totally separate because I don’t want to store all kinds of ‘reminder’ appointments on the calendar I look at every day for real appointments, like meetings and such. In fact, I never actually look at my Reminder Calendar!

    Let me define what I mean be a reminder calendar. Basically, it’s a calendar that is specifically designed to send you very timely emails or text messages.I use my Reminder Calendar to remind me to get up extra early in the morning for a breakfast appointment, change the oil in the car, take the garbage out, check the church website to make sure it’s relevant and up to date, and to remember when a task I assigned someone, or myself, is due. Here are a couple other examples to stimulate your thinking:

    • I asked someone if they would draft a proposal for me regarding our online streaming service. My goal was to be able to hear back from him no later than two weeks from that date. So I set myself up a reminder in my Reminder Calendar to shoot me an email in two weeks letting me know that I should have the proposal by now.
    • I wanted to find something out from a friend and discovered that he would be on vacation until August 13. So I set myself a reminder in my Reminder Calendar to give him a call around August 15.
    • My boss is on vacation and I will be leaving for a few days the day after he returns. I don’t want to forget to ask him an important budget related question before I leave. I created a reminder email for about 9am that morning.
    • My boss asked me to give him a call at 2pm while he was travelling on a certain day. I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t be at my desk and I didn’t want to forget to call him. I created a reminder that was setup to text me at 1:55pm so I would remember to make the call no matter where I was at.
    • I want to remember to begin planning for the Christmas Eve program no later than June of every year. I created a reminder appointment that will email me on June 1st to get the ball rolling.


    HERE’S HOW TO SETUP YOUR REMINDER CALENDAR:

    • Log into your Google Account.
      Log in to your Google account or create a Google Account for free. It’s important that you associate the account with the email address that you want to receive emails from.
    • Go to your Google Calendar.
      Once you’ve logged in, select “Calendar” from the top menu of options. This will take you to your calendar, specifically associated with that email address.
    • Create a NEW Calendar & label it as your Reminder Calendar.
      This option will allow you to keep your primary Google calendar as your appointment calendar. To create a new calendar, click the very small “Add” link in the “My Calendars” section to the left of your screen.
    • Enable Mobile Notifications
      Once you have created the calendar, click the “Settings” link right next to the “Add” link to take you to your Calendar Settings Screen. Next, click on the “Mobile Setup” tab. Follow the instructions on that screen to associate your cell phone with your Google Calendar. This will give you the option to receive text reminders from your calendar.
    • Set the Default Reminder Setting in Your ‘Reminder Calendar’
      You are almost finished. Now you should tell your reminder calendar what you want the default reminder mode to be every time you create a reminder appointment. I have mine set to email reminder. This way, all I have to do is create a reminder appointment and it will automatically email me for every appointment. I can still manually go in and disable the reminder or set it up to text me if I want to instead. To do this, click on the little drop-down arrow next to your Reminder Calendar and select “Calendar Settings”. Find the Notifications tab and click the “Add a reminder” link.
    • Start Creating Your Reminder Appointments!
      You are all ready to go! Now just create ‘appointments’ at the designated day and time that you want to receive your reminder. You can even create recurring reminders for every week, month, or year. To create your reminder simply highlight the appropriate day/time, type in the appointment and press ‘enter’. You just created a reminder appointment set to your default reminder method. To change the reminder method, add additional information, or set the reminder as recurring, double-click the appointment to open it in a new window for updating.

    Notes for Newbies:
    If you are new to Google Calendars then you may want to note a few of these details as well:
    • Make sure you have the right calendar selected.
      Since you have more than one calendar in your Google Account, you need to make sure you create your reminder appointment in the appropriate calendar. On the left of your screen, make sure that ONLY your Reminder Calendar is selected. You may also designate which calendar you want the reminder to be posted to in the appointment details.
    • Consider which reminder method you really want.
      There are three reminder options. Email, Text, and Popup. You probably won’t want to utilize popup unless you will always have your calendar open on your computer. You WILL want to make sure you designate which method you prefer for your reminders. You may also select BOTH if you want.
    • You can also use this same reminder system for your Appointment Calendar in Google. 
      OK. So you tend to be late for or forget meetings. Simply set a reminder for each of your appointments to send you a text 10 minutes before you’re supposed to prepare to arrive at the meeting.
    • Don’t give up.
      If you find yourself getting stuck, don’t get frustrated and give up. Like anything new, it may seem complicated at first, until you get the hang of it. Eventually, you’ll figure out how to make the system work and serve you the best.

