29Mar 2011 by Nigel Ring

Ministry Health Check pt 1 – Introduction

Christian ministry, Equipping, Evaluation, Good Practice
A visit to the Doctor Recently I had a health check with my doctor. I had no reason to think there was anything wrong and I am glad to say his questioning demonstrated that to be the case. Nevertheless, as he asked me questions about my life-style, sleep patterns and so on it caused me to think about things I had never considered. Further, I have a close friend who is involved in Human Resources. Occasionally I spend time with him and encourage him to ask me difficult questions! As he enquires about my work/life balance, about my marriage and so on, issues are raised that are well worth considering. I benefit from both exercises. Ministry in the church can be like that. We can become so deeply involved in…
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23Mar 2011 by Nigel Ring

Planning for Ministry Pt 10 – Monitoring the Logframe

Administrative Skills, Christian ministry, Equipping, Good Practice, Planning, Poor
[caption id="attachment_1854" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Equipping Oaks of Righteousness"][/caption] So far we have seen the importance of clearly defining goals at different levels and the associated assumptions we are making if they are to be achieved. These columns are the first and fourth columns in a 4x4 matrix. To complete the matrix we must separate these two columns and insert two more. These additional columns allow us to specify how we shall monitor performance. How and What? When planning a ministry it is important to put in place 'good practice' for carrying it out. Frequently, good protocols are in place for handling such issues as client confidentiality, finances and so on. However, less attention may be given to how performance will be monitored. From time to time a qualitative assessment may…
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16Dec 2010 by Nigel Ring

Time Management pt 15 – Using an iPhone as a PDA

Administrative Skills, Equipping, Time Management
Earlier this year (January 4th - April 12th) I posted a series on Time Management which I have adapted from the Insight Time Management system of Charles Hobbs over the last 25 years. Throughout the series I focussed on a paper-based method as I considered that to be the best way to convey the principles of the system I use. However, many people use electronic devices (PDAs - Personal Digital Accessories) and I myself have used a Psion 5MX for more than ten years. In light of technology moving on I promised I would return to this topic once I had worked out how to adapt the system to, say, an iPhone. This is the device I shall now consider. The key elements are: 1. Appointments 2. Do it list…
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10Dec 2010 by Nigel Ring

Planning and Implementation pt 8 – Implementation

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Leadership, Planning
PS = pre-script! Before continuing my series I encourage you to look at the following YouTube video. Fascinating and challenging about the change in economies and life expectancy in 200 countries over the last 200 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo&feature=player_embedded#! Implementation So far I have shared with you my approach to event planning - I will develop a series in the New Year related to some aspects of planning a ministry i.e. something that is continuous and has no particular climax. But now we will look at some of the matters related to implementing the planning methods we have been discussing. Leadership Many at this time of year will be preparing for a Christmas event, maybe a Carol Service or Presentation. Often this will come out of the creativity of one or more…
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01Dec 2010 by Nigel Ring

Planning and Implementation – Pt 7 – Creating a timeline

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Conference Administration, Equipping, Planning
Continuing the series on Planning we will now look at creating timelines. Timelines A timeline is a critical ‘driver' in achieving the end goal. Like a map it provides a constant reference against which progress towards a target can be measured at any point in the journey. It is a monitoring tool. And so it is worth taking sufficient time and effort in creating it to ensure that it is realistic. There are various ways of producing a timeline but I will consider two here: an Activity Table and a Bar Chart. I have found that the first helps me with planning an event where there are critical dates by which certain activities must be achieved, such as a conference. The second is more visual and is valuable where there…
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10Nov 2010 by Nigel Ring

Planning and Implementation – Pt 6 – Ordering your thoughts

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Planning
The illustration I used in the last brainstorm related to this series of blogs about Planning. However, since this does not illustrate planning an event I will first show you how to ‘clean up' this brainstorm and then revert to a different example to show the importance of a timeline for event planning. Ordering the results of a brainstorm There are two stages to this. 1. Review each item in turn and amend the diagram. Without the self imposed pressure of time, which initially I find valuable to help ideas to flow, you now review the diagram taking each item in turn and adding as appropriate. The result looks more cluttered as there are additions that have been made, as highlighted, but simplification will come in the next stage. There…
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