One Day Challenge

someday always seems to be just around the corner. The cost of not addressing the “blank” – whatever that is for your ministry – can be frighteningly high. If you’re not clear about your major priorities, the rest of the staff and the members of your church will continue to stumble along. If you know that people are joining but not connecting, the back door will remain wide open. If you don’t have a plan to turn outward, many people will gladly stay in their holy huddles. That’s why I am issuing a “one day challenge.” I want to encourage you to devote one full, uninterrupted day sometime in the next 3 months to get away from the daily fires and focus on your biggest opportunity or most pressing issue. Don’t do it by yourself – put a day on the calendar and take your key leaders with you. If possible, go off-site so that you can avoid the distractions and clearly signal that this is important. What will you spend the day working on? You’ll have to give this some thought in advance. (Yes, I know that means that this challenge will actually take more than one day of your time, but I bet it won’t take you long to pick one thing.) If it’s absolutely unclear, then the best use of the day might be a structured brainstorming session to identify the ministry’s most significant obstacles and highest priorities. If you take the one day challenge, I hope you’ll do one more thing. Come away from the day with a concrete plan. Don’t fall into the trap of having a lovely campfire moment – those times when everyone feels warm and fuzzy because of the time they’ve spent together but nothing is accomplished. Every leadership team needs those relationship-building moments, but that’s not what the one day challenge is about. You need to walk away with a clear understanding of what steps will be taken in the coming months and who is responsible for them. I am passionate about this, because I’m passionate about seeing ministries turn their visions into results. I also believe that every organization has enormous untapped potential waiting to be released when leaders get clear about what needs to be done. The ball is in your court – will you take the one day challenge? I’d love to hear what you decide. If you’d like help with a one day challenge, the OneDay Experiences page has more information.]]>