07 November 2008 | 6 comments

Doing the little things well Gavin Perkins

Shane Rogerson07/11/2008 03:43 AM

thanks Gav
I have been reading a very practical book by David Allen called Getting things done. it has been immeasurably helpful in taking care of the small things. His premise is that you won’t do big things if you can’t organise small things in an effective reliable system.

yet even more fundamental is reliable character.
its amazing how much I find younger guys struggling to be faithful in doing what they said they would do (when they said they would do it).

do you think this ia a generational trend or a broader cultural phenonmenon?

Josh Mansfield07/11/2008 06:28 AM

I’m a secondary school teacher and have been doing a lot of thinking about the differences between generations. 

Generational differences are alive and well.  If you think that young men (Gen Y) are perhaps more unreliable when it comes to completing small but necessary ministry tasks, wait until our current Generation Zedders become young adults.

Generation Z, with all their good points, will be the most self-centred generation ever seen in the history of mankind.  They are under-parented and over technologicised (I think I may have just invented that word…), and this will lead to being self-centred and perhaps unreliable. 

I need to make sure I teach my young children, that there is more to life than self, and of course, that godliness must indeed be placed ahead of giftedness. 

Thanks for the blog.

Mikey Lynch07/11/2008 01:22 PM

Thanks for the post Gav.

We must be sympathetic to the youngsters. They have the information flow of the CEO of a generation ago… we should be understanding of their different situation.

What we see as unwillingness to commit, may be wise flexiblity in the light of an ever-changing world. Perhaps <b>we</b> need to adjust.

Things like GTD may be great ways to empower and support younger people to become godly in their reliability. Perhaps we need to include time-management and personal organisation in our training curriculums?

Phil Nicholson07/11/2008 02:51 PM

I know Boomers & Gen Xers like this too. This is not just a generational thing, I think it is as much about personality. The unreliable dreamers can be a pain to work with. But those of us who are detail people need them too to keep us thinking big thoughts and making bold plans.

We need to keep challenging one another to be faithful but also valuing the strengths that these people bring.

Martin Kemp07/11/2008 05:34 PM

Cheers to the comments that great things start with getting the basics right. And often the basic and necessary things can be quite small in nature.

Just as long as we dont start automatically equating “little” with “godly”. It may be that some are being faithful in the very act of chasing of big dreams.

John Smuts11/11/2008 04:12 PM

Thanks Gavin - this is an issue I’ve been thinking about a lot this week.

My question is this - how do we do this without making it sound like we are just sticking with the status quo?

(You know - ‘faithful’ ministry as plodding along doing what we’ve always done can appear to be an excuse for getting stuck in tradition.)

Commenting rules

If you would like your comment to be considered for publication, please observe the following rules:

  1. Please use your FULL NAME (your real name, not an alias).
  2. Stay on topic.
  3. Be godly.

Failure to adhere to these rules will result in your comment being quietly deleted.

If you want to give us feedback but don't want your comments to appear on the blog, DON'T use the form below. Instead, please send us an email or click on the button below.

Your Comment

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
The Daily Reading Bible (Volume 17)

Sponsors

Placeholder

Recent comments

RSS logo

Stephen Jackson on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!

Sam Freney on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!

Marty Foord on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!

Dianne Howard on The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel!

Mike Bull on Daniel 2-7, Harry Potter and Narnia

Current discussions

RSS logo

Recent posts

RSS logo RSS logo

The Sola Panel is dead; long live the Sola Panel! by Tony Payne (4 comments). Regular Sola Panel readers will no doubt have detected a little slowness and quietness over the past six weeks or so. … more

Kids’ culture watch spot: Facing fear by Gordon Cheng (3 comments). By popular demand (two people asked), here is my next script for a culture watch spot I did with the kids … more

Daniel 2-7, Harry Potter and Narnia by Gordon Cheng (1 comment). It's a Sunday as I write this, and I'm speaking on Daniel 2 and 7 later this morning at a friend's … more

A constituent on same-sex marriage by Sandy Grant (34 comments). Last year, the Australian Parliament agreed that its Members of Parliament (MPs) should seek the … more

A tribute to John Stott by Sandy Grant (2 comments). Friends, I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear when I opened up my computer on Thursday morning to read … more

Talkin’ ’bout my generation (part 3): On giants’ shoulders by Scott Newling (26 comments). This is the third post in this series; you can read part one, and more

Bible reading with kids by Sandy Grant (0 comments). I was asked for recommendations for resources that would encourage parents to read the Bible with their kids, especially … more

Talkin’ ’bout my generation (part 2): Stepping aside (not out) so others can step up (not in) by Scott Newling (3 comments). This is the second post in this series; you can read the first post, Unassuming … more

One more sip of the coffee by Tony Payne (8 comments). Sandy Grant is a man of integrity. Back in the early days of Sola Panel, I wrote a post … more

Talkin’ ’bout my generation (part 1): Unassuming generations by Scott Newling (30 comments). There is a model of ‘intergenerational theological decline’ that has been doing the rounds of late, and perhaps you … more

Tony Payne

Tony Payne

Paul is one of the Staff Editors at Matthias Media. He is married to Cathy and has three fantastic kids. He loves student ministry, reading, writing music and playing the saxophone, and is looking forward to meeting Jesus face to face.

Sola Panellists



Some other sites
we like  (Why these?)

Ministry partners