I haven’t felt that I’ve needed help.
My subconscious mantra has been, “I got this.”
Even though I’ve totally pinned, “Work Smarter, Not Harder” somewhere on my PIB (Pinterest Inspiration Board) I haven’t known how to apply the sound byte.
Despite never admitting to being busy, I will admit that I do a lot of contrasting tasks.
The diversity of my daily duties are so different that delegating has seemed like an impossibility, and yet my mentor, and the Holy Spirit, have been harping on me, “Darren, delegate, darnit!”
This is where we need to pause so I can bring some explanation.
The most efficient part of my life is at Seattle Revival Center where I serve as a pastor. I am a part of a diversified and gifted team where I am held accountable for my workload, and my team will literally demand that they take tasks off of my hands. Pastor Anthony will set up a quarterly meeting with me where he graciously confronts me and then takes responsibilities and oversight off of my plate. Linda and Jeannette (our SRC giants of administration) literally give wings to the vision of the church.
There are areas of my life outside of the local church where I am able to serve a diversity of extraordinary influencers who may never step foot in our sanctuary - areas of life where I need help.
Wow, I just said it. That felt so good.
Are you able to say it?
Try it on for size, “I…….. need…….. help.”
Here’s a list of things you may be doing:
• Laundry
• Cleaning
• Organizing your home
• Printing directions
• Scheduling appointments
• Sorting mail
• Errands
• Booking travel
• Returning emails
• Organizing digital files
• Updating computer software
• Creating a logo
• Transcribing a video
• Posting on your social media
accounts
• Writing a blog
You might say, “Hey, wait, those are things that I can do.”
That’s the problem.
When we believe that we are the only ones who can nail the never-ending and ever-growing list of tasks that need to be done, we delay our destiny appointments and usually end up giving up on our dreams because we just don’t have time.
If you are going to be a supernatural cultural Kingdom influencer, then you need to GET HELP.
The thought of getting help has always been this romantic and radically expensive sounding idea. The cost of hiring help has always been the deterrent. My old-school programming loop sounds like a broken record, “Why would you hire that out when you can do it yourself?” This statement doesn’t take into consideration my hourly worth nor does it honor what I could do if I had more time and bandwidth of soul.
Once I got past the poverty mindset for getting help I quickly learned that expenses weren’t necessarily the biggest reason for not delegating. I started learning a lot about myself. I work as an artist, not an engineer. I stumble through processes of elimination, trial, and error computing, discerning the layers, over and over, and until it just “feels” right.
Whether I’m cleaning the house (which I’ve done before), or editing my podcast; I’m not following a set path but always trailblazing, re-creating, and trying to evolve something. This makes empowerment almost impossible. My systems are not sequenced enough to be communicated clearly.
We all know that repetition is the key to cognitive retention. If you want to learn how to do something new, break the task down into micro movements and then repeat those movements, again and again, until they feel natural.
I’ve been recording my movements in a journal; trying to answer the following questions:
What do I do?
How do I do it?
When do I do it?
I’ve been making tutorial videos (via screen capture on Quicktime) and learning how to use project management applications.
I’ve been learning how to communicate what I do and how to trust others to do it for me. I’m excited because I’m learning that doing new things doesn’t have to equal more work.
Our inability to delegate will negatively affect how we parent, how we disciple, and how we interact with our spouses. Empowering people requires communication, correction and caring for those we are entrusting.
• The Bible begins with the Lord creating a helpmate for Adam.
• Jesus began his ministry by recruiting his helpers.
• Jesus instructed the apostles to wait for The Helper (AKA Holy Spirit) before starting ministry.
Help - even if you hire it - is an invitation for relationship and partnership, and if you are going to be used by God, then you are going to need a lot of help. Get used to asking for it.
Email me if you’d like some help with additional resources.
Blessings!!
Darren
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As always, please stay in touch, let me know what you're up to, and send me your testimonies, prayer request, etc. You can email me at darrenstott@seattlerevivalcenter.com.
Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful weekend, all,
Darren