Summertime

Father's Day is the unofficial start of summer around here.  This weekend we will be introducing our summer schedule (which might just become our regular schedule too, so let us know what you think). This weekend Chris Wesley will be joining me again as we look at fatherhood from his perspective as a new dad. Be sure and bring your dad.  


One of the things I love to do at the start of a new season is set goals for myself.  Some people don't like to do that or even find it unhelpful, but I am a big fan. It gets me focused and gives me markers to measure my efforts. Here are my goals for summer, 2011.


1) Complete the "book."
Perhaps you didn't know about this project, but Tom Corcoran and I have been working on a book.  It's not a big book, it won't be a New York Times best seller, but it is a book and we've worked hard on it.  The basic premise is, we discovered that church wasn't working so well for us and we set out to find a better way of doing church. The book is about what happened to us and what we've found that does works.  The book is now largely written but still needs some editing and additional research...not sure how much. So, I am going to Avalon in July and, with no phones, e-mail or meetings, I am going to work on the book until it's done.  I'm not coming back until it's done.


2) Plan our message series.
Before we dive into the fall, my goal is to have a complete schedule and detailed plan for all our message series for 2011-2012.  This project is already in process, thanks to Tom, so I feel confident we can get it done.


3) More work on my house.
The house where I live (aka, the "Rectory") was in poor condition for years, and, as of last year, in desperate need of certain repairs.  So, last summer I finally bit the bullet and undertook some renovations in a portion of the house; this summer we're undertaking a "Phase Two" to tackle another section. The goal is simple, clean and functional. Since the original work, it has been amazing to me how much the physical conditions of my residence has improved my lifestyle and even my daily attitude.


4) Complete our office reorganization.
Our staff has grown recently, and we are definitely bursting at the seams in our office space. We'll be addressing this situation this summer with some reorganization that will hopefully make everyone's life easier.


5) Launch the new web site & blog.
If you're around here on the weekends you know Kristin Costanza, but you probably didn't know that she recently switched jobs and is the creative director for our web site (not sure that is technically her title).  She will be coordinating the launch of an amazing new web site in July, though it will probably take the rest of the summer to finish the job.  As part of that project I want to also renovate this blog and rethink how I'm using it.


6) Develop a new schedule.
Before getting on the September-to-Christmas roller coster ride I want to spend some time taking a hard look at my personal schedule, how I manage my time and what I do with it.  In the coming year I want to get further away from the management and daily details of the parish and spend more time investing in our staff and talking to and listening to our ministers. I want to experience some of the mission activity Brian Crook is developing with his mission team, I want to have some presence in our youth program, get to know more of our members and invest time in representing our parish to the larger Church community to which we belong. And through a larger investment in our blog and web site, I want to reach out to others elsewhere who might be interested in what we're doing at Nativity.

7) Move our strategic planning process forward.
Over the past year we have initiated a strategic planning process to address the challenges we face on our campus. One of my goals for the summer is to see this process move forward to the next stage of development so that we have a clear plan for the plan going into the fall.


8) Spend more time with Scripture/pray more.


9) Spend more time with family and friends. 


10) Get more exercise/eat better/rest.


What are you doing with your summer? Think about it.
The success of your fall depends on it.