Tag Archives: Goals

Narrow the Focus!

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The eagle that chases two rabbits at one time will catch neither.

All of us at some point feel overwhelmed by the demands of life that we feel like we are being buried under a pile of stuff. I encourage you to embrace the philosophy of ‘Less is More’.

Imagine a river a mile wide but an inch deep. The water is so shallow I would let my 4 year old splash around in it but imagine you narrowed the mouth of that same river to one hundred meters wide with the same amount of water surging through it. The power of the current would be that strong, you wouldn’t be able to cross over it let alone splash around in it.

Too many of us approach life a mile wide and an inch deep. Our focus ends up being diffused across too many areas, rather than in what’s most important. Focus on less, rather than more and you’ll increase the impact.

Divide your life into 4 categories of Time:

  1. Rest time = 1 full day to focus on re-energizing your body, mind and spirit.
  2. Results time = Full or half days devoted to the mission critical things in your job.
  3. Response time = Full or half days devoted to responding to and following up stuff.
  4. Refocus time = 1-2hrs weekly, half a day per month, 1 retreat each year to refocus.

Become discontent with juggling everything and break your workload into these 4 categories of time. Focus on 1 kind of activity at a time and don’t multi-task and mix them up. Prayerfully determine what your main things are and schedule them into sizable chunks of time. Less is More is the key to making an impact but still having a life!

Grace!

The Goal of Ministry!

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Over a decade ago I began the journey of full-time ministry, failing to realise that as a follower of Christ, I was already in full-time ministry. Every single Christian is called to Ministry (Eph 4:11-16), every single Christian is gifted for ministry (1 Cor 12:7) and every single Christian can find enjoyment in their ministry (Ecc 2:24). However, unless you understand the goal and purpose of your ministry, you will never fulfill the point of it.

Colossians 1:24-29 is a key passage that points us to the goal of our ministry. Some of the key themes found within it are:

  1. God uses suffering as a means to advance the goal of ministry (v24)
  2. God’s called you to be a steward of the ministry he’s entrusted to you (v25)
  3. The mystery is fulfilled in Jesus Christ in us, the hope of glory (v26-27)
Paul brings us to verse 28 which is the crescendo of the text and outlines to us the GOAL of Ministry:
“Him, we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone, with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
The GOAL of ministry is to present everyone mature in Christ. In between justification and glorification, there is this precious labor of love called sanctification. Some pastors and believers are only focused on the justification of the saints or even the glorification of the saints but Paul says, the goal of ministry is presenting everyone mature in Christ. This is discipleship 101.
The problem with some of our current approach to ministry is that we feel so overwhelmed by secularism, that we want to make Jesus look so cool, so badly and be liked by everyone that instead of aiming our ministry at presenting everyone mature in Christ, we get distracted by party tricks to get people in the door and once we get them in the door, we have no idea what we’re going to do with them.
If the goal of ministry is attracting a crowd only and getting a temporary bunch of decisions, then party tricks will work in the short-term but Jesus didn’t say GO and make converts, he said, GO and make disciples… this is the process of maturation in Christ and where there is no maturing in Christ, something is wrong in our approach to ministry.
Paul outlines to us how we are to go about the GOAL of presenting everyone mature in Christ: There are 3 key actions emphasized in this passage:
  1. Our ministry must be Christ-centered – It’s Jesus we proclaim because Jesus is the hero of the story from Genesis to Revelation.
  2. Our ministry must warn people of the consequences of sin – Romans 6:23 reminds us that the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. If our ministry removes the doctrine of sin then what need has anyone to be saved.
  3. Our ministry must teach people to grow in Christ – We must be an example in our teaching and lifestyle of the re-prioritizing of kingdom values instead of worldly values.
I encourage you to not serve up a diet of candy, pizza, coke and cheeseburgers to attract a listening. This won’t truly serve them but instead nourish people’s souls with what will produce the full measure and stature of Christ in their lives.
Grace! 

The Helpful Tool of Goal Setting!

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One of the best investments I have personally made this year is a goal setting book from Kikki K (stationary store in Melbourne). I have been setting goals for many years but never have I been so intentional about it as I have been this year. I read a quote recently saying, “The results of this coming year will be determined by the intentionality with which you live your life.” To help you become intentional, I encourage you to set goals with the following suggestions in mind.

Create 5 Categories - I set goals under the following 5 categories:

  1. Personal development (Includes spiritual goals)
  2. Family and Relationships
  3. Career and Finance
  4. Health and Fitness
  5. Life Dreams

Define Goals – Under each of these categories define some goals. Don’t have too many more than 10 goals in each. Your goals should be:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Timely

Set a DATE you want to achieve them by - Include a little completed box next to it, to tick when you have accomplished the goal.

Answer 2 questions of yourself:

  1. Why do i want to achieve this goal?
  2. What are the obstacles holding me back?

Define the steps to get there – Include in this the date to be achieved, the details involved in the step and the reward you will give yourself once you have taken that step.

After completing this exercise for the different areas of my life, I feel more confident and focused than ever before and I have a real strategy for getting closer to my goals. Put these principles into action and I hope you will be able to say the same.

Grace!

4 Gifts of Vision

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Proverbs 29:11 Without vision people perish.

Vision is a clear and compelling picture of the future. Your future is largely a product of the vision, or lack of, that you have in your life. Rick Joyner once said, “Almost all human advancement is the result of someone having a vision.”

One of the ways God communicates to us is through visions and dreams.

Joel 2:28 says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”

Throughout Scripture we read example after example of God speaking to his people through visions and dreams. Some of these people include, Joseph, Daniel and the Apostle Peter in Acts 10 (Pivotal shift in the early church).

Unfortunately, too many of us only have a vision for a house, a car, a job and holidays. God’s vision for us is bigger than the practical elements of life. God challenges us to give up our small ambitions and join him in changing the world. Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that, “He can do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we could ever ask, think or imagine, according to the power at work within us.”

4 gifts are given to us when God births vision in our hearts:

  1. Focus – Vision helps you to focus on what’s most important and helps you stay away from distractions.
  2. Endurance – Resistance in life will come but a vision kept before us will enable us to endure though tough times.
  3. Peace – With vision, you can wake up everyday with a security about who you are and why you’re here.
  4. Passion – Vision fires you up and motivates you to live out your passion.
Insight!