  • Tactical Tip: Email Signature

    You would be very frustrated if someone left you a voice-mail and failed to tell you who they were or how to get hold of them. Example: “Hi pastor! This is Joe. I was wondering if you could give me a call about what we were talking about last Sunday. I have some ideas on that. Thanks! Bye.” OK. So I talked to someone named Joe about something last Sunday and he wants me to call him back. Hmm. I don’t remember that. Now what?

    The email signature is the digital version of the voice-mail signature. It’s your chance to let the world know exactly who you are and how they can get hold of you. It’s your business card.

    I am often amazed how few pastors and leaders leave a meaningful, relevant signature at the bottom of every email they send. Especially when it usually takes 5 minutes or less to set up! In the past month alone I have received emails from 3 pastors I totally respect and love working with, but who don’t have a helpful email signature. With two of them I had to do a Google search to find their website (and it took a while to find one of them) when a link at the bottom of the email would have sufficed.

    So today’s Tactical Tip is simply this . . . create a simple email signature at the bottom of all of your emails.

    Suggestions on a very basic email signature:
    The internet is full of suggestions on what a signature should look like. Ultimately, you want to give people the information they will need to contact you. Beyond that, you can personalize it all you want – but within reason.

    • Some people suggest starting with two dashes, like this >>   – –
    • Start with your first and last name (and title if appropriate).
    • Include your position if there are multiple people on-staff.
    • Include your church or organization name.
    • Include your church website. Some people suggest you actually type out the web address as well as create the link (in case someone isn’t able to click on the link, but wants to copy/paste or type the address in themselves.)
    • Include your phone number(s) of choice. This can be your personal cell number, home number, or office number. Whichever number you are most comfortable with the whole world knowing.
    • Optional: you may also opt to include the church or organization’s address. If it’s on your website this may not be necessary. It’s up to you.
    • Finally, you may want to include an inspirational, funny, or thought provoking quote.
    • NOTE: Many experts suggest that you keep your email signature to about five lines. Anything beyond that and it may look like you’re really lonely or just trying to write a book. Check out this site to view four common mistakes on email signatures.

    Example Signature:
    I rarely change my signature, but review it at least a couple of times a year. Here is my signature as of today’s date:

    —

    Pastor Wayne Hedlund, Executive Pastor
    Elim Gospel Church
    1679 Dalton Road
    Lima, NY 14485
    (585) 624-5560

    Check out my blog at www.tranformingleader.org.

    How to Setup Your Signature:
    Now, I can’t exactly give you instructions since everyone has different email carriers. I have included links below to some helpful articles for the more popular email carriers. For the rest of you, I suspect the following will get you where you want to go: Open www.google.com and type the name of your email provider and the words “email signature”.

     

  • Time Management 101: Eat the Frog

    Perhaps you’ve heard me talk about the book called “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy. The premise of the book is that you should try to always begin your day doing your least favorite or most dreaded task first (like eat a frog). A simple concept, but not so simple to do. However, it’s still worth our time and consideration.

    Watch this 90 second video by Brian Tracy
    to get the full picture.

    Image source honewatson.com

    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • Some Great Mission Statements

    Image & Mission of Living Bridge Church in Gibsonia, PA. 2011

    Here’s a well guarded secret that I intend to now make known to all (at least to those who read this blog). Nearly every good mission statement is going to reflect the same ideas as other Christ-centered churches. That would be because we are all getting our instructions and mission from the same Person and from the same Book. That makes sense.

