Practical Tips for Managing Tasks

The evening session of the 2018 Pastors' Conclave saw Rev. Emmanuel Ansah sharing on "Practical Tips for managing Tasks".

Bishop Matthew Addae-Mansah, founder and Presiding Bishop of Gospel Light International Church began, "We cannot afford to do things the same way we did in previous years; every year comes with its own challenges. You can't put new wine into old wine bottles. Jesus came to transform everything but it was still the same old power and anointing. The problem with many of us is that we are still putting new wine into old wine bottles."

He welcomed Rev. Emmanuel Ansah, who did justice to the topic at hand.

Rev. Ansah noted that God expects us to do the work of ministry with fervour (Deuteronomy 28:47). He challenged that the work must be done in an exciting, joyful, and excellent manner (Colossians 3:17,23). God hates eye-service.

There is no point in doing the work without God's approval (2 Timothy 2:15). The ultimate is to gain God's approval. We aim to please God but He sets men over us to endorse us (Romans 16:10). 

We must maintain the balance between the power and wisdom of God. The Church is built on glory and virtue.

The man of God hinted that from Ephesians 4, Paul talks about unity in the Body, gifts and instructions. He poignantly posited that when God gives gifts, He also gives instructions.

He warned that the five-fold ministry gifts cannot function in a chaotic environment. The context for the gifts to function is that there must be harmony, the manifestation of the Spirit and the working of the fruit of the Spirit.

Rev. Ansah defined roles as duties, tasks and responsibilities associated with a position. He further noted that duties and tasks help fulfil the mission.

The man of God taught that our roles determine our tasks. An apostle hears from Jesus to fulfil the mandate of Jesus (see Acts 26:19). A pastor is a sub-shepherd of Christ. He feeds the sheep by being fed himself. He elucidated that a pastor is a guardian against false teaching who protects, feeds and guides the flock. The pastor's task is to protect, feed, guide, visit, and guard the sheep, not because of compulsion but because of affection, looking forward to Jesus' approval.

Rev. Ansah posited that any business that does not have people taking ownership will collapse; we are all stakeholders and therefore must take ownership. We must manage relationships and be strategic thinkers. We must stretch our imagination and take initiative.

He admonished the clergy to set long-term, medium-term, short-term, zonal and regional plans. Adding, he taught that we must institutionalize and structure things, with flexibility.

Pastors can be seen as battle-leaders who resist heresy and earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3-4).

He urged the pastors to have care for the people and to build bonds with them (Galatians 4:19).

The man of God intimated that a minister is driven by his/her personal mission working within the framework of the ministry's mission. He enjoined, "Curtail your mission to operate within the supramission." He explained that if one senses that their vision is growing too large, they can negotiate and move out, without disrupting the work of ministry and stealing sheep.

Rev. Ansah continued his discourse by affirming some guiding principles to steer by including the following:

# Self-discipline

He touched on being disciplined in areas such as sleep, devotional life, eating habits, hygiene, time management, and exercise.

# Delegation

He admonished the clergy to raise men and women who are willing to be sent.

# Accountabilty

# Versatility

He extensively taught on this principle, urging the clergy to try out new things. He pointed out that if we are afraid to fail, we can't be versatile. Rev. Ansah disclosed that ministry is about versatility. Citing an example of using the Internet to reach many more people, he urged the clergy to be willing to adapt.

# Diligence

Quoting 2 Peter 1:5-9, the man of God taught that one cannot promote a Church of virtue without diligence.

He also quoted Proverbs 27:23, which teaches us to be diligent to know the state of our flocks. He challenged the clergy to be diligent in monitoring tithing and attendance.

Rev. Emmanuel Ansah zoomed into some practical tips for managing tasks viz.:

# Have a daily, weekly or monthly routine. Record the plans. If you want to have a voice in the nations, you must write. Document things. Make stories out of your reports.

# Use electronic aids, notepads, phones and diaries.

# Schedule and prioritize. Know what is urgent and what is important. Have a picture of what you have to do. You can use calendars and alarms to help you.

# Learn.

Build capacity. Study. Familiarize yourself with the culture of the people. He cautioned that ignorance can cost us our ministry. Don't limit yourself to the Bible only. Understand the ways of the world, too.

#The power of team.

Remember that God called you alone but He called you to work with others.

Rev. Ansah indicated that we can measure results quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative measurements deal with figures. On the other hand, qualitative measurement deals with checking motives, timelines, efficiency of resources, methods, spirituality, teamwork, confidentiality and passion and commitment.

Finally, Rev. Ansah warned the clergy about these dangerous pitfalls to avoid:

# Excuses 

# Procrastination

# Rationalization

# Blame Game

# Time-suckers such as movies, series, radio, social media, etc.

Bishop Mrs. Naana Addae-Mensah led the clergy to pray concerning the Word they had received and sheets were passed round for each member of the clergy present to write down their ministry goals for the year. Reading from Ezekiel 21:9, Bishop Addae-Mensah noted that the things you write down become prophetic, saying that we must sharpen our sword with prophecy.

'Twas a night of enlightenment!