Making My Family A Priority

Here are some things that I do to make my family a priority:

1. I go on a date night with my wife at least twice a month.

2. My wife and I go on overnight trips without the kids around once a quarter.

3. I take my family on a family date night once a week.

4. I take my off day and spend it with my family.

5. We eat dinner as a family around the dining room table around 4 to 5 nights a week.

6. I have 95 percent of my meetings during the day. Our board even moved our bi-monthly board meetings to the daytime so that we can all be at home with our families during the evening. All three board members are lay leaders. I am rarely away from home in the evenings.

7. I say no to a lot of speaking engagements so that I can be home with my kids while they are little. Plus, I like to sleep next to my wife every night! :)

8. When I do go on ministry trips, I try to take my family with me.

9. We canceled our two Saturday night services almost two years ago for several reasons. One of the reasons was because of the long-term impact it would have on our staffs' families over the long haul.

10. We limit the activities our kids can be in so that we can spend time together as a family.

11. When I get home from work, my wife and I limit our internet activity while the kids are awake. Our goal is not to use the internet at all when I get home from work until the kids go to bed. We are not totally there yet, but we will get there.

12. I release ministry to our staff and volunteers so that I can keep my family a priority. I don't personally do most weddings, funerals, hospital visits, home visits or counseling at our church. It gets done through our staff and volunteers so that I can focus on studying God's Word, prayer, leadership development, the vision and direction of our church and leading my family well. I firmly believe the greatest ministry that I provide to our church is me leading my family well. I don't have much of a ministry without my family being healthy and strong.