    That said, every church’s mission statement should reflect who they are and why they believe God has placed them in their location. I don’t recommend that you just grab another mission that sounds good to you – at least until you’ve walked through the strategic process with your team first.

    If you are interested in learning more about how to build a mission statement, then consider checking out the following blogs: Mission, Vision, and Values…Oh, My!; Make it So.; Why Mission?; How to Draft a Mission Statement.

    Check out these great mission statements from churches around our nation.

    Elim Gospel Church in Lima, NY: “To help one another experience Christ’s transforming love so that we can love Him, ourselves, our families, our church and our world.”

    Granger Community Church in Granger, IN: “Helping people take their next step toward Christ…together.”

    Faith Fellowship Church in Dexter, NY: “To live in the light of Jesus Christ: revealing God’s love, restoring true hope, transforming lives.”

    Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC: “To help spiritual seekers become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”

    Living Bridge Community Church in Gibsonia, PA: “To change the way people think about church.”

    Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL: “Helping people find their way back to God.”

    Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview, TX: “To lead all people into a life-changing, ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ.”

    Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, GA: “To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.”

    Sagemont Church in Houston, TX: “To provide living proof of a loving God to a watching world.”

    LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma City, OK: “To lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.”

    Pathways Church in Denver, CO: “Helping lost, broken people become passionate, devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”

    Poplar Creek Church in Bartlet, IL: “To create a people with whom God can fellowship, who reflect His glory and are transformed in His image.”

    First Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines, IA: “To bring people to Jesus by winning the lost, building and equipping believers, and sending them into their ministry to honor God.”

     

  • How to Draft a Mission Statement

    When I was a teenager I was drafted by my dad to mop the kitchen floor. He handed me one of those mops professionals use with the long strings at the end. I started swiping the floor back and forth with the wet mop head. This went on for a few minutes until he walked into the room and saw what I was doing. He kindly notified me that the proper way to mop was like “this”. In about two minutes I was mopping the floor like a pro. I was also pretty sure my dad knew what he was talking about as he was the Facility Director at the local hospital.

    The thing is, I have very rarely seen anyone mop the floor this way. Sure, I’ve seen some pro’s do it, but rarely have I seen the average janitor at local schools or churches use this kind of mop properly. This shocks me almost every time because it’s actually easier and more effective to mop the floor the right way rather than the wrong way. Since I learned what to do so long ago, I just assumed everyone knew how to do it.

    The same is true for drafting a mission statement. It can seem intimidating and hard at first, but once you’ve walked through the process most people discover it wasn’t as difficult as they thought it would be. Don’t misunderstand, it’s still work (so is mopping the floor), but it doesn’t have to be an ineffective use of your time.

