I am all about efficiency!   I like to get more things done in less time.   I want to get the greatest amount of fuel efficiency in the cars I drive.   I always look for the biggest bang for the buck.   If I can get more stuff for less money -- well that seems to be a bargain!   Often the focus on efficiency drives politicians when they make election promises.   "We will give you more of what you want, and it will cost you less in taxes," so they claim.  And often this is what spurs churches and church leaders to do what they do.   They consider overall financial and people resources, and they wonder:  "How can we get the most and cost us the least?"  It is all about efficiency!

In my early years it was efficiency that motivated me in ministry.  I didn't want to appear to be lazy, so I would work hard.   This is how I read the Bible:  "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth."  (Proverbs 10:4)   "We do not want you to become lazy, ...."  (Hebrews 6:12)  "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."  (Proverbs 24:33-34)   I would try to be careful in managing my time as Paul urges the church in Ephesus: "Be very careful, then, ... making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."   (Ephesians 5:15-16)   Get the most done in the least amount of time.

But in my first church the busyness of ministry taught me an important lesson in life.   I was doing a lot of things, and I worked hard at it.   But I realised I was getting the wrong things done.   All my efficiency did not result in what I believed God's call was on my life -- and that was to make and grow disciples of Jesus.   We saw very few conversions, if any!   I was just too busy doing a lot of things and had no time to do what I needed to do, which was, to reach out to the lost and to equip the church to do likewise.   The main thing was not the main thing in my life and ministry.   So I made a decision to switch from being efficient to being effective.   I changed the scorecard in my ministry.  Rather than simply doing more things I wanted to do the right things - to discover what was important and make those things a priority!   So when I planned out my work week, rather than prioritizing my schedule I began to schedule my priorities.   I would prayerfully consider the things that God would have me do, and then make a to-do list of these things. 

In fact, if you read carefully what Paul wrote to the Ephesians you notice that making the most of every opportunity, to be really wise, requires us to "understand what the Lord's will is." (5:17)  We need to do the right things not the most things.   We need to do what God requires of us.   His priorities need to become our priorities.   If we neglect doing the right things, we are being foolish.   As Rick Warren writes in the Purpose Driven Life:  "The secret of effectiveness is to know what really counts, then do what really counts, and not worry about the rest."

What really counts for us as leaders and churches?   Isn't it doing all things for the glory of God? (1 Corinthians 10:31)   Isn't the Lord's will that we put Him and others first?   To love God and walk in love with our neighbour? (Matthew 22:37-40; Ephesians 5:1-2)   Isn't our priority being salt and light in the world so that the lost will come to faith and glorify God with us?  (Matthew 5:13-16; 1 Peter 2:12)    Isn't the main thing making and growing disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:19ff)    As CRCA churches we have made this our scorecard in ministry:  to be churches reforming to reach the lost for Christ.  Our priority in ministry is to ensure that everything we do results in more and more people being reached with the gospel.   If that is not our priority in ministry, then we realize that some things have to change.  Oh we might do a lot of things right but are we doing the right things?   If not, this will require a reformation of what we do.

Oh efficiency is still important.  I still work hard in ministry and do a lot of things.   Laziness is not in my vocabulary.   But at the core it not about efficiency; it is about effectiveness!   My goal is to be busy doing the right things!  To do those things that reach the lost for Christ and encourages others in ministry to do likewise.   And when I hear stories, as I do, of this happening then I am assured that we are doing the right things.    We might not be all that efficient.   What we do might cost us more money and take us a lot longer.  But we are doing the things that really count, that really matter! The lost are found and the found discipled. And we are being effective!