How much has COVID-19 changed your life? Weird question I know. Our nation shutdown and millions of Americans were not sure what would come next as they began to work from home and figure out a plan for their family. We as a nation have gone through a lot in the in the last 365 days.
I went through a crazy season as a Pastor and author trying to put the pieces together with my family to get through 2020. A question though came to my mind in March of 2020 as the state of Florida began to shut down. How will I use my time working from home to grow in Christ, become a better husband and dad, and lastly how can I become stronger in my job?
During the pandemic while my family was sleeping I would begin to put together game plans to become a better employee, pastor, and leader in the church where I serve. One of the the plans I developed became something that formed into what I am calling “5 Questions to Move the Needle.”
During the next two weeks I will be talking through 5 Questions I believe will help you move the needle in your ministry as you begin to see people come back to your church.
My Story
Let me share my story with you and how working from home with a newborn and a two-year-old changed my life as a leader, pastor, and honestly as an employee. My wife gave birth to our daughter on March 19, 2020 two days after the state of Florida began to take steps to shut down. I watched my wife have her first surgery as she underwent a C-section (I hope she is okay I am sharing this part of our story) here in Orlando. My wife was a champ, and we met our beautiful daughter that afternoon at 3:20 pm.
We saw our daughter go through a lot of different test and end up in a brace because of hip dysplasia in luckily just on her left side and not both hips. But as we came home with our daughter and introduced her to our son and her brother, we saw something amazing happen. Our son took to her and helped carry her car seat (with her in it) into the house.
The next several weeks and months led to me working from home, helping my wife out, and building a deeper relationship with both of my children. One day my son asked me a question and his question in its innocence sparked something in my mind. I wish I could tell you his question, but with my ADD and ADHD, I cannot even remember what I had for breakfast today. My son asked something about his sister and it caused my brain to realize something that has since changed my work ethic and technique.
I love that a two year old could ask a 36 year old man a question and change how he approaches his job, but I guess that is how God works sometimes. My son challenged me and helped me to since think strategically about how I approach my ministry and job.
What about you?
I wonder if you are someone who likes to ask questions. Up until COVID, I would say I asked questions but never strategically. Why? Because for some reason it has become easy to buy into a mindset that asking questions makes you appear you are questioning someone’s authority.
The reality is that asking questions can either be positive or negative. It really comes down to why we are asking the question, but also how we are asking. Many times in our jobs we could be helping our organization out if we asked questions, especially if strategically driven questions.
Question #1 Do you ask strategic questions to help your ministry grow?
Let me share some examples with you of positive questions to ask our boss:
1. What is our (your) mission and vision for our organization?
2. How can I align my ministry/job with your vision?
3. Where do you see our ministry/organization going over the next 5-10 years?
Now let me share with you some examples of negative questions people ask their boss:
1. Why do I need to change my ministry/job to align with your new vision?
2. What are doing on Sunday’s with our worship and ministries? (Your tone in the voice on this one hurts you).
3. Can I hold off making changes in my area until next year?
Looking at both positive and negative questions I hope you are able to see the difference in what our questions can accomplish or hinder us from doing.
