I have routines. You have routines. We all have routines.
Whether it’s the way we start our days, commute to work, go to bed, or anything in between, we all have a certain way of doing things. In fact, a recent book on this topic outlined the fact that geniuses—both ancient and modern—tend to live and die by their routines.
Charles Dickens took three-hour walks every afternoon, Mozart had a regimented daily schedule, and Charles Schultz, creator of nearly eighteen thousand Peanuts comic strips, had a ham sandwich and glass of milk almost every day.
So yes, we all have routines. But why? Is it superstition? Laziness? Why is it that we do things the way that we do?
Routines exist because they are the best, most effective, and efficient way to do the things that need to get done. Well, at least, at one point in time they were the best. At one point in time they were the most efficient. And at one point in time we saw first hand just how effective they were.
The same is true for the church. At one point in time, those programs made sense, but do they still today?
When’s the last time you evaluated them? Or have they just become routine? How much of your church is driven by mottos like, “Well that’s the way we’ve always done it,” or, “Don’t rock the boat,” or “What would dear sister Sally do if you changed things? Her deceased husband basically built this church.”
Change or die.
[Read more…] about Routines, Busyness, and Change