Tag Archives: purpose

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Eternal Perspective: What Is Your View?

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Christian leadership can be described in many ways. It is servant leadership. It is Christ-centered and it is Bible-focused. Some will say it needs to be meek, gracious, or based on love. But there is one phrase that I seldom hear used in describing Christian leadership. That phrase is Eternal Perspective.

eternal perspective

Serious Oversight

Maybe it is just not a familiar term to most people. Maybe the thought itself is somewhat foreign. Or maybe we have just gone so far to the extreme in our immediate-gratification culture that this idea of having an eternal perspective doesn’t even cross our mind.

Either way, I think this is a serious oversight.

Christian Leadership

In my last couple of posts, I have been attempting to describe Christian leadership. I started in the first post by explaining how it really just boils down to influence – borrowing a quote from John Maxwell – and that we ALL are called to be Christian leaders in our circles of influence. In the next post, I told you how I believe Christian leaders must be intentional.

Today, I want to dig a little into this idea of an eternal perspective and tell you why I believe it should truly be a foundational part of effective Christian leadership. I hope you will come to understand this idea a little better as a result.

Eternal Perspective

First, let’s describe what I mean when I say eternal perspective. Basically, having an eternal perspective means that as we make decisions or take actions, we consider how they will impact us and others in eternity.

Rather than thinking about how a decision will look in 30 days, we think about what it will look like in 3,000 years (and beyond). When trying to decide how to run our business or allocate our resources, we do not merely look at how it will affect our retirement, but also how it will impact eternity.

Scripture Example

Whenever possible, I want to go to Scripture to get our direction. Let’s look at Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

Rather, train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

…The Life To Come

Notice how Paul acknowledges that godliness has benefits for our present life in this world while also for the life to come! This is the perfect example of having an eternal perspective. Training the body also has benefits here, but not so much in the life to come.

So if Paul is recommending this kind of eternal perspective mindset to Timothy, why would it not work in the business world? Why would it not make sense for us to think the same way as we approach every aspect of our lives today – work, school, church, etc.?

Eternal Perspective In Business?

I think it does work. As an example, it is natural for a business owner to think about employees as critical to the success of the business. When viewing it from an eternal perspective, the thinking changes. No longer is an employee ONLY critical to the success of the business. Now the employee is also a soul that needs to find a relationship with God in order to spend eternity with Him.

I do not think this should result in forcing employees to believe in Jesus (won’t happen!). Instead, you can simply provide the resources that would allow (even encourage) it. Resources such as a chaplain program or regular lunch & learn Bible studies could be part of your efforts. Not only will your employees be impacted for eternity, there are productivity and other benefits here and now.

Critical To Following Jesus

I am convinced this kind of thinking from an eternal perspective is critical. In fact, I do not believe we can effectively follow Jesus Christ and think otherwise. For us to attempt to truly follow Jesus while only thinking about the short-term results of our actions or decisions may just be impossible. I think Luke 9:62 fits here:

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Not Easy!

The difficulty in this thinking from an eternal perspective – and I promise you there is difficulty – is that the world does not think this way. Because of this, the rewards of this world often come to those who think short-term. In this context, short-term is any time-frame on this side of eternity.

I tell you this not to discourage you but to set realistic expectations. Do not begin applying this eternal perspective to your work and expect worldly success as a result. They are not connected.

Eternity In Our Hearts

Instead, recognize that God put eternity into our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and that is how He expects us to think. The more we think from an eternal perspective, the more our decisions and actions will reflect it. When that happens, the rewards will come in God’s way (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

Does the eternal perspective make sense to you?

When do you find it the most challenging?

What victories can you name as a result of this thinking?

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Do You Recognize This Christian Leader?

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Yesterday, we had a lesson in Sunday School that is near and dear to my heart. The topic was Christian Leadership and I had the opportunity to teach it! Because the material is so relevant to Christian business, I thought I would share the material and apply it to our situations as Christian leaders in the business world. Before I reveal the identity of the mystery Christian leader below, let’s take a look at the material.

