Have you ever run into this scenario? A distraught church member comes up to you about something traumatic going on in her life. You listen attentively, address her concerns, give her godly counsel, and end the conversation with, “I will pray for you!” You then promptly forget to pray–until the next time you see her.

The reason you forget to pray in this kind of situation isn’t a lack of concern or spiritual laziness. It’s much more basic: you didn’t write down the request.

Anything that’s important, anything you need to do, and anything you want to remember about a person or a conversation needs to be written down. Anything. Everything. And you must do it immediately.

You cannot simply hope you’ll remember to write something down later on. Don’t put that burden on yourself. Just do it right away–and then put it where you can easily access the information.

Making a habit of writing things down immediately will benefit you in many ways. Here are just four ways this practice will improve your life:

1. Greater peace of mind. You will no longer have that nagging fear that you may be forgetting something.
2. Better focus. When you have less mental clutter, it frees you to concentrate on what you are doing now.
3. Happier church and family life. Everyone wins when you are dependable. Be someone the people around you can count on.
4. Better reputation in the community. Keep your word, and even people who disagree with you will admit that you are a person of integrity. That goes a long way in our profession.

– Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman

The above excerpt is from pgs. 97-100 of The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Time Management. 

Time is your most important God-given resource no matter how hard you work, you can’t make a day last longer than twenty-four hours. By mastering a set of proven time-management principles, you can regain control of your life. It is possible to manage your time so that you can stay on top of the never-ending demands of being a pastor, nurture your congregation, spend quality time with your family, and take care of your physical and emotional needs. Become the pastor God has called you to be.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.