Procrastination & Communication

So, I'm asking myself today, can procrastination and communication coexist? And I'm answering myself today (is that a dangerous thing?) -- yes they can. However, they do not do so peacefully, nor do they bring good results. For example, if you don't communicate with those you owe money to, and miss a few payments, they're going to come after you for that money -- not the payment, the whole amount. That's not very peaceful. This thing with communication in the church has really gotten hold of me. I realize now just how inept I am and how lacking this ministry has become. Not because of any intentional plan, but because of a total lack of understanding. I've been "doing" bulletins and "doing" the website and "doing" brochures and posters, etc. I have been passing on, regurgitating if you will, information. No more. I came across a quote from John Maxwell, "Information is giving out; communication is getting through." That really got to me. How many times have we wondered why people don't "get it"? How many times have ministries and leaders banged their heads in frustration because the people didn't get it? Well, it's because you gave information. You didn't communicate. Better said at COTC -- I didn't get it right. That's changing. When God opens you up and puts a fire inside you for something of Him, it's unquenchable. It's that something that says, "I MUST do this or die!" It's a vision of things the way HE wants them, and I got that in South Bend, Indiana. I sat through conferences and teaching that was incredible. I sat through a day of learning how to make the Web work for the church. I even hung around one more day to see how the church that put on this training event worked their training. (That was SUCH a God-thing!) After a night of church and dinner out with the friends I was staying with, I went to my sweet friend's room and spread all my material from the week on the floor around me, and began to dissect what God might be saying to me. I went to learn about making our church website better. I learned that I'm doing a LOT of things wrong. The largest of which is: I am DOING things I'm not supposed to be. I must say, it's not really a great feeling to have God smack you up 'side the head and tell you that. I mean, I'm doing it all FOR Him, right? Therein lay the problem. I was DOING it FOR Him, not WITH Him, and I was DOING. What He intended was that I L-E-A-D the doing. Oh. Okay. Wow. Umm, what? I'm not a leader! I'm a worker bee! I do what needs to be done. Last minute. Right there. Can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Ms. Faye, you ARE the woman!" when I've accomplished something on that last second schedule. Which feels pretty darned good, because, hey, we all like to be praised! Problem is, the real work hasn't been getting done: communication. It's not getting through. Things aren't happening. Words haven't been as effective as they should. And God finally had me away from the norm and showed me what effective communication can look like and that it takes a team that I need to get into place. I'm 'posed to be directing, not doing. Oh, God! You know I'm NOT a delegator! You know I'd just as soon do it myself, and get it done and have it the way I want it..... He said: "Yeah, I know, Daughter, but this time, do it MY way." So, tonight, we meet. We organize and we develop a team into great communicators for the Kingdom, not just COTC. And that procrastination? It's over. We can't afford it. We will have deadlines to meet and we'll have to keep them, because the next person is waiting. How awesome is that? "The next person is waiting." God's up to something here....