Rich Kao

According to a 2007 American Psychological Association study:

• A third of Americans report living with extreme stress.
• 48% of Americans report that their stress has increased over the past five years.
• 31% of employed adults report difficulty managing work and family responsibilities.

According to the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, 30% of workers say they are "always" or "often" under stress at work.

A 2006 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) poll discovered that "burnout from current job" and "difficulty balancing work/life issues" were among the leading reasons employees voluntarily leave their organizations, showing up as #7 and #13 respectively on a list of 25 possible reasons.

According to a 2007 CareerBuilder.com survey:

• The U.S. worker has the least vacation time of any modern developed society.
• A third of workers say they check in with the office while on vacation.
• 37% of all working dads reported that they would consider taking a new job with less pay if it offered better work/life balance.

According to a 2005 FORTUNE poll, 49% of the Fortune 500 executives surveyed are self-described workaholics. Still, there is some good news:

• 98% say they're sympathetic to requests from their direct reports for a better work/life balance.
• 73% believe it's possible to restructure senior management jobs in ways that increase productivity and make more time available outside the office.
• 87% believe that companies that do so will have a competitive advantage.

In a 2006 report by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, a fifth of high earners surveyed had "extreme jobs": logging 60 or more hours a week, many traveling regularly and maintaining fast-paced and unpredictable schedules that place them on call virtually around the clock.

What Is Burnout?
According to psychologist and counselor Dr. Audrey Canaff, "Job burnout is a response to work stress that leaves you feeling powerless, hopeless, fatigued, drained, and frustrated." And a team of psychologists in a major study on this issue reports that "Burnout is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job, and is defined by the three dimensions of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy." By contrast, its counterpoint is engagement, which is characterized by energy, involvement, and efficacy at work.

In today's hyper-competitive (and ailing) economy, we can easily fall prey to burnout that comes from information overload, "perpetual busyness," and constantly racing against the clock. In his book Crazy Busy, Edward Hallowell writes that being too busy can become a habit so entrenched that it makes us slaves to a lifestyle we don't like, but can't escape: "You can be so busy that you don't even take the time to decide what actually does matter the most to you, let alone make the time to do it."

Protection Against Burnout - Tips

Managing Yourself and Your Schedule

• Over-commitment: this often shows up as doing too may things, which often comes from an inability--or lack of resolve--to draw boundaries or say "no," or from being unrealistic about what it will take to complete projects.
• Resource issues: not having enough resources and/or not using them effectively (e.g., via delegation).
• Perfectionism: pursuing perfection instead of focusing on what's "good enough."
• Focus problems: focusing on things that are urgent but not important--and on things that just "come up" (e.g., simply responding to emails coming in versus managing your time according to your priorities); or procrastinating on things that are difficult.
• Manage your energy, not your time.  Find the little activities in your work day that provide "renewable energy."

Kevin York, Head of Church Planting for Every Nation, a wonderful man of God and good friend:

- Humility is simply having an accurate memory.
- Success starts with healthy self-awareness - knowing who you are - and knowing who you are not.

Posted at ChurchRelevance.com...a great thought on church growth.  For the record, I'm not an "anti-church growth" guy.  I've always preached God loves a big family.  What I like about this post is the accent on growth as a by-product, not as a goal in and of itself.   As Rick Warren says, don't try to create waves, find your wave and ride it.

Jack Trout on the Dangerous Pursuit of Growth

December 8, 2008 @ 11:43 am · Filed under Church, Leadership, Ministry

Three years ago, Jack Trout wrote an article for Forbes that discussed the danger of making growth your mission.

That desire for growth is at the heart of what can go wrong for many companies. Growth is the by-product of doing things right. But in itself, it is not a worthy goal. In fact, growth is the culprit behind impossible goals.

People do damaging things to force unnecessary growth.

This also applies to churches. Great attendance is the by-product of doing things right. Your goal is your God-given mission. When attendance becomes your goal, you risk doing damaging things for growth’s sake.

Remember, God cares about changed lives not accumulated lives. (Me:  great thought by poster Kent Schaffer). As long as you are focused on your mission and continually getting better at fulfilling it, you should be content with the by-product of doing things right.

And if your church has been thrust into the spotlight because of your attendance, methods, or pastor, be extra careful that you do not swap your God-given mission with the pursuit of growth. Jack Trout continues:

Did you ever wonder why very successful, privately held companies, such as Milliken or Gore-Tex, rarely show up in the press? It’s because no one is staring at their numbers quarter after quarter. All they have to worry about is their business. And if they are happy with it, that’s all that matters.

...something new is bubbling up in terms of how to do church buildings....sorry to be cryptic, but maybe we'll share it in the new year!

The best of 2008 according to Ministries Today.  Pictures and articles posted at Ken Schaffer's blog. http://churchrelevance.com/7-innovative-church-buildings-in-america/

Who wouldn't want to pastor in these churches?  Wow!  (But...see next post)

March 5, 2008 @ 6:50 pm · Filed under Church, Facilities, Ministry

Ministry Today has published a subjective list of the seven most innovative church buildings in America. The online article goes into detail about each church building but does not include any photos. So I scoured the Web for photos so you could have a glimpse at a few of these innovative church buildings.

#1 :: Northland A Church Distributed (Longwood, FL)
Photo Credits: Mark Beeson, G Jackson Lights, and the church website.

#2 :: Living Water Community Church (Bolingbrook, IL)
Photo Credit: Wildesign Group Architects via Flickr.
UDPATE: Original photos taken by Aspen Group.

#3 :: New Beginnings Christian Center (Portland, OR)
Photo Credit: Building God’s Way.

#4 :: Victory Christian Center (Tulsa, OK)
Photo Credits: Daniels and Daniels Construction and the church website.

#5 :: Parkway Christian Church (Surprise, AZ)
Photo Credit: CCBG Architects.

#6 :: The Vineyard Church (Urbana, IL)
Photo Credit: Aspen Group.

#7 :: Cornerstone Christian Fellowship (Chandler, AZ)
Photo Credit: Rowland Companies.

For explanations why Ministry Today calls these seven church buildings the “most innovative in America,” check out their online article. They certainly are some cutting-edge facilities, but I also know that there are quite a few other remarkably innovative church buildings around the world.