The Titus Ten: Assignments

Introduction

Follows last week’s session on identity — have to understand who we are first.

Many men make the mistake of finding their identity in what they do.

Instead, we’re to find identity in who Christ says we are.

Our work — “assignments” — flow out of that truth.

Interesting how God works.

Men’s ministry intimidates me.

I feel equipped to teach on this because I just dealt with it.

SHARE TESTIMONY.

So, coming into this chapter, I want to share some things from the book, as well as some things I’ve seen and learned personally over the last couple of years.

Many men struggle to have a healthy relationship with work.

It’s a constant push/pull with our families/spouse.

It’s an internal struggle with ourselves as we feel overwhelmed — like we could/should be doing more.

It’s a struggle with our employer as they expect more and more productivity.

Result? Men find themselves overwhelmed, confused, exhausted, and pleasing no one.

So what’s the answer?

1. We have to understand our identity.

Our identity is the foundation of everything else.

Our work — the assignments God gives us — flow out of who we are.

What you do is not who you are.

We talked about this alot last week, so I don’t want to belabor it.

Our identity as men has to be found in Christ, and who HE says we are.

What are some words the Bible uses to describe who we are as Christians?

2. We have to know our assignment.

These are the things God has called and entrusted you to do.

Job

Relationships

Positions of Service

Etc.

In order to know our assignment, we need to clarify our assignment.

This is where many men go off the rails.

We don’t really know what God has called us to do, and so we start to yes to everything.

This is where I initially found myself a couple of years ago.

The result is we add more and more and more onto our plate — most of which really isn’t what God has called us to do.

The more we add, the more trapped we are — enslaved to an impossible schedule that we’ve created.

The remedy for this clarity.

CLARITY = FREEDOM

Clarity creates boundaries. It establishes the lane in which we are called to run, allowing us to eliminate or restructure things that fall outside that lane.

Suddenly, we find ourselves able to swim when we had previously been drowning.

“At some point, the Lord taught me a little truth: God has given me enough time to do everything He has called me to do. I may not have time to do everything I need to do and a bunch of other things I’d like to do, but I do have enough time to do everything God has called me to do.” (The Titus Ten; pg. 90)

Finding Clarity in the Confusion

So how do we get there?

We need to define an assignment.

DEFINITION: Something for which God has called you to be responsible.

There’s an emphasis on YOU here. These are things you and ONLY YOU can do — no one else.

They are entirely your responsibility. You can’t pass it off to someone else.

In his book, Leading on Empty, Wayne Cordeiro calls this the “top 5 percent of life”.

85% of what we do could be done by anyone.

Check emails, basic job functions, phone calls, reading the newspaper/social media, etc.

10% of what we do could be done by someone with minimal training.

If we were trained to do it at one point, someone else can be as well.

Our job — run a machine, operate a program, hold a meeting, etc.

5% of what we do can only be done by us.

This is the “top 5%”.

We can’t hire someone to take our place in these areas.

2. We need to self-reflect.

We know what assignments are. Now, we need to take a look at our lives and determine what our particular assignments are.

What’s your top 5%? The things that only you can do?

Cordeiro’s Conclusion:

His relationship with Jesus.

His relationship with his wife.

His relationship with his family.

His ministry.

His health.

3. We have to put our assignments in order.

“A man who is a workaholic is really just a sluggard at home. A man who is viewed as a hard worker might, in reality be lazy. He’s working hard at his job to avoid the harder work that needs to be done at home. A man who neglects his church, his family, and even his own health for work has failed to put the same kind of effort into things that matter more. His life is not in order.” (The Titus Ten; pg. 76)

Once we have clarity on what we are to do, we have to set priorities.

Another way of saying this….

We need to steward our time.

Just like we budget money, we need to budget our time.

There’s no clear cut way to do this.

Basic Rule: The top 5% of our time should get 95% of our energy.

This looks different for everyone.

Cordeiro lays the premise out like this….

He has identified 7 “pocket” of energy during the day — times when he is most productive and useful.

He stewards those to use on his top 5%.

Daily devotion

Message Prep

Pastoring/Leading

Pastoring/Leading

Pastoring/Leading

Which areas of my life/job need my energy most today?

Which areas will be most fruitful?

Marriage/Family

Personal Health