next great awakening

ministries

releasing destinies through prophetic teaching and prayer

By Rev. Joe Sazyc

 

“You are doing too much!”

 

This is the title of  the opening chapter in Andy Stanley’s book, The Next Generation Leader. Reading this phrase, written by one of the most successful young leaders today, alone was well worth the price of the book. Like many other leaders who found their effectiveness reaching a crisis point, I made the mistake of thinking I had to do MORE and had to just work harder if I wanted to make a greater impact.

 

Less is More

Stanley says, “Perhaps the two best kept secrets of leadership are these: 1. The less you do, the more you accomplish. 2. The less you do, the more you enable others to accomplish.”¹ That first point can be difficult to believe for those like me who are driven and were raised with a strong work ethic. Yet all those who teach leadership and have themselves become effective leaders will eventually make this point: that less is more. John Maxwell in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadershiip calls it “The Law of Priorities. Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment.”² There, he documents how Jack Welch took one of the best corporations in the world, G.E., and launched it into greatness. During his tenure as CEO, G.E. went from a value of $12 billion to $250 billion, $4/share in 1981 to $80/share… after experiencing a 2 to 1 stock split four times! How did Welch do it? He determined to sell every company in G.E. that was not #1 or #2 in its market!³ THAT is focus!

 

Brian Tracy, one of the world’s most successful speakers and consultants on personal and professional development, devoted an entire book to the topic of focus. In Focal Point, he says, “We have moved from the Age of Manpower to the Age of Mind-power. In this new age, you are no longer rewarded for the hours you put in but what you put into those hours... Today you are paid for accomplishments, not activities.”⁴ Tracy refers to the 80/20 principle that all who study leadership acknowledge as one of the most important principles for effectiveness and accomplishment. “20 percent of your tasks contribute 80 percent or more of the value of all the things you do...spend MORE of your time doing more of the tasks that contribute...identify the activities in the bottom 80 percent.., downsize, delegate, and eliminate.”⁵ It’s that last part that ineffective leaders have difficulty with. Dell Corporation founder Michael Dell put it well when he said, “It’s easy to decide what you’re going to do. The hard part is deciding what you’re not going to do.⁶”

 

Management guru, Tom Peters hits the issue of focus this way, “...Sin No. 1: Dispersion of Energy! ...Are you clear: What is the o-n-e thing you want to be distinct for/at? (In a big way.) Describe it… carefully. Write it down. Pin it above your desk. Put it on your screen saver. Carry it on a card in your wallet. Explain it—in 25 words or less—to anyone whose path you cross (that includes the checkout person in the supermarket)… swear to me (swear to yourself, is more like it) that 75 percent of your (precious) time will be focused—somehow or other—on that o-n-e measure/dimension of your true distinction.²”

 

It’s Biblical!

Lest one thinks this “less is more” idea is just some secular philosophy, the greatest leader of all time would disagree. Jesus Christ himself taught this principle. In John 15:8 Jesus says, “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit , showing yourselves to be my disciples” (NIV). He adds in verse 16 of that chapter, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit” (NIV). It is God’s desire that we be “fruitful,” or in other words, productive. But how do we become productive? Jesus gives the answer at the beginning of that same chapter.

 

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit , while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2 (NIV)

 

Every gardener knows the power of pruning. If you do not prune off the unproductive branches of a fruit tree, those branches will suck the nutrients right out of the tree so that the fruitful branches do not have enough to produce a good crop. Jesus uses this illustration to show us that productiveness in our lives operates according to the same principle. Brian Tracy can’t put it any simpler, “...do MORE of some things and LESS of other things...and START doing certain things and STOP other activities altogether.”⁸ We should FOCUS our energies on those things which are productive in our lives, while we should “downsize, delegate, and eliminate” the rest.

 

The Apostles: Masters of Focus!

How is it that a ragged handful of fishermen, tax collectors, and “unschooled men” in one generation “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6 KJV), in three centuries caused the most powerful, and once fiercely opposing, empire to embrace their faith, and be the foundation of  a faith that today is still sweeping the world? ...FOCUS!  That is how YOU will make an impact.

 

The Apostle Paul, a missionary that transformed cities and opened up entire regions to the Gospel was himself intensely focused. Although he was well qualified to proclaim the faith anywhere and in any situation, he limited himself to reaching non-Jews (Gal. 2:7), and exercised his apostolic authority only where he had a part in planting a particular church (2 Cor. 10:13-15). In raising up other leaders, Paul exhorted his understudy Timothy not to focus on mentoring just anybody. He said, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” - 2 Tim 2:2-3 (NIV, emphasis mine). One may say Paul told Timothy to use the 80/20 rule in raising up potential leaders.