Christian leader

Paul Describes Christian Leaders

The text of the lesson came from 1 Timothy 3:1-15, where Paul is instructing Timothy about the leadership of the church body. As Paul progresses, describing the qualities of the overseer and then the deacons, he gives some very high standards.

Paul mentions critical characteristics like the following:

    • Good reputation with outsiders
    • Good manager of the household
    • Not greedy for money
    • Self-controlled
    • Respectable

Who Comes To Mind?

When you are thinking about Christian leadership and these standards, what comes to mind? Does someone you respect as a Christian leader pop into your head? Or do you think about a leader you know (or work with) that needs to take on some of these qualities?

Either way, most people think about someone else. Maybe it is because they read this text to be directed at Pastors and Deacons in their church. Maybe they just do not feel like a leader themselves.

Someone Else?

Whatever the reason, the vast majority of believers in Jesus do not immediately think of themselves as Christian leaders. If this is true of you, you are not alone.

Unfortunately, being part of the majority (at least in this case), does not make you right. In fact, I will simply say this – if you are a believer and disciple of Jesus Christ and do not see yourself as a Christian leader, then you are mistaken.

Before you get offended, please read on and see if this makes sense to you at the end.

Leadership Defined

To find the definition of leadership, there are many places you can go. I have done this and I think I can save you the time of doing it yourself. By far, the best definition of leadership I have found comes from John Maxwell.

If anyone has read John Maxwell, you know that he understands leadership. He has written more books than anyone else on the subject…in fact, later this week, I will be giving away a copy of one of his books The 5 Levels of Leadership on this site! Make sure to check back with my Friday post and enter to win!

Here is John Maxwell’s definition of leadership:

Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts.
It is about one life influencing another.

If you don’t mind, I am going to boil this definition down a little:

Leadership is Influence.

Let that sink in.

What Does This Mean?

If leadership is influence, then that means that anyone in a position or role to influence someone else is a leader. Is that right?

Let’s say that again so we make sure we are in agreement. You are a leader if you are in a position or role to influence someone else.

YOU Are The Christian Leader!

Do you get that? Do you realize that this means YOU are a Christian leader? You are the mystery Christian leader in the picture above! If you influence your children, co-workers, friends, or anyone else, then you are a Christian leader. You do not have to be elected or appointed to a particular office – you just have to be an influence on someone else!

That is a big point and you need to make sure you absorb that. At the same time, I have another point to go along with it.

You Cannot Avoid It

This position or role of influence you have – it does not have to be one that you volunteered to take on. You did not have to choose this position or role to qualify you for Christian leadership! The fact that you are a Christian and you influence others (willingly or not) makes you a Christian leader. There is no avoiding it!

Let’s take a look at someone that I would argue has been in a position of leadership, but appears to feel otherwise. Depending on your age (and maybe gender), you probably know Charles Barkley. He played professional basketball for many years and was a superstar in his day.

The following video is a Nike ad that ran at the time Barkley was playing. Watch the video and then let’s discuss his words.

Is He A Role Model?

I will not argue with some of what Barkley says in this video. I agree that parents should raise their kids and not rely on professional athletes to be the sole influence.

At the same time, Barkley is simply wrong when he says he is not a role model. Like it or not, his celebrity is enough to qualify him as a leader. Maybe he is not a good one – not my point. Maybe he is not an intentional one – don’t have enough information.

But – whether he likes it or not – he is a leader. His influence puts him in that role and there is nothing he can do to avoid it.

Also True For Us

Folks, the same is true for us. When we made the decision to follow Jesus Christ, we put ourselves in a position of influence and therefore became Christian leaders. Whether we like it or not, that is who we are and we much accept it.

This Christian leadership is our role whether we are in an entry-level position or a C-level position. We are Christian leaders whether we are still working or retired. Our title, office, or position have nothing to do with this. It is up to us to accept this and embrace it.

Now that we understand our role as Christian leaders, what do we do about it? What does this look like? In my next several posts, I am going to discuss this very idea and try to give you a clear picture of what it needs to look like.

What are your thoughts right now?

Do you agree that you are a Christian leader?

How long have you realized this?

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The Daily Game Plan: A Must Use Tool!