    How to Draft a Mission Statement

    • Pray. The Bible states very clearly that church leaders must “keep watch over you {believers} as those who must give an account” – Hebrews 13: 17. We hold a holy responsibility that should never be held lightly. Make sure you have submitted all of your conversations and ideas to the Lord regularly and first.
    • Start from Scratch. You may have a mission statement already. I suggest you consider setting it aside and begin afresh. The process of revisiting why you do what you do will bring clarity to your church and either confirm or clarify if your current statement is relevant or not.
    • Ask Yourself, “Why are we here?”. One question. Why are we here? This is the question your mission statement will eventually answer. Why does your church exist? 
    • Set aside Assumptions. It’s so easy to make assumptions and hold conversations without addressing those assumptions. Assumptions can create a lot of confusion. I recommend you ask yourself the question, “Is there anything we think about church that we take for granted or just assume?”
    • Brainstorm and Refine. You’ll want to do a lot of brainstorming, and then a lot of refining. Develop lists of ideas, words, sentences on white-boards – and then categorize them, refine them, and update them. You may go through this process several times.
    • Identify Key Words. There will likely be key words that resonate with you and your team. Note them and set them aside for future consideration. You may not use them all, but you will want to consider them when you get to the final stages of your statement construction.
    • Get Feedback. Sometimes teams can get so focused that they get tunnel vision and will miss the obvious. Draft two or three statements you are considering and run them by a few key people for input and feedback to bring back to the team. In fact – email them to me and I’ll give you my thoughts!
    • Benchmark. Check out some other churches mission statements. Be careful though! A lot of churches have missions that mean nothing to them, but sit proudly three layers into their website for anyone to find and copy. Perhaps I will post a few great mission statement examples sometime in the future.
    • Don’t confuse Values with Mission. Don’t confuse your core values with your mission statement. For instance, you hopefully have a core value of being bible-based. That shouldn’t be part of your mission statement. You probably have a value of being caring or generational, etc. Those should be summarized on a different document rather than in the mission statement. 
    • Keep it Biblical. This may seem obvious – perhaps too obvious. Remember Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
    • Keep it Broad. You’re mission statement will need to be very broad. You can’t write out everything the church DOES. You need to boil down all of the concepts and Scriptures down to the very basics of ‘why you exist’ as a church in your community. For example, your statement should encompass every ministry and person in your church that you know reflects the heartbeat of your church.
    • Keep it Specific. OK. That sounds like the opposite of broad . . . almost. It’s not. You don’t want to be vague in your terminology. “Providing food and clothes to the homeless.” is both a broad and specific statement.  
    • Keep it Brief. This is the perhaps the hardest part (well, the second hardest). Allen Cox defined a mission as ‘an organization’s brief, compelling statement of purpose.’ I recommend your mission statement be one sentence and no more than two sentences – and if possible short ones. 
    • Keep it Simple. Don’t use a lot of adjectives, christianeze, and run-on sentences. Also, if it requires an extra paragraph explaining the reasoning behind it, it’s too complicated. 
    • Evaluate EVERY Word. That’s right. When you near the end of the process you should ask yourselves if every word accurately reflects what you want to say and why. You will also evaluate whether every word is necessary or not.
    • Make it Memorable. I said above that making the statement brief is the second hardest part. This is probably the hardest for most of us. It needs to be memorable. Something that almost rolls off your tongue. Easy to remember. There’s no point in having a mission statement if your congregation can’t remember it. 
    • Don’t Give Up. Sometimes this process can be overwhelming and tedious. Don’t give up. It will be worth it in the end. If you’re getting stuck, consider taking a break for a few minutes, hours, or days. Try approaching the conversation from a different angle. Split into small groups of 3 and have the small groups tackle the problem and return to discuss what happened. Press through.
    • Don’t Lose Your Sense of Humor. Last but not least, have some fun. Make a few jokes. Laugh a little. It’s OK.

  • Why Mission?

    Why are we doing this?

    When I was in High School I got hired to pick rock. It was an inglorious job. Hard labor. Long hours. Sore back. One day after finishing picking rock in a field, the farmer asked me and a buddy to start picking rock in a neighboring field that looked like it never had, nor ever would be, used to grow anything. It was not only full of stones and rocks, it was very uneven. To this day I really don’t know if he had some plan to eventually do something with that land, or if he knew I had an hour left on the clock and was trying to keep me busy. I remember talking to my buddy and asking the question in exasperation, “Why are we doing this?” It was hard work and I wasn’t motivated at all to do the job. At least when I was picking rock in the other fields I had a halfway good idea of ‘why’ I was doing it. Suffice it to say, I didn’t really enjoy the job.

    Question. Is your church guilty of that as well? Are there activities, events, perhaps even messages on Sunday’s that aren’t really connected to the mission of your church?

    I would like to suggest that if you haven’t taken the time to draft a mission statement, you really don’t know the answer to that. If you DO have a mission statement, but personally don’t know it off the top of your head, then I would also suggest you really don’t know the answer. If you can quote the mission statement, but none of your elders or leaders can, then I still hold that you likely don’t really know if your church regularly or sometimes departs from its God-given purpose.

    Defining, refining, and incorporating your church’s mission into the daily life of your church can be one of the most healthy and inspiring things you’ve done in a decade. Really. I’m not just talking about talking. I already talked about that right here. I’m talking about rebuilding your culture around your mission.