 

Paul wasn’t the first apostle to understand the power of focus. It began early on. In Acts 6, the distribution of food to widows was not operating correctly in the incipient days of the Church. But the original Apostles did not yield to the temptation that many of us who are ambitious face to get our hands into every detail of every problem that comes along. Instead, they made their priorities clear.

 

"It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." - Acts 6:2-4 (NIV)

 

As Stanley puts it, “The apostles came to terms early on with the notion that they had to do what only they could do. They were the only ones on the planet who were equipped to recommunicate the teachings of Christ.”⁹

 

What Will Your Legacy Be?

The Apostles understood their distinction, do you know yours? Stanley asks, “What are the two or three things that you and only you are responsible for? What, specifically, have you been hired to do? What is ‘success’ for the person in your position?... Of the two or three things that define success for you, which of those are in line with your giftedness?” He concludes, “That is where you must focus your energies. That’s your sweet spot.”¹⁰

 

Jim Collins in his landmark book Good to Great, found this principle of focus to be a major factor in any company that has gone from just being “good” to becoming “great.” He calls it “the Hedgehog Concept.” Companies that have become have asked themselves, 1. What can we be the best in the world at? 2. What drives our economic engine. 3. What are we deeply passionate about?¹¹ Apply these principles to your life and you WILL make an impact!

 

The sad fact is that most people have never taken a serious look at what they are gifted at, let alone focused on those things. Secondly, most people don’t even know what they really want! Only three percent of people actually put their goals into writing.¹² As Tracy puts it, “People without goals are doomed to work forever for people who do have goals.”¹³  But put together your gifts and your desires, then find a “market” for those things… WHAM!  IMPACT!

 

If you want to leave a legacy, you need to be a person of FOCUS. As Stanley asserts, “Read the biographies of the achievers in any area of life. You will find over and over that these were not ‘well-rounded’ leaders. They were men and women of focus.”¹⁴

 

Does this mean you should never do things that are outside your area of focus? What about people who are not the “top 20%?” What about tasks that are not the top 20%?Should you not give attention to those people or tasks that don’t promise much “return?” Of course you should. But MOST of your time should be spent on your area of focus.

 

As a pastor for many years, I was constantly around people who were very needy emotionally, spiritually, and physically. If you let them, they would literally suck the life out of you to the point where you had nothing left for your family or the productive people in your church. That’s why we see much brokenness even in the pastorate. Some pastors have not learned to focus. Instead, I made an effort to invest in productive people. Many of them ended up taking some of the burden that the needy provided. In fact, their needs were even better met in this way. I as one person could do little, but by investing in others, I released an army of “pastors” who could often care for people much better than I ever could.. Yes, I would still interact with “draining” people. I would also do tasks such as picking up litter around the church, or tidying up the foyer. But my FOCUS was on the important things, the things only I could do: things involving leadership. That’s what Jesus did when he chose 12 apostles.

 

I have even focused more in these past months. After spending 21 years as a pastor, I decided to FOCUS. The Scripture I say every morning and several times a day is this: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). For the past twelve months, I have obsessed on that passage and have gone through a grueling self-discovery process. Through much prayer, fasting, study, etc…, it has become clear to me that I was no longer to pastor my church. A person much better than myself is called to that noble calling. But my calling is to focus on the apostolic calling to “give attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4) and to “Go” (Matt. 10:7) to help foster in the Next Great Awakening. Although I can never entirely eliminate administrative tasks and the other elements that a local pastor must deal with, I have been able to focus on the calling in my life.

 

What gives God the greatest praise? The apostle Peter tells us

 

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV)

 

FOCUS!

^1. Andy Stanley. The Next Generation Leader. p.17.

 

2. John Maxwell. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. p.175.

 

3. Ibid. p.182

 

4. Brian Tracy. Focal Point. p.10.

 

5. Ibid. p.11

 

6. Tom Peters, The Brand You 50. p.91-93

 

^7. Ibid

^9. Stanley, p.31.

 

 

^10. Ibid, p.19-20.

 

 

 

 

 

¹¹ Jim Collins. Good to Great. p.

 

 

 

^12. Tracy. p. 70

 

^13. Ibid.

 

 

 

^14. Stanley, p.22-23.

“The Power of FOCUS”

^8. Tracy, p.8.

 

 

The Power of Focus © Joseph Sazyc