The Little Things

Recently I had a wonderful lunch conversation with a friend who is a very successful pastor. He was sharing with me a few leadership principles that he had learned in nearly 30 years of ministry. One thing he said that really caught my attention was, "Don't forget the little things." The little things are hand written thank you cards when someone gives you a gift or taking someone out to lunch and spending time listening to their stories or dropping a card in the mail letting someone know you are praying for them. 

I know it sounds simple and maybe even "old school," but this is really the heart of pastoring. Leadership guru John Maxwell says, "Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand." The little things make sure you continue to touch the hearts of those you are privileged to lead. 

In ministry it's very easy to forget the little things. If we were honest we would all say that at times we focus on connecting with new guests and prospective leaders at first and then eventually dial back our intentionality with them. After all, when the new guests come back 5 or 6 weeks in a row they are now part of the church and we are off to the next new guest. And thus the cycle continues. Think about it this way, when I first met my wife I went out of my way to impress her. I bought flowers and clothes and chocolates and perfume. Whatever it took to get the job done. Fast forward 5 years and 2 kids later and I am ashamed to confess that I can't remember the last time I randomly bought her flowers or perfume. In essence I forgot the little things. 

**author's note: At the time of this writing I am preparing to leave and buy a surprise gift for my wife :)

What would your ministry look like if you took 2 hours a week and focused on the little things? Maybe you are the Michael Phelps of the little things...I bet you can improve! Maybe you are like me and aren't the best at executing the little things - just start small a d work toward improvement. Hey, here's a great idea -- find one of those Michael Phelps characters we mentioned earlier and have them help mentor you along. Wayne Cordeiro recently said during his session at the Exponential conference, "You can start small, but you have to start now!" That's how we watch the little things improve and become the big things in our ministry. 

Here are a few tips to improve our effectiveness with the little things:

1) Schedule it. If we don't schedule our time someone will! Don't expect it to just happen. You don't expect dinner to just happen. You don't expect your kids to just magically appear at school. You schedule what matters. Schedule time to give attention to the little things. My current schedule is an hour on Mondays and an hour on Thursdays. It's not a lot of time but it's time devoted solely to the little things. 

2) Decide what you will do. Are you going to send postcards or hand-written letters? Both? What about emails and social media follow up? Will you take someone out for lunch or visit with someone at their home? Don't overlook this step. Decide in advance what your gameplan is going to be and then make it happen. 

3) Switch it up. You want consistency, but you don't want fake, obligatory, oh-that's-just-a-letter-from-the-preacher thing either. Don't get caught in a rut. If you always send postcards on Mondays eventually people will think you are just performing a task on your to-do list. Don't settle in on the same thing just for the sake if doing something. Imagine how boring it would be if every night you ate a ham and cheese sandwich with a few potato chips. You'd get pretty tired of the ham sandwich. My guess is before the week ended you'd be finding a new meal! The same is true in our pastoral connections with those we serve. Switch it up. Get creative. 

4) Be genuine. No one likes a fake. If you are doing the little things as a gimmick people will quickly see right through you. If you don't love people you can't lead them. I would go so far as to say maybe you don't have a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. Love God, love people. It's simple. Pray for them. Encourage them. Get specific. Don't fall for the cheap "I'm glad you come to church with us" line. Affirm what God is doing in their life. Mention specific things that you appreciate about them. Don't get lazy here. Learn to love people. Chose to give them love even when you don't think they "deserve" it. Remember, Christ loved us even when we didn't measure up or deserve it. 

I'm sure there are at least 50 more things that will help add value to our ministry of little things, but these should get us started. You will see how people begin to love and trust you more as you find creative ways to serve them. After 1 or 2 years of little things you'll see how big it really is. And if the little things become the big things in 1-2 years imagine the dividends after 10 or 15 or even 20 years of ministry in the same place! 

I leave you today with an old saying that sums up the ministry of little things: people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.