Pulling together to build a new dormitory water system.

I don’t necessarily like work, but I love accomplishment, and so does our team – we live to succeed!

Here’s three diligent enemies of work:

1. Delegation: Passing your work on to others is a big cop out. Do you know any great delegators: giving assignments to others and then going absent? They quickly lose respect.

Both Moses and Jesus established a culture of work by, “Showing them the work they must do.” I’m the leader so I must work by example. If my disciples become something more than me, it’ll be because they’ve followed someone else.

I often hear, “Let me do that for you!” Why? Because I don’t sit behind a desk making up work for other people to do, I work, and they see me working, and they work with me, right through supper time.

How can we build a culture of diligent work?

1. Work Hard: As a pioneer, I have learned, led, and trained through every department of this ministry, from accounting to TV production. That meant learning a new profession about every year, but now I know what each team member and department can accomplish because I’ve been there myself.

2. Don’t Work to Rule: Workers tend to unionize but we must lead them toward fulfillment instead. Seldom do I hear someone say, “That’s not my job. ” or, “Just make the rules and expectations clear.” That attitude goes against our ministry culture because it’s an attempt to do the minimum and get paid the maximum.

3. No Down Time: Jesus didn’t teach his disciples to have family time, holidays, or sick days. Our down time shouldn’t be to get away from life and ministry but to focus more effectively. Even our hobbies should come out of a heart to learn, create and reach further. Jesus and His guys retreated to prayer when they were tired.

Terry and I raised our kids in the ministry, they were involved and responsible, because serving Jesus is a family core value. We set up home schooling for our kids so we could shut school down and travel together at every opportunity. We spent every summer holiday in some far away city helping evangelize the lost and grow the churches. Sound like hard work? We had 33 children, slept on floors and cooked over an open fire.

Have you met any of our kids?  They are hard workers, and successful.

There is one simple way to build a culture of hard work – go first, quit last, and work hard!

Visitors who see extreme poverty for the first time often ask why nobody is working and yet there seems to be so many opportunities.

What do you think might be missing? What can we do about it?