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If you have ever worked on a life plan for your life, then you know the process can be somewhat overwhelming. You likely know that maintaining that life plan can become a burden at times, depending on how you have it set up. In light of that, I have come up with a tool I am calling a daily game plan that may just be the help you are looking for!

game plan

Daily Game Plan

In my last post, I described how I progressed from modifying and tweaking my life plan to creating a more simple tool called a daily game plan. Birthed out of an idea I got from reading Seven Days in Utopia, this daily game plan is an effort to apply life plan strategy to our daily lives. Take a look at my last post for more on the thought process behind this tool.

As I promised in the last post, I want to take you through the current version of my daily game plan tool. I will go over each area and explain how I use it. I will also give you the option to download a pdf of it. As I go through this process, be thinking about how you would improve this tool. I am going to ask you for your feedback at the end.

How To Proceed

The best way for you to go through the rest of this post is to [CLICK HERE] for a marked-up, full-screen view of a completed daily game plan. Because each section is labeled to make it easier to follow along, you will likely want to keep this open in the separate tab and flip back and forth between them. If you would prefer, you can also just print a copy. Either way, it will be helpful to have it visible as you progress through my description below.

Section #1 – Key Questions

This first section is fairly simple. As you can see, I put the day and date in the box at the top and then I read through the questions. These questions are some that I pulled together and may change from time to time. You could add your own here.

Sometimes I actually write a one or two word answer to some of the questions. Sometimes I just think about them and leave them blank. The point is to read and contemplate these questions every day. I want these thoughts becoming part of my mindset throughout the day.

Section #2 – Calendar

The next section is a condensed calendar picture of my day – only the highlights. I do not put more than three or four items on this calendar. The purpose of this section is two-fold.

First, I want to think through my day and how it will flow. When I have to write it like this and only have room for the select few events, I have to visualize how they will fit together. The second reason is to remind me of those bigger appointments when I glance over the game plan during the day.

Section #3 – Key Focuses

In this third area of my daily game plan, I write the most important task or project for me to accomplish that day. Sometimes there are a total of three or four of these items when I combine the three categories – Work, Home, Other. More often, there are only one or two items listed here.

While my to-do list is always much larger than this, completing this section of the game plan forces me to determine and prioritize my most critical tasks. This is a great exercise, especially when many days my to-do’s overwhelm me. I find that it is seldom that I do not accomplish all that is listed here.

Section #4 – Outreach & Prayer

In this part of the game plan, I stop to think about the people I am likely to work with that day. Is there anyone in particular, employee or otherwise, that I need to reach out to in a special way? If someone comes to mind with clarity, then I write their name in the space and pray for the opportunity to impact them. If not, I leave it blank.

After that, I write in those areas about which I know I need to pray. This may be something related to my marriage or my children. It could be a pending decision at work or even a habit I am trying to break. Nothing is off limits here (except a confidential request from someone else!).

Section #5 – Potential Problems

This is one area where I have seen the most impact on my days since I have been using this daily game plan. Here, on the left side, I ask the question, “What could go wrong today?” I then write down any potential surprises or obstacles that I think may pop up during the day to come.

I imagine what it might look like if a conversation I plan to have that day ends up going bad. It could be that I might receive bad news in a pending project I am working on. It could even be a temptation that I am not prepared to handle.

Once I determine a couple of likely problems, I ask myself, “How will I (later) wish I had handled it?” This is a powerful question because it forces me to think about how I would script the situation after it goes bad. It is accountability in advance! You would be amazed at how much easier it is to handle a crises when you have already visualized it and scripted your response!

For a detailed description of the meaning of the five terms (Observation, Strategy, See, Feel, Trust), you need to read the book, Seven Days in Utopia!

Section #6 – Scripture Memory

This final section of the daily game plan is the simplest, but also carries power. In the top section, I write the Bible verse that I am attempting to memorize for that week. In the bottom section, I write the verse I memorized from last week.

This rotates each week so I am writing each verse once a day for two weeks. I also glance at the reference during the day and attempt to repeat both of the verses aloud without looking. This may only happen once or twice during the day, but any repetition helps!

