7 Things Old Jim Wishes Young Jim Knew

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Let’s face it: hindsight is 20/20—unless you’re like me and your bifocals fog up during altar calls.

I’ve been in ministry for five decades and counting. That means I’ve had the privilege of doing children’s ministry in my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s—and now I’m staring down my 70s like, “Wait… didn’t I just graduate from youth group?”

Looking back, I wish I could’ve sat Young Jim down, offered him a Dr Pepper, and shared a few lessons that might’ve saved him some headaches, heartbreaks, and bad hair decisions. So here are seven things I’d love to tell my younger self (and maybe they’ll help you too):

1. Don’t Be the Star of the One-Man Show

Young Jim loved to do it all—stage design, puppet shows, check-in, goldfish cracker distribution… the works. He thought building a team was optional. Spoiler: it’s not.

If you’re the only one carrying the load, you’re not building a ministry—you’re building a meltdown. Ministry isn’t about being the hero. It’s about making heroes out of others. Duplicate yourself. Coach people. Share the mic. And remember: there is no success without successors.

2. Your Thoughts Drive the Train

Back in the day, I had more opinions than Crayola had colors—and about as much wisdom as a soggy fortune cookie.

Eventually, I learned your thoughts direct your steps. If you think small, you’ll stay small. If you think negatively, you’ll act negatively. But if you think like Jesus—Philippians 4:8 style—you’ll live differently. Evaluate your thoughts often, and don’t let your mind run wild. It needs a shepherd too.

3. Ministry Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Yes, Young Jim… there were Mondays you wanted to quit. So do most people in ministry. But guess what? Your calling isn’t based on feelings. It’s based on obedience.

Stop looking for instant results and start playing the long game. Trust God with the process. When you serve others’ dreams, you’ll find God fulfilling your own. And for heaven’s sake—don’t give in to fear. It’s always the fast track to burnout.

4. Put Family Second Only to God—Not Third Behind the Church

Young Jim gave up too many nights, weekends, and vacations “for the sake of the ministry.” Older Jim knows better.

Your spouse, your kids, and your grandkids need your presence more than your perfection. Guard your day off like it’s the last scoop of Blue Bell. Date your wife. Laugh with your kids. Turn off the laptop. The church will still be there tomorrow—your kid’s ballgame won’t be.

5. Be Your Pastor’s Biggest Fan

Ministry isn’t the place for lone rangers. Young Jim didn’t always get this, but I’ve learned that representing your leader well is part of representing Jesus well.

That means honoring their vision, echoing their heart, and cheering them on even when they’re not in the room. Loyalty matters. Trust matters. And your pastor doesn’t need another critic—they need a champion.

6. Love People More Than Programs

Old Jim knows the most valuable thing in ministry isn’t your service schedule—it’s the people God’s trusted you with.

Love the parents. Love your volunteers. Love the crusty deacon who still thinks flannelgraph is cutting-edge. People matter. Relationships are the soil discipleship grows in. And yes—sometimes people are messy, but so is grace.

7. Learn the Art of Refreshing

Young Jim pushed through the stress and called it “faithfulness.” Old Jim knows better.

You can’t give what you don’t have. If your tank’s empty, everyone suffers. The Holy Spirit didn’t just come to give you power for ministry—He came to refresh your soul. Pray in the Spirit. Take your Sabbath. Guard your joy. And don’t feel guilty about that nap—it’s biblical.

Would I go back and change anything? Sure. But I’m also thankful for the lessons. Every mistake taught me something. Every season shaped me. And every decade reminded me: ministry is about faithfulness, not flash.

So what about you?
What would future you wish current you knew?

Maybe it’s time to pause, reflect, and course-correct before Old You writes an article about it.

Want more stuff like this plus All my Books, resources, Monthly Live Events, A members Only Podcast & more? Checkout NextGenLeaderLab.com where I’m Still learning, still laughing, and still loving the journey. I hope you’ll join me!

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Fun is Not the Goal: Why Our Kids Need God’s Power, Not Just Pizza

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Let’s talk about church for a second—specifically, kids at church. Somewhere along the way, we started believing that if church isn’t a non-stop carnival for kids, they’ll peace out the minute they turn 13. So we build ball pits, pass out donuts like party favors, and give away iPads at big events just to keep them coming back.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not anti-fun. I love a good snack table and some loud worship songs with hand motions that double as cardio. But if all we’re offering our kids is a sugar high and a memory verse with glitter on it, we’re selling them short. Way short.

Because here’s the deal: our kids don’t just need to be entertained—they need to encounter God. For real.

They need to feel His presence. They need to experience His power. They need to know that when they pray, heaven hears. That when they worship, something shifts. That when they invite Jesus in, He shows up. That’s not religious hype. That’s reality—and they’re hungry for it.

You know what actually changes a kid’s life? Not a bounce house. It’s the moment they hear God speak to them for the first time. It’s when they feel Holy Spirit so strongly they can’t stop crying—and they don’t even know why. It’s when they pray for their friend’s broken arm and it gets healed. That’s the kind of stuff they’ll never forget.

