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Thanks so much for joining us for this week’s unSeminary podcast. I am so excited to have Frank Bealer back on the podcast today!

Frank was at Elevation Church the last time we spoke with him, but he is now the executive director of Leadership Development at The reThink Group (also known as Orange) and the CEO of Phase Family Centers. He helps make decisions that move the overall organization forward as well as oversees the resources, books, podcasts, initiatives, and coaching that help give church staff the tools and training they need in order to better lead.

Frank joins us today to talk about his book The Myth of Balance and how church leaders can find ways to handle their busy work, life and ministry schedules.

• The role of ministry is relentless. // You are not alone in your never ending list of events and tasks. Most church leaders across the country have the same tensions and concerns. It doesn’t matter if it’s a church of 100 or 5,000, ministry leaders are always in a “busy season” and the work is never finished. Because we want to help people find Jesus and take their next steps with God, it’s hard to cut something out of our schedules because it’s all good work. Frank shares that in addition to ministry work, which at times can feel relentless, he has four kids and they have their own schedules and activities that can feel like a full-time job. The reality is that the tiredness you or your staff might feel isn’t due to a lack of passion, it’s just exhausting balancing it all.
• The routine and the sporadic. // There is the routine of ministry, the regular schedule, where organization and productivity tips can help. Frank believes that the routine—which can be managed—is not the problem, even if it is more than we ask for. Rather it’s the sporadic part of the schedule which is the exhausting part. The sporadic is the parts that we know will happen, but we don’t know when. These are things such as weddings, visits to the hospital, pleas by the people for the leader’s help. We know they will come up at some point, but we don’t build a plan for them. Ultimately Frank’s book is about learning to make a plan for the sporadic things which can feel disruptive, rather than treating them like surprises. Frank uses the When This, Then That leadership formula to do this, and shares how you can use it too.
• Schedule both the sporadic and the routine. // When the sporadic events come up, it forces you to move the things you had planned to another time. This could end up being on a Friday night when you were supposed to be relaxing with family. When Frank was gone for a trip, or something unexpected came up in his schedule, his first instinct when he returned was to focus on work and what needed to be done and caught up. But now he puts everything on his calendar, including time with his family. By putting everything on his calendar, it forces Frank to move these blocks of time around when something unexpected comes up, and make sure he isn’t neglecting time with family.

You can learn more about Frank’s book The Myth of Balance at www.mythofbalance.com where you can find free resources and worksheets. You can also find Frank’s Discovering Leadership Podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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Lightning Round

Helpful Tech Tools // Evernote, Asana

Ministries Following // Compassion International

Influential Book // Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff

Inspiring Leader // Eugene Peterson

What does he do for fun // Mountain Biking

Contact // frankbealer.com or fbealer on social media