Time to Lead

After Bishop T.D. Jakes' sermon at last week's C3, it hit me: We all read the same Bible, but he sees things that the rest of us don't.

When he dissected "The Order of the Bread" (Jesus took it, blessed it, broke it, and gave it), Laura Parker of our team said something really insightful: He must spend the majority of his time alone.

The most important work any leader does is the work that no one else sees. For us pastors, the most important work we do is when it's just God and us. In our prayer time, Scripture reading and gleaning. After that, it's in the time that we spend preparing to preach and lead.

Those two are different but they're interdependent. I can't ever substitute sermon preparation for my private prayer life, but they do feed each other. I think every leader has to learn (and re-learn) to set aside work time for thinking, praying, strategizing, seeking counsel, brainstorming, and all manner of work that may not produce immediate, tangible results. But, over time, that work will produce thoughts and insights and moments of clarity that will ultimately yield significant fruit.

How and when do you carve out time to think and brainstorm and pray and scour Scripture?