Fun wears off. Encounters with God stick.

I’ve seen kids fall on their knees in worship, completely undone by the love of Jesus. I’ve watched kids lay hands on each other and pray with fire that could melt steel. I’ve heard them speak in tongues, get words of knowledge, and see visions. That’s not “junior” Holy Spirit. That’s the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead—working through an 8-year-old who hasn’t even finished their math homework.

So yes, let’s keep things fun. Let’s make church a place kids want to be. But let’s stop thinking fun is the goal.

If all they leave with is a smile and a prize, but not the presence of God, we’ve missed the whole point.

Let’s raise a generation that doesn’t just know about God—but knows Him personally. Kids who don’t just sing songs, but actually worship. Kids who don’t just sit through a Bible story, but feel the Author speaking to them through it. Kids who know what it means to carry His presence into their schools, their sports teams, their homes.

Because the world doesn’t need more well-behaved, churched-up kids. It needs kids who walk in power. Kids who carry the presence of God like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Let’s be the ones who show them that’s possible.

Want to know more? Connect with me & like minded NextGen leaders at NextGenLeaderLab.com

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There’s A Brand New Book Available

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What happens when you coach 12 of the sharpest Kidmin & NextGen leaders for 16 weeks that you’ve ever coached. YOU WRITE A BOOK! And that’s exactly what we did!

EVERYONE DOES BETTER WITH A COACH
Practical Solutions For Kidmin & NextGen Leaders is a brand new book from Jim Wideman Ministries.

Everyone can go farther and faster with someone coaching them than they can on their own. This is true in sports, it’s true in your health, it’s true in business and it’s also true in ministry.

I have always admired coaches. As a student of great teams in sports and ministry, I’ve been saying for years’Show me a successful team and I’ll show you a great coach.” I’ve also noticed truly great coaches have developed the skills to produce a winning team wherever they coach. Also they have learned how to assemble other great coaches around them. That’s exactly what I’ve done in EVERYONE DOES BETTER WITH A COACH- Practical Solutions For Kidmin & NextGen Leaders.

I’ve assembled some of the brightest and best coaches from my “Think Different Coaching Network. We identified some of the most common struggles that today’s Kidmin & NextGen leaders are facing and I asked each one to offer five solutions that you can do now to bring clarity and coaching to turn each challenge into an opportunity to improve. Each coach will also offer you a question to help guide you to taking your first step. Now you can get a team of coaches to help guide you to victory.
EVERYONE, YES EVERYONE DOES BETTER WITH A COACH.
When you order the paperback from me I’ll throw in the digital book free. Order yours today!

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Controlling Crazy

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Life can get wild and ministry can get crazy. When you don’t think things can get any busier, they can and they do. In my life I’ve learned ‘busy’ is a relative term. What one person calls busy is not busy to another. The fact is no matter how you define busy it causes you to be deal with pressure. Pressure can cause you to grow or it can also expose weakness in your abilities. Either way pressure is your friend. People are paid by how much pressure they can handle and deal with. If you want to make more money learn to handle more pressure and how to control crazy.

Jesus is our help and peace in stressful times. He is our help when life gets complicated, but it’s up to us to call on that help. He’s given us His word that he will help us here are  just a few of the scriptures I stand on when life gets crazy for me. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” John 14:27 tells us “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:16 promises “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-. That other helper is also referred to as another comforter.  Jesus never leads you into something that will harm you. He is a safe guide His word always works. Jesus is the master of simplifying life. The laws of the Old Testament were many and complex yet Jesus made it very easy to follow them. 

Let’s take a look at Matthew 22:36-40…

36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ◙ 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ◙ 40On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus’ answers concerning life are always simple even though they may not always be easy to carry them out. These verses simplified the law but they are a fulltime job to carry out. Paul had a heart for following the Lord example.  You can tell he patterned his life after the example of Jesus by writing in 2Corinthians 1:12   “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. The devil always tries to complicate life just like he complicated God’s simple instructions to Adam and Eve.  He loves to complicate our lives by injecting wrong thoughts into our minds

2Corinthians 11:3 tells us “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

We must choose to keep life simple! Sometimes our responsibilities and the pressures of life affects us all in a negative way. We have to choose simplicity. In Luke 10:38-42 we find the story of two sisters. Sisters who made two very different choices in how they reacted to Jesus coming to their home. The scriptures tell us “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” The key to simplifying life for me is to be a student of learning better personal and time management. Have you read my book “Beat The Clock”? This  resource has helped thousands of leaders learn some leadership and time-management basics. With this in mind here are 15 Steps in keeping life simple and controlling the crazy.

1. Set your priorities. This is something you have to get in the habit of doing daily. You can’t keep priorities if you don’t have priorities! Arrange your events, task and duties by priorities!

2. Keep your priorities in order. This is job one! The fact is priorities change. The order of your priorities may be different at different times. One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 28:2 “When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order. This is you responsibility!

