How to be pumped up every Monday!

By Chris Elrod

I love Mondays.  Many pastors don’t.  I used to be one of those pastors who disliked Mondays. Toward the end of 2010, I made some changes that helped me overcome the ‘Monday blues’ that pastors get…and now I’m pumped up every Monday!!!  Here’s what I did:

1. Limited Information
I no longer get weekly attendance and giving reports.  They’re a crappy measuring stick for the impact of Sunday anyway.  I now get a monthly attendance and giving average the last Thursday of each month.  I also get a quarterly report which is where you can really see if things have gone well or not with attendance and giving.  The only information I get on Mondays are the people that came to know Jesus, the people that signed up for one of our Bible studies, the people that signed up to be a volunteer and the prayer requests.  It’s a foolish leader that judges the organization by one day’s results.

2. Meetings
We schedule most of our meetings on Mondays.  The morning meeting is a time of prayer, staff devotion, a time of sharing ‘wins’ from the previous week, a quick review of Sunday, what are our priority actions for the week and upcoming events or dates.  Strategy meetings are scheduled for Monday afternoons… which are fun, exciting and creative.  These meetings force me to ‘get back in the game’ and really get me pumped for the rest of the week.

3. Marathon Mindset
Leading a church is a marathon not a sprint.  It took me nearly 7 years to come to grips with that…but it has been freeing.  If Sunday was great…then we celebrate that.  If Sunday sucked…then we celebrate the fact that we have next week to do better.

4. Celebrate Others
I love reading blogs on Mondays.  I love seeing what God is doing in other churches for His kingdom.  I love knowing that the pastors and churches I prayed for on Saturday night had an amazing day on Sunday.  I love knowing that people’s lives are being changed and folks are finding Jesus…even if it wasn’t at my own church.