Aligning yourself and your ministry along spiritual priorities will go a long way in keeping your church and ministry effective in your community. Until spiritual priorities are defined, your ministry may tend to swerve from pillar to post, trying to accommodate and address every known (and sometimes unknown) expectation, of your community.

This month we’ll look at spiritual priorities and why it’s so important to establish them in your life and in your ministry—and then, to follow them.

We know that you lead in several ways at any given time. You lead yourself, you lead volunteers, you might lead a staff, and you often lead up. Below, read through what we have in store for you to accomplish each of these tasks.

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Before you know it, Sunday’s here! That’s why you’ll need to pull out that fancy schmancy smartphone and schedule some personal development time. Go ahead and put those thumbs to use, marking some personal time each week this month to invest in your own leadership development—20 minutes should do it. We’ve already got a plan for you, so making the time is the first step to accomplishing it.

BOOK REVIEW: One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God by Christian Scharen
Music can often evoke emotions and make connections that sermons, programs or sketches can’t. What is it about music that is able to transport listeners, and sing-alongers to a reverent or “spiritual” experience? We’ll take a look at U2 and their ability to weave a worship experience within a rock concert.

PODCAST: Tom Shefchunas aka Coach Shef and Jeremy Zach
Tom is the North Point Ministries Multi-Campus Director of Middle School for North Point Community Church, Buckhead Church, and Browns Bridge Community Church. Tom’s passion involves working with, recruiting, and developing the hundreds of volunteer small group leaders it takes to pull off Transit and Inside Out (North Point’s middle school and high school environments). Listen in, as our very own Jeremy Zach and Coach Shef, invite ministry leaders to take a look at how they spiritually lead in their church while exploring what spiritual priorities show up in their ministry relationships and environments. Coach Shef talks a lot about the high value of relationships in the context of ministry and gives great practical advice on what should be the priority for any ministry leader.

VIDEO: Francis Chan
Francis Chan does one of the best jobs of communicating the underlying idea of spiritual priorities. It’s not about a list of things to and not do, it’s about a relationship It’s about falling in love with our heavenly Father. And once you do fall in love with Him, you will never be the same.

REAL LIFE: Chick-fil-A
At this popular chicken sandwich restaurant, spiritual priorities are on display for all to see. Whether through their example of incredible customer service, or the notation on their signs, “Closed on Sundays,” it’s evident there’s a spiritual thread through every component of the company. We’ll look at the founder and leader, Truett Cathy and how his principles permeate this business model.

VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Spiritual priorities come through in everything you do or say. Show your volunteers how much you value them, and their spiritual growth, through regular emails encouraging priority development.

We’re going to make it very simple for you to become more intentional with your volunteer communication via some good-looking emails (if we do say so ourselves). We’ll even do the writing for you. Plus, you even can add your own words of wisdom to the messages.

WEEKLY EMAILS: Why We Do What We Do
Providing information with your volunteers that they can share with the parents of the kids and teenagers they serve will go a LONG way with your leaders. Sometimes the barrier between a volunteer and a parent is a simple lack of creative ways to connect with the parent. So, it’s time to change that.

This month, we’ll be sharing stories and practical way to develop spiritual priorities in emails that you can send to your volunteers. We encourage you to challenge these leaders to turn around and share this same information with the parents of the kids and teenagers in your programs. Simple. Did we mention that already?

BONUS: TEAM LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Whether you’re leading a large staff, a few people, or you’re trying to lead up to your senior leadership, we’ve got something for you. We’re including another book review with this portion of YouLead because we felt that it would be a great tool to reinforce this month’s topic. Speaking of that, this month’s focus is (drumroll)—

SPIRITUAL PRIORITIES [C6] Small group leaders understand that part of their weekly responsibilities include modeling and leading students in prayer, understanding scripture, worship and sharing their faith with others.

BOOK REVIEW: Teaching Kids Authentic Worship: How to Keep Them Close to God for Life by Kathleen Chapman
Worship is not the music we sing, or the way we feel, it is intentionally thinking with a “genuine heart interest and knowledge about God.” Chapman presents a compelling case as to why showing honor to God that speaks of his worthiness is the glue for what can keep the hearts of the next generation bonded to God and change the trends of students leaving the church after High School.

CHALLENGE: Spiritual Priorities
We’ve pinpointed five faith skills we think are the top spiritual priorities. After unpacking each, we’ll guide you through conversation starters you can use with your team, as well as exercises for identifying where those skills show up within your church ministries and in schedules.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP PODCAST: Richard Palmer and Matt McKee
Richard Palmer is the President of Nehemiah MFG. His company exists to rejuvenate inner cities by bringing manufacturing back to downtown and impoverished areas. They also hire high-risk employees to help them build their community back up.