3. Delegate to others those things that they can do for you even if it’s short term. When you’re out of time the only way to get more is to use someone else’s. Make a list of everything you are doing that someone else can do and allow they to do it! Use checklists and job descriptions to get others to do it your way.

4. Use time saving tools. Some of the tools I use are my iPhone, iPad , a timer, iCal, voice mail, email, I even starting to use a program so others can choose an appointment so I don’t have to go back and forth with them and a laptop computer. But these tools can become time wasters if you use them wrong. Know when to talk not type, keep your notifications off when you are working on other things. Add a worker website, post videos and  let blogs replace worker meetings.

5. Do more than one thing at a time. Take advantage of commute times and wait times to study, have meetings, people development, return messages, and make assignments to others by phone. Use meals to put into people. Ride together and set up with the meeting is about. I pay so we’ll talk about what I want to cover on the way back we wrap up and make assignments on what needs to be carried out. Take reading with you wherever you go as well as other work. (Here’s another reason I love my Iphone!)

6. Decide what can be postponed or eliminated. This goes back to your priorities. Keep those activities and events that are urgent or important on top. Don’t just look at the task look at the time it takes to pull it off also. Learn to say no! Learning to say no also means saying yes to right things. To say yes to urgent and important matters means you say no to less urgent or important things. When time is short look to focus on now and don’t look too far ahead. 

7. Get creative with your family time. Take them with you whenever you can and combine family time with business and leisure activities. Call them and let them know you were thinking of them.

8. Schedule a break even if it’s only for a few hours. (Even convicts get time off for good behavior)

Some of my getaway places are playing guitar, going to the music store, Starbucks, the bicycle store and Best Buy.

9. Be open to change in your lifestyle (Different results require different actions)

Don’t despise change. It’s alright to do things differently. Guard your thoughts and your tongue

10. Do your homework and see what others do in hectic times. Check up on busy people – see what they are doing on facebook, or twitter. Network at conferences and also on sites like KidminCoach.com.

11. Stop and listen to Jesus.  Make time for the Word. It your responsibility to stay refreshed spiritually.

Feed your spirit daily you feed you belly daily. If you can’t go to church, listen to the podcast or watch the livestream. But it will truly help you spiritually to go to church.

12. When you are tired and busy, don’t think. Rely on a checklist. Paper is for remembering, your brain is for thinking and dreaming. Have the information you need with you when you go to meetings including, flowcharts and other reports. 

13. Don’t quit or make big decisions during busy and stressful times. Wait to make big decisions when things slow down. Also never make people decisions when time is limited. Slow down and think it through.

14. Develop a plan to make next year better the minute an event or activity is over.  Learn from your experiences and the best time to do this is while it’s fresh on your mind. Start next year’s file now. Speaking of planning ahead go ahead and put next year’s date on the calendar as well as plan as far ahead as possible. Do you have 2017 planned yet? Smart leaders plan as far ahead as possible to keep life balanced. Get feedback from others to help you plan better. A smart person makes time to listen and learn. When it’s over, crash. Get some rest. Always schedule a break between big pushes and events. Watch out for too many irons in the fire.

15. Do more by doing less. Focus on the main thing! Are you doing what only you should be doing, or are you doing things that someone else can do? It’s time to evaluate and ask yourself if you are focusing on the main thing.

To keep life simple and control the crazy, you must evaluate constantly. Measure your progress including your fruit, gains, loses and efficiency. Listen to your spouse on what should you discontinue, change and/or add. Things naturally get complex on their own that’s why you have to be intentional to keep life simple. Get out that calendar and make a plan to make you, your family and your ministry better.

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What’s God Been Saying?

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Hello blog world, it’s been a while since we talked. Nineteen months to be exact. In that time many of you have changed churches, changes roles or positions within your churches, or you’ve entered the ministry for the first time. I’m sure you read tons on blogs, listen to all the new podcast and have read all the cool new books about ministry that have come down the pike but I’ve got a question for you…”What’s God been saying to you?” Years ago I realized something that a dear friend and Timothy reminded me of, just this week, “Thus sayeth the Lord works every time!” Every time, Jim? Yep, every time!

I’ve never been sorry for hearing God’s voice and doing what He has told me to do, it always works, yes always. So here’s a question for you, why do we jump on a facebook group or listen to all these other voices and resources rather than asking Jesus what He wants us to do? One of my favorite chapter’s in the Bible is John chapter 10. It says Jesus is our good shepherd and we are His sheep. He knows us and we know His voice. In fact it goes on the say that the voices of a stranger we won’t hear. So when was the last time you sat down and really listened for His voice? What’s He saying? Are you willing to do what He says? I mean are you willing to do exactly what He says? I am, that’s why I back here blogging again. In fact in the days to come you’ll see a lot more of me being obedient to what Jesus is saying to me. I want to hear what He’s saying to me today. That’s why I’m listening with all my heart for my Shepherd’s voice and doing what He says to me. Never quit listening to God’s voice and doing what He says. You’ll discover what God says always works.

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