Virtual Assistants for Pastors: An Interview with Bryan Miles

For the past 13 years I had some good admin help. I knew that would change once I moved into church planting. That's why I was very interested in the services of eaHelp. They provide churches and businesses with high-quality virtual executive assistants. I've been a customer since the summer, and I couldn't be happier.

It's my privilege today to Interview Bryan Miles, CEO of eaHelp. I've enjoyed getting to know him, and he's even been to Toronto a bunch of times with his wife Shannon.

What's a virtual assistant?

A virtual Executive Assistant is essentially an assistant that does not work in your office. They do almost everything an on-site assistant could do ... except for get your coffee and dry cleaning.

I first read about virtual assistant in Tim Ferris's book The 4 Hour Work Week, but I never thought about virtual assistants working for churches and ministries. How did you come up with the idea?

Before I started eaHELP with my wife, I used to work with churches in the consulting realm for a long time (focused on design and construction). Also, I had a virtual Executive Assistant for 7 years while working with churches. She lived 4 hours from me but never missed a beat. Then, when working with churches, I just saw a need for Pastor(s) to have the same level of admin support as I had ... vs. volunteer help that never is a long-term solution. So, I guess I just saw an obvious need that I thought pastors would want/desire to help them lead better. And, of course, God has shown up big-time in our business in serving others. I'm super grateful.

What are some of the advantages of using a virtual assistant?

Too many to say ... here's my list.

How can someone get started?

We always start with a conversation with our prospective clients. We never just give a price. Relationship is so important to us ... and initial conversations help us decide if we'll be a good fit for them and likewise. If someone is really serious about "next steps" ... here's the path.

Outside of eaHelp, what are some of your passions?

Backpacking, climbing, reading, mentoring, & wine tasting. Anything that includes my family outdoors is almost next to heaven for me.

Thanks, Bryan.

Check out eaHelp for more.

House for Sale

Please pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested, and pray for a quick and smooth sale as we prepare to move to Liberty Village.

Update: Sold in two days!

Saturday Links

Let Pastors be Pastors

No one says that teaching is a waste or that doctrine can be ignored. But the general sentiment is that good preaching and congregational care are pretty well taken care of. What we really need are innovators, visionary-leaders, entrepreneurs, and community change-agents…

How to Fire a Minister–and have him like it!

Is there a way to terminate a minister (senior pastor, associate, staffer, etc) and have him like it? Maybe there is.

Church Planting Economics 101: Paper clips

Let that be an encouragement to you, Church Planter, if you are working hard with little money in those early days. That kind of frugality will teach you much and the fact is, you will live; even with little wannabe paper clips.

Besides that, who knows? Maybe one day God will prosper the work enough to buy the real ones.

Want To Get More Done? Stop Doing So Much.

Sit down once a month with your calendar and your projects list, and look for things that might be good ideas, but need to be pruned in order to give you more capacity to do your crucial work.

Staging

To say the last week has been a blur would be an understatement. Last Friday night we bought a condo in Liberty Village, the community in which we're planting a church. The same day, painters moved into our house for three days, and we began the process of getting our house ready for the market: dejunking, repairs, appliances, and more. Yesterday the stagers came in, and the results are worth it. I feel like I'm living in an episode of Love It or List It.

Yes, we used stagers. It's a funny thing. They say that for every dollar you spend on staging, you get $3.50 back. The house hasn't changed, and the purchaser won't be getting any of the staged furniture or accessories, but it sure does make the house present well.

At first I was a little cynical about all of this, but I'm coming around. For one thing, I got thinking about what Paul wrote about adorning the doctrine of God our Savior (Titus 2:10). Get this: the word adorn means to "augment or draw attention to the beauty that already exists" (The Letters to Timothy and Titus. The New International Commentary on the New Testament). Our godly behavior is like staging: it doesn't improve or add to the gospel in any way. It just makes the gospel look good.

They say that a lot of people prepare their houses for sale, but after the stagers have done the owners decide not to see after all. It's like they've seen the beauty of their house for the first time. I'm not so down on staging now, and I hope it pays off, not just with my home but with my life.

Saturday Links

Why You're Not Reaching the Unchurched

To believe that if we encourage casual dress, offer Starbucks coffee, play rock music, and then deliver a message in a style similar to the popular speakers of the day, we will automatically grow is enormously appealing.

But it won’t work.

And it hasn’t worked for at least a decade.

Everyday Evangelism

We need to be patient and trust God’s sovereignty while also finding ways to presenting the gospel at points one and two on our scale of interest in Christ and not just at points eight and nine.

Is the Sabbath still relevant?

If we did set apart one day each week for rejuvenation in God, we would immediately add to every year over seven weeks of vacation. And not for doing nothing but for worship, for friends, for mercy, for an afternoon nap, for reading and thinking, for lingering around the dinner table and sharing good jokes and tender words and personal prayers.

The Five Responses to the Problem of Evil

You see, the “logical problem of evil” is not really a problem, if by problem you mean something that cannot be solved, rationally or biblically. Rationally, there is no reason to assume that God cannot have a purpose for evil that results in good. We see this every day.

The Dark Side of Pastor Appreciation Month

What are your strategies and systems to make sure the people in your church are honored in the same way you feel honored every October?

A Christian View of Working in Your Strengths

Use your strengths. God has given them to you, and you in fact have an obligation to use them for the good of others … Please don’t worry about being “too strong.” You’re not. And when God does bring (even greater) weakness your way, first seek to remove it and ask him to remove it and, if he doesn’t, recognize it as an opportunity to rely on God in a different way, and rejoice in that.