Summary

As I said before, I tried this on a half of a sheet of paper at first (8.5″ x 11″ folded), but I am now loading it onto my iPad in an app called Notes Plus. It is fully contained on the screen and I am able to easily access it throughout the day. This seems to work best for me as I am carrying my iPad everywhere I go now.

Like I said before, this is a work in progress. There may be parts of this idea that excite you and other parts that leave you saying, “Huh?” That is fine! I don’t expect you to accept it all as/is and start using it that way. My main purpose in sharing is to start the conversation – both in your mind as well as between all of us.

Take some time and think it over. Ask me questions or give me some suggestions. The only advice I will give is to be determined to keep it as simple as possible! Do not give in to the temptation to add two or three (or more) incremental improvements that end up making it too cumbersome to use.

For a blank copy of this game plan, [CLICK HERE].

What are your thoughts about the game plan?

Does it generate any ideas for you?

What additions/deletions would you suggest?

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Correcting Spiritual Drift

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In my last post, we talked about what spiritual drift looks like in a Christian business owner or leader. Assuming you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have most likely experienced this kind of drift. The question is how to correct it. What do we need to do to get back on the right path, drawing closer to God?

spiritual drift

Antidotes To Spiritual Drift

Well, as I stated in the last post, I was fortunate to hear from a guest speaker at my church recently. His name is Muche Ukegbu, youth pastor at Blueprint Church, and he gave us the following three antidotes to spiritual drift. Take a look at them and see if you think they will work for you!

#1 – Private disciplines

Private disciplines are those “blocking and tackling” basic habits that bring our hearts closer to God on a daily basis. Examples of these disciplines are Bible reading and study, prayer, and fasting. While these may not be the only examples, they are likely the most common.

The point here is that drift often comes as a result of either eroding consistency in these habits OR from a dry spell in the execution of these habits. A great way to begin attacking spiritual drift is to jump back into these habits.

Either start them up again if you have gotten away from them or change them up if they have become dry. Mix up your reading pattern. Find a new study that may help with the struggles you are currently facing. Dig back into prayer in a way that postures your heart for God to mold it.

#2 – Personal Ministry

We are each uniquely wired to do ministry as a part of the body of Christ. When we are fulfilling this role, we are closer to the One who created us for this role. When we are closer to Him, we are not suffering from spiritual drift.

Don’t forget that He formed us to serve AND we are formed when we serve. As we are allowing ourselves to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29), we will begin to get clarity again with our vision.

If you are not currently involved in some sort of personal ministry, then you need to jump in! If you are, maybe you need to mix that up a bit. Whatever the case, this is a key part of countering spiritual drift.

#3 – Providential relationships

During our lives, God brings people to us that add depth to our spiritual journey. Sometimes we are not even paying attention when this happens and other times we see the impact immediately.

When experiencing spiritual drift, the Christian business owner or leader needs to take an inventory of these types of relationships. Maybe one of these individuals is just the one we need to reach out to for the purpose of support, advice, accountability, or partnership. It just might be that they can tell you immediately what is causing your spiritual drift!

Along this line, we should always remain aware of those God is bringing into our paths. It is very possible that He is introducing someone to us that will play a key role in our spiritual development. Don’t forget that the fruit of the spirit is displayed in community, not in solitude!

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Life Plan Process: Overview

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life plan

This is the final post in a series on LIFE planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a LIFE plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

Life Plan Variety

Life plans can take on all sorts of shapes and sizes. They can be fully contained on one page or they can consist of several documents. It really is not important how long or short, thick or thin these plans become.

The most important aspect of the life plan is whether it does its job. If it helps to guide you through life, assists you in maximizing your resources for the greatest impact, and keeps your focus on what you have decided is most important to you, then it has done its job.

I have described to you the components of my own LIFE Plan. You may not want to take this process and copy it for yourself. Some of you may think I go too far in planning. Others may think I do not do enough. Regardless, I hope you find the components of my process useful in helping you to create your own.

Now I want to go into more detail about how I actually develop, revise, and use this LIFE Plan in my life.

