Tag Archives: vitality

iVM in the Spotlight

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“You are not alone.”  

These life giving words are like cool water to a parched spirit for many who serve in ministry – both clergy and laity alike. Living one’s faith and spirituality by serving in ministry is an opportunity for incredible joy as we learn with, from and about other people. We can stretch ourselves as we lean into the places and situations that challenge us, perhaps even where we feel a sense of anxiety. Every day can bring new experiences and discoveries as we embrace Community, Loving God and Neighbor, and the Eucharistic Life – the three legged stool of discipleship that we seek to live at the Missional Wisdom Foundation.

And, it can be really tough. The Institute for Vital Ministry (iVM) was founded to meet people in the midst of their ministry and be “companions on the journey.” This companionship from iVM emerges primarily through coaching, pastoral care and spiritual direction offered to individuals, groups, and ministry teams. At the Missional Wisdom Foundation, we like to say “Go out. Go Deep. Go together.” Missional is always contextual, and it is always relational. For those of us raised and trained by and in the mainline Christian traditions, this sometimes comes as surprising good news. MWF seeks to respond to proclaim this good news in a variety of ways, including incubating other nonprofits whose vision is complementary to our core. The Institute for Vital Ministry is one such organization.

The founder, Ken Crawford, has served for over 25 years across multiple denominations and in ecumenical settings, both congregational and nonprofit. Through his own experience, and the research and observation of peers and colleagues, he has developed several resources and processes that support flourishing and wholeness for lay leaders and clergy. His most recent work has been with clergy who trained for and served in settled pastorates, but have found themselves drawn out into multivocal expressions of their ministry that include congregational, non-profit, for-profit, and social entrepreneurship settings.

At the center of all the work at iVM is an understanding of what we call a “Synchronous Life” – one in which individuals and groups are able to see and pursue wholeness across all of life. We help people move beyond surviving to thriving in ministry by integrating the life-giving energy available in each facet of life into a harmonized system. Too often we live siloed rhythms where our professional, personal and private lives do not overlap – if we can at all help it. Unfortunately, living this way is exhausting, and robs us of the gifts that each domain of life can offer to the rest of who we are and who we are called to be. Drawing upon the skills of coaching, pastoral care, and spiritual direction, working with individuals and groups, we are here to accompany you, because we believe that “wherever your road leads… you don’t have to travel alone.”

You can learn more about the work of iVM and Ken’s ministry at www.iVitalMinistry.org. If you would like to explore working with a coach or spiritual director, please contact Ken at KCrawford(at)missionalwisdom.com.

* from the Missional Wisdom Foundation’s “Wisdom for the Way“

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ABOUT:  Rev. Ken G. Crawford serves on staff with the Missional Wisdom Foundation as a holistic leadership and life coach to the people who work at The Mix Coworking. He is also part of the leadership team for Anam Cara. Ken was fortunate to work under the guidance of Elaine Heath who served as his DMin thesis advisor. 

Entrepreneurs say “NO!” to “a balanced life”

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…..But if not balance, then what?

#BeyondBalance

During my time working among entrepreneurs over the last 15 years I have consistently heard and seen a rejection of the notion of “balance”. Anytime it is said, invariably some young grinder will scoff and say,

“There’s no such thing as balance.
Or if there is, I certainly don’t have time for it.
I’m 24/7/365 to build my business.”

At first I was confused, then troubled and concerned. I argued, usually just in my head, “You have to balance your personal health, your relationships with your work, otherwise what kind of life will you have? After all, no one on their death bed says, ‘I wish I’d spent more time at work…’” (Turns out some people do, but that’s for another time.) How can people live that way and be happy?

I’ve come to view it differently over the last few years.

