Tag: email

When Tragedy Overwhelms Your City

I am a pastor in Dayton, Ohio.

This week, our community is dealing with the brokenness of our world. Every Friday I send an email out to our church. Below is what I wrote in response to the week’s events.

This is a re-run. Other than a few edits, the first half of this email is identical to one I sent you several years ago after the Las Vegas shooting. I’ve updated it and added some extra thoughts at the end.

Dear Friends,

Sunday morning, we woke up to the terrible news that a man had chosen to destroy the lives of hundreds of people and families in our city. In times like these, it is difficult to know what to say. We have questions about why God would allow this and why these people’s lives were ended without any apparent reason.

As I pondered these questions and this tragedy, I was reminded of Jesus’ words in Luke 13.  Pontius Pilate, the cruel Roman leader, had ordered the deaths of many Jewish people. Their executions were carried out by Roman soldiers in the temple while they were offering sacrifices. This horrific act seemed senseless and horrific. For the Jews, it raised several of the same questions we are asking about Las Vegas.

In Luke 13, Jesus was asked about these events and in his response, he also referenced a tower that had fallen and killed 18 people. Here are Jesus’ words:

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Consider the important points behind what Jesus is saying:

  • These people didn’t die because of their sin. Sometimes, in a fallen world, bad things happen.
  • Let this be a reminder to you that death comes for all of us, often unexpectedly.
  • Are you ready to die?

As we grieve for this great loss of lives and as we seek ways to reach out to those who are hurting, let us also take time to reflect on our own lives. Are we ready to meet our maker? How well have we invested the time and resources He has given us? What will I do today that will matter in eternity?

Also, let’s not forget, that in the midst of this pain and suffering we have great hope. We can still live with joy because we know that this present evil is only for a short time compared to the eternal inheritance our Father has prepared for us. We can be grateful to Him, we can have hope in the future and we can pour love and joy into the lives of those around us.

img20190805115507_1200xx4032-2268-0-378.jpgUndoubtedly, over the coming days, you will be drawn into conversations about this tragedy. During these times, remember the words of James:

James 1:19-20 says, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”

Conversations are good and they can be helpful, but perhaps they would be more healthy and more productive if they happened after we’ve processed the grief and sorrow and after we’ve had a chance to better understand what actually happened.

Consider these principles as guardrails for your conversations. These thoughts are all taken from Proverb 16:24 which says, “Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

  • Pause before you speak to be certain you are using the right words at the right time with the right tone.
  • The right words are always true.
  • Don’t bend, twist, or ignore the truth for convenience or to win an argument.
  • False words may provide temporarily feel good but they have no long-term benefit.
  • Some words are true but are not appropriate for every situation.
  • The truth and power of your words can be lost if your tone isn’t helpful.
  • Every word you speak carries incredible potential.
  • Your words can be weapons of mass destruction.
  • Your words can be tools of monumental construction.
  • Kind words can encourage those who are unsure of their own ability.
  • Attractive words can empower those who are under-performing.
  • Pleasant words can heal wounds from the past.
  • Angry and destructive words are withdrawals which bankrupt relationships.
  • Corrective words can be attractive if they are the right words at the right time with the right tone.
  • Use your words to encourage those around you and you’ll find yourself being more encouraged than anyone.

Have a great weekend! I’ll see you on Sunday.

My Favorite Todoist and Google Drive Hack

I’ve tried every imaginable todo list app and Todoist stands head and shoulder above all. Some of the reasons I prefer Todoist are as follows:

  • I can quickly entetodoistr tasks with due dates and repetition by simply using text (example: “update the church prayer letter every Tuesday at 8:30am”)
  • Todoist can double as a reminder app. The above task will notify me on my phone and my Macbook right at 8:30 every Tuesday.
  • Todoist allows multiple levels of subtasks which is great for larger projects.
  • I can create several different categories  and sort tasks using hashtags.
  • If I don’t finish a task on the due date, I have the opportunity to either move it the next day or reschedule for a future date.
  • I get a “karma” score for completing tasks, and can use that score to set productivity goals for myself. I’m currently on a 26 day streak of hitting my productivity goal. My all time record is 28, so I may break it! This isn’t really all that helpful, but it is fun and motivating.

It’s the repeating tasks that are so important for me, because much of my week is spent doing the same types of tasks I did the week before.

Every week, I send out several group emails to different teams. Todoist reminds me every day which group is getting an email.

My sermon preparation process is tightly scheduled. Every day I am working on one or more sermons, which are labelled as “Now, Next, Future or Distant.” Todoist reminds me which sermon to work on and what part of the process is due (example: “Categories (God, Jesus, Doctrine, etc.) for FUTURE sermon every Wednesday”).

I have writing projects I need to keep working on, so on several days I am reminded to work on this blog, the “Invested Study” or the gratitude journal. The second two of these projects are due in several months, but I need to take a bite every day in order to complete them on time. Todoist keeps me taking one step at a time.

The chrome app makes quick Todoist item entry easy. I click once and type in my todo with due date and time. I now have a reminder on my phone which ensures I don’t drop important tasks or contacts that come up during the day.

Although I don’t utilize this feature, Todoist also enables users to share tasks and projects with one another.

A few months ago, I tweaked my Todoist set-up with a new hack. It is one of the greatest productivity leaps forward I’ve ever taken and has cemented Todoist as indispensable for me.

Much of my work every day is done on Google Drive. I use sheets for my email lists (I know I could use other apps, but sheets works for what I need) and for the administrative and financial tracking I do every week. I create my sermon presentations on Google Presentations. Most of my sermon prep is done in a few Google Doc templates I’ve created for that purpose. As a team, we create our weekly publications and presentations in a shared Google Drive folder. The discipleship resources I produce every week are created in shared Google Docs.

Every google document (sheets, presentations, docs, forms, etc.) has its own unique URL. This web address is used by those who collaborate on the document as well as for making the document public. I use those URLs to enhance my Todoist experience.

Every time I enter a task into Todoist, I include a link to the document on which I’ll be working. Here’s what some of those todo items look like:

todoist 1

The brilliance of Todoist is that those URLs serve as links. I simply click on the address and the document I need to work on opens in my browser. Of course this can be used with more than just Google Drive. I have some todo items that link to MailChimp, some to Canva and some to online Bible study resources.

By my calculations, this productivity hack saves me about 5 seconds every time I use it (the time I would spend opening Google Drive, finding the doc and opening the doc). I use this hack 5-7 times each day meaning I’m saving about 30 seconds a day. This doesn’t feel significant until you realize that I’m saving about 3 minutes every week which adds up to more than 2 hours a year…

Well, I guess that’s not really all that impressive when you do the math.

But it’s fun. And I never have to remember where a file is stored. And sometimes productivity for productivity’s sake is worthwhile simply because it brings a little joy into your day.

Anyway, even if you don’t use Todoist, you can probably use a similar process on your todo app. Give it a try.