Off-Site Session

The first step in my process is the off-site session. I first started doing this session in mid December each year, but have since moved it back into November. Just like year-end budgeting or forecasting, you want to make sure you have plenty of time to fully develop the plans before the new year begins.

Much like my brainstorming session, I like to get away from any and all distractions for this session. Whether it is a hotel room, a cabin in the woods, or a private room in the local college library, I have always been intentional about getting away. I schedule a full day and make sure people know where I am and that I will not be answering the phone.

Prayer

The first part of my LIFE planning process is prayer. This is key to putting my mind in the right perspective and getting God’s wisdom. I do not want to make all these plans and then ask God to bless them and make them His will. I want His will to establish my plans.

Review of Prior Year

I begin my session by reviewing the prior year. The first document I use is the Yearly Audit [CLICK HERE for copy] from the C12 Group. This is a thorough, but also concise, review of the key components in the life of a Christian business owner or leader. It refreshes my memory and helps me to assess my performance during the prior year. I strongly recommend you use this.

The next document I review is my master LIFE Plan Document from that prior year. In this document, I have expanded on all of my thoughts, goals, and plans for the year. I review this document to determine what items were accomplished and may need to be deleted as well as to choose those items to be carried over into the next year.

Finally, I review my LIFE Plan Dashboard from that prior year. Which of my goals did I hit, exceed, or miss completely? I look for patterns of positive habits established or those I struggled even to start.

Prayer & Brainstorm

Once I have a decent feel for how I performed against my plan for that year, I begin praying and brainstorming about what needs to change and what needs to stay the same for the upcoming year. I ask God to direct my thoughts to those areas where He wants change in me.

I take notes on anything and everything that comes to mind. I really enjoy this time because nothing is off limits. I do my best to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart and guide me. I do not want to come into this time with any preconceived ideas.

Prioritize and Review

From here, I prioritize what came out of the brainstorm session along with the plan from the prior year. I make the necessary revisions to the master LIFE Plan Document and save this draft.

I will likely make minor revisions and tweaks to this document over the next few weeks as I set goals for each area. As I do this, I also add the applicable goals to my LIFE Plan Dashboard and calendars. My goal is to have a set of completed documents by the end of December so I can start January with a clean slate!

Weekly Review

I have mentioned David Allen’s Getting Things Done in past posts. One of the best things I learned from Allen was the weekly review. Without this part of the process, it is easy to find yourself two, three, or four months down the road without having accomplished the first item on your life plan.

Essentially, the weekly review is a time I close my office door and plan out the next week. I review the prior week’s accomplishments, my known To Do’s for the upcoming week, my calendar, and my LIFE Plan Dashboard. I prioritize what needs to get done and lay out a rough idea of when I can work on each item.

I take this time every Saturday and would be completely lost without it. I am by no means perfectly efficient with my time, but the weekly review has brought me to a point where I think I am a 7 or 8 on a 10 scale.

Not only am I more efficient, but I am accomplishing more in my LIFE plan than I would otherwise. I am reminded of the airline pilot who announced, “We are lost, but making good time!” My weekly review helps me to make good time and my LIFE Plan makes sure I am not lost!

Nothing More To See Here

life planFolks, that is basically all of the details of my own LIFE Plan. As I said before, it is not perfect, but it works for me. I hope you gained at least some small idea that will help you be more effective with the life that God has given you.

Even if your next step is to create a life plan as simple as the one shown here, then you are at least getting started! I cannot claim this one as my own, but I sure do love the drive and vision!

I will say again, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment or email me privately via the Contact Page.

How do you plan on a regular basis?

If you spent more time in planning (with God’s guidance), do you think you would be more effective?

What are the obstacles that keep you from doing a better job with planning?

Originally posted 1/31/12

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How To Create A Life Plan Dashboard

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This is the third post in a series on life planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a life plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

LIFE Plan Document

In my last post, I gave you a detailed description and break-down of my main LIFE Plan document. I described my Roles, Focus Areas, and Goals. I gave you a couple of samples from these areas. I also gave you access to download my [Title Page Summary] and [Godly Father Role].

As you can probably guess, combining all of these pieces into a complete document makes for a long document. The length of the document made it difficult to quickly review it on a regular basis. While I considered cutting it down, I just could not figure out which parts to eliminate.

