If you think you are ready to plant, don't start yet . . . Rob Blackaby, President of the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary and church planter from Cochran said this in the U.S. a couple of years ago. The principle of preparation applies to any goal or project you are facing including church planting. Half the people who make new year resolutions do not have a plan in place to "get 'r done."So below is a check list of steps to prepare. Feel free to add some of your own. The best idea will probably be yours . . .
1. Invest - Our goals are often doomed before we start. We hope to get great results from minimal effort or investment. On a scale of 1-10, How committed are you at reaching your goal?If you are less than a "5" maybe you picked the wrong goal. If your commitment is exercise related you may need to buy comfortable walking or running shoes. If it is personal organization you may need a new filing cabinet. If it is to organize your garage you may need to rent a truck and so on . . .
2. Focus - If you are serious about change, focus on one thing only. My pastor and one of my best coaches, Bill Howard, fought me four years ago to focus on one big goal. I reluctantly followed his advice. The difference was profound. If you have more than one resolution, part of your preparation process is to decide where to start. Place all your energy there. How do you decide? Pray and talk to people who love you. Here is another radical idea . . . if you decide all of them are important start with the easiest one first. Momentum is great in football and in life.
3. Support - Find someone who has succeeded at a similar goal. That may take some work, but remember, you are serious enough about this goal to invest and prepare. Don't look for a someone as skinny as a bean pole to help you with weight loss, unless they were not always skinny. Find an organized person to help you with organization. Find a praying person to help you with prayer.
4. Audit - We have created ways of doing things over the years. The way we do things is commonly known as "systems." Systems are powerful. Look closely at the way you do things. What obstacles are created by your systems for your new goal? For example, you may have spent years going to bed late and operating on minimal sleep. If your new goal requires a commitment in the morning then address it. The first step is not a morning commitment. The first step is an evening commitment to get in bed earlier. This may include sleep research. This may also include a trip to your doctor or the local mattress store.
If you want to experience a different 2010 don't start yet. Prepare to start. I will have more preparation tips Monday. Happy New Year!
4 comments:
I'm a little confused. On Dec. 31 you said "I will tell you tomorrow why goals seldom work." The next two post are all about goals. I agree with what you are saying. I've been with you enough to know that you have thought it through but I was interested in where you were going with the "no goals" statement. Help me. You know I'm about as goaless as they come. I would like to get on this train of thought, especially if it leads me and my church to new horizons for the Kingdom.
Sorry for pumping fog into the room. Thanks for the heads up. One reason goals seldom work is a lack of a planning or preparation. As you walk through the first checklist of how to prepare other reasons bleed out. Choosing the wrong goal is one big reason goals seldom work.
D
Thank you for giving me a system that I can work with. And Implement:)
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