SLAYING THE E-MAIL MONSTER!

First, watch this funny video of me doing what you may WISH you could do to your computer: Then, check out my 5th Kidology Leadership Lab: Define, Refine and Shine! (Link works for Kidology Members) The 5th installment of Kidology Online Training is now available. This Leadership Lab, titled Define, Refine, and Shine, is priced at only $9.99 for Kidology Members so that everyone can afford this valuable resource. We think it’s that important! Are you exhausted? Stress robbing you of the joy of ministry? Overloaded with more to do than time and resources allow? Then now is the time to evaluate your life and ministry. Yes, life and ministry. In this Leadership Lab, Karl Bastian will walk you through a thoughtful process that will bring definition, margin, and joy back into these areas. PLUS! This Lab includes a FREE BONUS REPORT: Slaying the E-Mail Monster. Learn 10 AMAZING SECRETS from a leader who personally manages hundreds of e-mails a day. What’s he’s learned the hard way will put YOU back in charge of your computer again! Purchase the accompanying Leadership Lab Download Kit for the complete training experience! Watch video online – Purchase Download Kit Share your thoughts in…

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Sean on Time Management

Here are some Time Management Tips from the designer of this blog, Sean Copley from Timbuktoons. (Don’t miss my Podcast interview with Timbuktoon founder Todd Hampson) Sean is a great guy and I know from personal experience, well organized. In their recent newsletter Sean gave away some of this secrets… CREATIVE PROCRASTINATION There are not enough hours in each day so you know you will always have to procrastinate on something. The trick is to force yourself to choose to procrastinate on the small things in order to get things done. Keys: Don’t clear up the small things first! Resist the temptation- we often underestimate how the small things add up and seemingly never end (especially e-mail)! Choose to do the most valuable and important first. Place value on the items you need to accomplish each day. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of what you do is the least valuable, while 20% is the most valuable. Do it tomorrow! Work on the e-mails and phone messages that came in yesterday and file today’s away for tomorrow. The benefit is that when your mailboxes are empty, you are done for the day regardless of what comes in! For example, I…

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The 6 1/2 Biggest Myths about Creativity

I’m sitting in the auditorium at Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit live in Barrington, IL, and just met a fellow MacBook Air user in the atrium blogging, so we swapped blog addresses and I returned to get a good seat. (enjoying free WiFi!) Anyway, I LOVED a post on his blog, and wanted to share it with you here. (From Patrick Mayfield. I originally linked to his post, but he keeps moving it, so I have posted the rest here so I don’t have to keep updated it.) 1. Only a few people are creative “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are probably right.” I’m not sure who said that, but it sums up what I have come to realise about each of us in the matter of being creative. Ultimately this myth is perpetuated by a negative and self-fulfilling perception of oneself. Our self-perception as ‘uncreative’ people is probably due to an unchallenged internal script from our critical faculties. When we have attempted something creative in the past, the script may have run something like this: “You see? That’s pathetic! I can’t be creative…” Many say, “I can’t draw”; then coaches such as Betty Edwards come…

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Curriculum: Your Ministry’s Foundation

While the word “curriculum” may solicit yawns from many people, don’t underestimate the importance of curriculum on your ministry! The foundation of your educational ministry is your curriculum. Everything else hinges from and is built upon the foundation laid by your educational hour teaching material. How high and how deep and how broad your educational ministry will be is greatly determined by curriculum. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE CURRICULUM? THE WRONG WAY: Use what you have always used Let your teachers each pick their own Look at tons of samples and pickone based on what appeals to you Depend on curriculum promotions Use what some other great church uses THE RIGHT WAY: Determine what YOU would like to accomplish in your Sunday School educational program. List your educational goals List weaknesses with current material. Make a list of what you are looking for. THEN look at published materials that match your criteria. I remember when I started my previous ministry, our curriculum situation was a mess! Here was what we were facing: Every teacher used what they liked, over five published curriculums were in use, some taught without any published material. Repetition and Omission of Bible stories was not only likely,…

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Sneak Peek: I’m Launching a Podcast!

The time has finally come! I’m launching a Children’s Ministry Podcast this summer, and as usual, my blog readers get the first peek! So here is very first episode: Episode 1: What Are Your Red Sneakers? In this very first episode of Children’s Ministry Podcast, Karl and his faithful sidekick Gus ask listeners, “What Are Your Red Sneakers?” Tune in to learn helpful insights and tips to help you and your children’s ministry become more effective. DOWNLOAD HERE: Children’s Ministry Podcast w/ Karl and Gus – 001 (MP3 14.5mb) Let me know what you think! And any ideas for direction/topics along the way. UPDATE: You can now listen and subscribe at Kidology.org/podcast

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