Dashboard as Summary

So, as a result, I decided I needed a “dashboard” of sorts. With a one-page summary, I felt I could use this document in a weekly review process. I used a compilation of several resources I had found (and created a spreadsheet that would represent the month to month living out of my LIFE Plan. This Dashboard is made up of many sections, or “Gauges”, that help me keep my overall LIFE plan at the forefront of my mind.

Roles, Focuses, and Goals Gauges

For the first section, I started with the eight roles and laid out the sheet in a way that would allow me to see all eight Roles and the corresponding Focus Areas. Then, I left three blanks under each Role for monthly Goals. Each month, I update my monthly Goals, leaving the Roles and Focus Areas the same throughout the year.

Take a look at the picture below to get an idea of what I mean. (Note the Roles and Focus Areas have changed…this is part of my dashboard from December 2010)

life plan

Remaining Sections

As I have said several times, this whole process has evolved over time for me. You may want to stop right there and let your dashboard include only your Roles, Focuses, and Goals Guages. I started here, but have since added to mine. I will share the rest of my Dashboard with you and let you decide if any of it is interesting to you.

Strengths Gauges

In his book Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham describes how working on your strengths is the best strategy. At the end of the book, you take a test and are told your top strengths. I really found the material to be enlightening and began determining how I could apply it to my life.

In a sequel to Buckingham’s book, StrengthsFinder 2.0, author Tom Rath details out a list of 10 strategies for developing each strength described. I picked the top two or three of those actions for each of my top four strengths and put them on my dashboard.

Take a look at this picture to see how this looks.

life plan

Final Gauges

Across the bottom of the LIFE plan Dashboard, I added four more sections based on what I felt was most important to review regularly. You may substitute your own categories here, but I included the following:

1. Prayer Focus – a listing of various ongoing areas in which I focused my prayer
2. Reading/Listening Plan – a list of the books and audio for that month
3. 360 Assessment – my top ten concern areas from a 360 degree assessment of me
4. Scripture – a list of references to the 15-20 verses I am trying to memorize

Here is a visual of these gauges.

life plan

Closing Quote

To close out the bottom of my LIFE Plan Dashboard, I wanted something to keep me focused on the big picture. I learned in my C12 group that I should always be ready with a conversation-starting response to the question, “What do you do for a living?” I used this answer to close out my dashboard.

I work for an unusual company. It is an car dealership group that is a Christian company. We are trying to learn, and to show, how Jesus would run a company if He were the boss.

That’s It!

So, there it is! That is my LIFE Plan Dashboard, in all its glory! If you want to see the entire document together, just [Click Here].

Some of you are thinking I am crazy and others are thinking I am weak. That is fine! I can handle it!

Regardless of what you are thinking, I encourage you to do something similar. I will go into more detail about how I use this Dashboard in my final post in this series, but for now, I urge you to think about what you could create that would be easy to review on a weekly basis. Keeping your life plan in front of you in some shape or form will keep you closer to the path God has revealed to you.

What is your reaction to this dashboard?

Do you see how you could benefit from a weekly review of your life plan?

What do you see to be your next step in the life planning process?

Originally posted 1/26/12

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How To Create A Life Plan Document

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This is the second post in a series on life planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a life plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

The Components

As I said in my previous post, there are many components that you can use as parts of your life plan. I can break my process into three main components – the Plan, the Dashboard, and the Technology. In this and the next two posts, I am going to describe each of these components in detail. In the final post, I will describe the process I use each year to review and update my plan for the new year.

Side Note: In case you did not notice, I use all CAPS when referring to my personal LIFE plan – it stands for Living Intentionally For Eternity.

LIFE Plan – Main Document

Let’s talk about the LIFE Plan first – the main document for me. This document consists of three parts:

    -Role Descriptions
    -Focus Areas
    -Goals

To create this document, I drew heavily from Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In this book, Covey talks about the various roles each of us plays in our lives. For me, I am a husband, father, steward of God’s business, etc.. In each of these roles, my responsibilities and goals vary.

