Tag Archives: Focus

Got Clarity? (part 2)

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Clarity_3In my last post – Got Clarity? (part 1), – I talked about the need for clarity and gaining an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstance. Today I will address clarity of systems. Ministry systems can get bogged down due to lack of precision, so today I will focus on 3 key areas of ministry that truly need clarity.

Communications
You have a piece of important information you need to run by your superior before a monthly meeting. But it took longer than expected for you to complete. Now you find your supervisor is out of the office until after the meeting. So your project is on hold for a month until your whole team can communicate on this one item.

Sound familiar? In my 29 years of ministry, I’ve often seen poor communication systems slowing ministry progress. Solution: Intentionally formalize your communication strategy. Don’t rely on hallway conversations or last-minute emails to confirm important information. Set up a system to organize your inner-office communications. But everyone needs to participate, or it won’t work.
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Got Clarity? (part 1)

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2020-vision-logo-glassesA few weeks ago I got new glasses. I like the way they look. But that’s not why I bought them. My last pair was several years old and my vision had changed a lot. I was constantly taking off my old pair of glasses to see things close up. Even then, my vision was blurry at best. My new glasses have given me better than 20/20 vision. Everything is much clearer now.

Clarity is important in life too. We measure the clarity of water and we carefully examine the clarity of diamonds before we buy. Seeing clearly is important and it seems that wise leaders are always seeking greater clarity. But it’s not always easy. The Apostle Paul said that comprehending reality in this life is like seeing a blurred image in a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12 GW).

I’ve always felt that it’s very important to have an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstance. So I want to look at these three areas and offer one simple suggestion to gain greater clarity for each.

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The Power of Focus

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Today I’ll look at probably the most difficult aspect of implementing a simple strategy for church health. It’s called focus. Focus is difficult because if you focus on one thing, you have to say “no” to something else. And we don’t like to say “no.” We don’t want to hurt feelings, reject ideas, or crush dreams. But many churches will remain largely ineffective until we embrace the concept of focus. So take a look at the idea of focus, by considering this simple acrostic, F.O.C.U.S.

Forsake
The power of focus is not just in what you focus on, but on what you don’t. The object of your focus should be the only thing you pay attention to. When couples pledge themselves to the other in marriage, they promise to “forsake all others,” and let their spouse be the focal point of their attention. In order to focus on someone or something, you have to forsake everyone, or everything else.

Optical
Focus is a vision word. It deals with optics, the scientific study of sight. Try this quick experiment. Hold up your finger six inches in front of your nose. Focus on it for five seconds. Now, keeping your finger there and without turning your head, focus on an object on a wall directly across the room. Now focus on your finger again.

focus_1When you were focusing on your finger, the wall on the other side of the room was technically in your field of vision, you just didn’t see it. Likewise, when you focused on the wall, you didn’t notice your finger. The point is, you see what you focus on. If you want to see clearly, focus is a non-negotiable.

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