RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Jony Ive, Apple's design chief, worked closely with Steve Jobs.  The two execs were very close both professionally and personally.

Jony said Steve would ask him the same question every day.

The question was...

"How many times did you say 'no' today?"

Ive says much of Jobs' success was due to the fact he stayed fully focused on whatever he was working on.  In Jobs' opinion, the more "no's" you said, the better.  Jobs taught him in order to have extreme, laser-like focus, you have to be willing to reject a lot of opportunities, even if they sound great.

The discipline to turn your back on something you believe in passionately so you can apply yourself to what's at hand is really remarkable.  It's a deeply uncomfortable but really effective thing to do.  -Jony Ive

Jobs followed this very advice himself back in 1998 when he shrunk Apple's product line from 350 to 10.  So instead of creating 350 crappy products, or 200 mediocre products, or 100 good products Apple focused on creating 10 incredibly designed products.

People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on.   But that's not what it means at all.  It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.  You have to pick carefully.  I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done.  Innovation is saying 'no' to 1,000 things.  -Steve Jobs

It's easy to fall into the "yes" trap in children's ministry and fill up your calendar and plans with a lot of good things.  But if you don't say "no" to those things, it can keep you from saying "yes" to what you really need to focus on.

How do you determine what to say "no" to?  In this post, I share questions that can help you decide.

If your ministry is struggling, one reason could be you're not saying "no" often enough.