Day 8: Goal-oriented fruit
In my office I have a bunch of dust collectors that my wife vetoed in our home once our children started arriving and the man cave space was needed. Most of them are relics of a former life, the glory days some would call it. To be honest, I’m living in the glory days now, so I don’t spend too much time reminiscing over these historical artifacts. One thing that I do look at almost everyday is a black poster board with four practical things written on it that I need to remember as a Pastor and the leader of an organization to help remind me to be a productive shepherd. The first thing written is practically applicable in every aspect of life; “It won’t happen by accident.”
I will be honest, I, like most Pastors, sometimes try to allow things to happen by osmosis. That is the process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of ideas, knowledge, systems, etc. It is easy to just fall in a rhythm of doing church and life and just hope that things will run correctly and grow. I try to remind myself daily that isn’t how things work most of the time. If we want to be successful in our marriages, jobs, or especially our evangelism, we must set and work towards those goals! I love what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 9: 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
“I do not run aimlessly.” Paul had a goal-oriented ministry that literally changed the world through the Gospel of Jesus!
If we are going to be fruitful, we need to know what we are aiming for. That will be different in all our lives. Our first step in any spiritual goal is our own spiritual health and righteousness. For some, that is the only goal in your lives right now, because we must have a vibrant relationship with Christ before we can produce any fruit. It’s like planting a vineyard, it takes a lot of time before we can produce the Welch’s. For others, the goal is to bring a specific person to an understanding of their need for a relationship with Jesus and see that come to pass. For a few, the goal, or at least the calling, is to lead groups or even churches in their relationship with the Lord and their communities. No matter what stage we are in, in our relationship with Christ, we need to set measurable goals to see ourselves accomplish! Don’t make the mistake of thinking it will happen by osmosis or be air boxing as Paul put it!
To set attainable and measurable goals, we need to know a few things:
Where are we starting?
Where are you in your spiritual growth and maturity?
We have spent the last week really surveying our spiritual environment, so we should have a grasp on where we are.
What is our next goal?
Given where we are, what does the next step look like?
Is it more understanding of the Bible? Maybe it is becoming more proficient in communicating your testimony and God’s offer of salvation. Or maybe the next step on your spiritual journey is full surrender to the will of God in your life. Whatever the next step is, we need to set that as the goal.
Make a plan to attain it.
We need to know and take the steps to reach the goal.
There’s nothing better than knowing the steps to take to reach a destination! If you have trouble knowing what direction to go, God has placed several spiritual GPS’s in our lives for directions. First, His Word. Second, His Church and its people. I love helping people set goals, make plans, and reach spiritual victories in their lives even more than I did in the baseball coaching days. Make the plan to reach your spiritual goals and make it happen; it won’t happen by accident.
Set higher goals!
Once you’ve reached a goal, set the aim even higher and closer to God.
One of the big mistakes we make as Christians is to reach the point where we feel we have ‘spiritually arrived.’ We hit a goal and then relax! Do not make that mistake, keep going with Jesus! Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12 to desire the greater gifts, and to me that is a clear challenge to always climb higher and go farther in my relationship and calling.
So today, know where you are, set the goal, and make the plan and go get it! If we do that, we will set more goals. A goal-oriented Christian active in a goal-oriented church is a powerful tool for the Lord, and that’s exactly what we want to be today, but it won’t happen by accident! As for the other three things I have on my poster, you’ll just have to stop by and see sometime.