    Aubrey Malphurs did a great job expressing the benefits to a church mission in her book, Advanced Strategic Planning. Here are a few of them for you to consider:

    • Mission dictates ministry direction.
      When you have a mission statement, you have somewhere to go. Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up someplace else.” 
    • Mission formulates the ministry function.
      You will never do ministry that matters until you define what matters. Your mission will help you clarify, “What are we supposed to be doing?” 
    • Mission focuses the ministry’s future.
      A mission gives you and your congregation something tangible to focus on. It defines you and gives you a hope for what is to come. The opposite is true as well. Without a mission statement the future will look fuzzy and out of focus. You won’t really know for sure where you are going or what you are aiming for.
    • Mission provides a guideline for decision making.
      Mission is to ministry what a compass is to a navigator. It provides a framework for critical thinking and decision making.
    • Mission inspires ministry unity.
      A mission statement can draw your members together as a team or community. It broadcasts, ‘Here is where we are going. Let’s all pull together and with God’s help make it happen.’
    • Mission shapes strategy.
      It’s really hard to create and implement strategic plans and steps when you don’t have a target to aim at. Your mission provides the basic framework for strategy.
    • Mission shapes ministry effectiveness.
      There would be no point, in the scheme of things, to draft a mission if it didn’t have the high potential to improve your overall effectiveness. It does. Studies show that organizations that have and operate from a well drafted mission statement are much more likely to succeed than those that don’t.
    • Mission ensures an enduring organization.
      This is one of my favorites. When you have a mission that the whole church knows and believes in, you have something that will last through multiple pastors and leaders and for years and years to come. It brings consistency and continuity to your church’s future.
    • Mission facilitates evaluation.
      We’ve all heard it said, ‘You can’t expect what you don’t inspect.’ Well, you can’t inspect what you don’t expect, either. If you don’t have a clear goal to aim for then you can’t evaluate how well you are doing in getting there.
    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • Mission, Vision and Values . . . Oh, My!

    mission, vision, and values . . . oh, my!

    When I was a kid I watched “The Wizard of Oz” like every other kid about once a year. I had sort of a love/hate relationship with the movie. I never told anyone, but some parts were really scary to me. I did NOT like the wicked witch or the evil winged monkeys. I also remember being really scared the first time Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tin Man met the lion. I know I wasn’t alone. There are few in our nation who don’t know where, “Lions, tigers, and bears. Oh, my!” came from!

    I think a lot of pastors feel about the same way about mission, vision, and values. Scary. What in the world are they? How do they fit together (or do they)? And are they really that important? Sometimes people will talk about them like they are somehow connected to the second coming of Christ or something. Certainly, we aren’t going to see God move or church growth without them, right?

    I’d like to set the records straight.

    In your ministry I think they are important and can be extremely helpful in clarifying who you are, where you are going and how you will get there. That said, you can survive without them. You already knew that. There are thousands of churches in the world that don’t have a clear mission, vision, or values and some of them are doing quite well thank you. God is even showing up and changing lives on a regular basis.

    So why this almost religious preoccupation with them? I will say, some people can get a little legalistic and pushy about all this strategic stuff. I try really hard NOT to be one of them, but it is hard.

    For me, it can be compared to something like godly counsel in the lives of your congregation. Do you believe that godly counsel could be a valuable and important part of your parishioner’s lives? I’m pretty sure you do.

    Do you think they can still survive, hear from God, and grow spiritually without it? Likely.

    But you also likely believe that they would be missing a key ingredient in life that could greatly impact their spiritual growth, eliminate unnecessary heartache, and bring them to levels of maturity and spiritual health they could not otherwise obtain.

    I think you get the point.

    Your mission can help you and your congregation clarify WHO YOU ARE. It can play a huge role in focusing your leadership on your church being the church the way God designed you to be. Your vision can become an expression of what you believe that will look like one day. It is your hope for the future. Your values can act as your guide, or the guardrails, as you walk down the path from where you are to where you are going.

    I hope to begin a series this week exploring each of these aspects of church life. Stay tuned for more mission, vision, and values . . . oh, my!