The problem with the word balance is that people seem to hear it as “equal amounts of time and energy PUT INTO each segment under consideration. As in, “You need to put the same number of hours into your work, your relationships, your physical health, etc. On the face of it this is fairly unrealistic for most people. A week contains 168 hours. Let’s say you sleep 6 hours per night, leaving you 126 waking hours. Spend another 28 hours on eating and personal hygene. That leaves 98 hours for everything else – work, family and friend Balanced Life pie chartrelationships, exercise, recreation, spiritual and relitious practices. I think most entrepreneurs I know work between 60 and 80 hours each week on their thing, whatever that is. Frankly, many salaried and hourly workers put in as many hours on one or more jobs. In which case, balance that looks like the image here is impossible. That would mean 26 hours of your 126 available for each segment.

There are several false assumptions embedded in this mindset. One inherent falacy is the idea that these six facets of life are siloed, as shown in this image of six separate and distinct collumns – one for each of the six domains of human flourishing. The dominant understanding in this point of view is that the time and energy, behaviors and impact of Balanced Life - siloseach segment need to stay apart from each other. Two of the most obvious examples are: 1)
“Don’t bring your personal problems to work, and don’t bring your work home,” and 2) “Don’t mix your religion/spirituality with your work or relationships,” otherwise known as “Spirituality is a private matter, don’t talk about it with others.”

While there are certainly risks on the other end of this spectrum, the reality is that we cannot build imporous barriers separating these aspects of life. If we are having emotional struggles, or relationship problems, we cannot help but carry these with us into our occupational lives, and they will likely impact us physically.

This energy wants to flow naturally and organically from one to another aspect of life. When things are going well and we feel energized and excited, say at work, about an idea, or in a special relationship, then that positive energy wants to flow over into the other domains and bring vitality to them as well. Conversely, if we are feeling discouraged or depleated in one place, then that will draw energy away from the other facets of life. This happens without our thinking about it.

The gift in this organic system of life is that we can turn this natural process to our advantage. We can channel and direct the positive energy where we need it. We can counterbalance negativity and discouragement in one part of life by boosting the positive energy in another. Harvard Medical School reports that physical activity improves mood and mental focus. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise can even help counteract the debilitating symptoms of clinical depression, improving quality of life and releasing more energy for other things. It even seems to slow some of the negative declines associated with aging, according to a study conducted at the University of Texas at Dallas. These improvements can have a significant opsitive impact on our relationships and our occupational lives.

If not balance, understood in the above “equal and distinct time and effort” way that seems common among entrepreneurs who dismiss “balance” as unatainable, or at least undesirable disruption to the persuit of their goals, then what?

How do we go “Beyond Balance”?

You may also enjoy reading DownTime,
and “New Seasons, New Priorities” – where I reflected on my own efforts to move #BeyondBalance.

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Featured image credit: Michael Grab – GravityGlue.com

New Coaching Practice – day 3

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Well, this launch of my new coaching business/ministry has been a whirlwind of
thoughts, hopes, dreams, questions, words, conversations,listening, praying, watching, tweaking, typing, driving, calling, texting,
asking for favors and offering favors.

I think that the more I tell my story, the greater clarity I gain and the more my words seem to make sense and find their own coherence. At least that is how it feels to me.

I have revamped my website and built a new Facebook Page for Ken G Crawford Coaching.

I have created initial business cards and flyers for both the business and ministry sides of my practice.

I have had business owners express interest in forming strategic alliances.
I have had individuals request a consultation to explore establishing a coaching relationship.I have had clergy indicate both need and desire to work work with a coach.

I still have to make decisions on the formation of the legal entity – LLC, S-Corp, SP, etc.
I still have some branding decisions to make in the short term.

I still need to decide on a name for the business and the ministry. I am leaning toward:
“Synchronous Life” – as in “Bring harmony your work, relational and spiritual energies.”  “Synchronicity Ministries” and “Synchronous Life.”  I want one central word or idea – i.e. “Synchronicity” that can be developed and riffed in a variety of ways for both commercial and non-profit ventures.

I am excited about the new things that God is unfolding in my life and ministry, and hopeful for all that is to come. I pray that this work makes good use of my gifts and talents, is a blessing to others in their lives, enables me to provide for my family, and ultimately glorifies God. That’s not too much to ask, is it?