Role Descriptions

As a result of the material in this book, I based the structure of my LIFE plan on what I defined as my roles. Here they are, in order of priority for me:

    1. Sold-out Disciple of Jesus
    2. Intentional Individual
    3. Loving Husband
    4. Godly Father
    5. Faithful Steward of God’s Business
    6. Servant Leader at Church
    7. Compassionate Neighbor
    8. Loyal Friend

For each of these roles, I have written a brief summary description of what I believe that role looks like. Essentially, I used Covey’s Habit #2, Begin With The End In Mind.

I have cited the Scripture upon which these descriptions are based. I have written these descriptions in the form of positive affirmations to help me visualize my living out each role with maximum effectiveness. These role descriptions go beyond just the one year and represent what I want to look like at the end of my life.

Here is an example of one of these descriptions:

Example Role Description

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    Sold-Out Disciple of Jesus

    As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I love the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength(1). It is my first and most urgent priority to seek to know God in a way that is real and that serves as my primary motivation in life. I believe in a true eternal life and therefore I live this life with an eternal perspective(2) at all times.

    (1) Matthew 22:37
    (2) Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

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Focus Areas, Goals

In addition to the role descriptions, I have decided on 3-5 main focuses for the upcoming year under each role. These focus areas could be areas where I need improvement. Or they could be areas where I need to start exploring something new. They may even be something I am going to stop doing!

For each focus area, when applicable, I have listed one or two clarifying goals. Here is an example of a focus area and goal:

Example Focus Area and Goal

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    Faithful Steward of God’s Business (role)

    Focus Area: Mentor & Teach
    This is something I believe God has gifted me to do. I will be more intentional about scheduling this time in 2012. I will focus mainly on the management staff and the Leadership Team.

    Goal: 25 Hours of actual teaching (not including prep time)

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Summary

In essence, these three parts (Role Descriptions, Focus Areas, and Goals) make up my entire LIFE plan main document.

So that you get an idea of what one full role portion of the plan looks like in its entirety, you can [Click Here] for a copy of my Godly Father role plan for 2012. You can also [Click Here] for the Title Page Summary I wrote for the beginning of the document. While it is not detailed above, it may help you get a clearer picture of my approach.

I have said it before and I will say it again. I am sharing my plan in an effort to get you started. Your plan may look very different. It may be more involved or less so. Either way is fine.

Seek God First

The important part is that you seek God and ask Him to impress on you what your plans and direction should be. You can certainly do this on your own, but I do not believe that is His desire for us. If we start with His plan (and stick with it!), we will experience the fulfillment for which we were designed.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to comment here or email me privately from the Contact Page. I am not an expert, but I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.

In my next post, I will describe my LIFE Plan Dashboard.

Is this what you were expecting?

Do you see the benefit of this kind of plan?

What one obstacle is keeping you from getting started?

Originally posted 1/24/12

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4 Questions About A Life Plan

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This is the first post in a series on life planning. In this series, I will share with you the basics of a life plan and why you need one. I will also go through the details of my own life planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

Why A Life Plan?

Why in the world do I need a life plan? Who actually does that anyway? I mean, isn’t it too stressful or time-consuming to go to all the trouble? I just take one day at a time and make the most of life. I don’t want to lock myself into anything.

For these and various other reasons, few people actually go as far as creating a life plan for themselves. We are certainly familiar with, and see the need for, planning when it comes to building houses or buildings, managing huge projects, and even weddings or careers. But when it comes to our lives, the only one we will ever get, most people simply “wing it.”

Does this make sense to you? We have more invested in our lives than we do in anything else. We have greater expectations from our lives than we do most any project we will work on, right? So if this is true, would it not make sense to spend some time planning for it? Would it not stand to reason that we should attempt to maximize the life and resources God has given us?

Okay, so you are beginning to see a potential need for a plan. You are not quite convinced yet, but you are willing to read a little further. Good! Let’s continue!

What Is It?

What exactly is a life plan? Effectively, a life plan is a map of how you want to live your life. It takes into consideration your resources, current position, your intended destination, and the impact you want to make along the way. It gives you a general path to use as you navigate the twists and turns life throws at you.

A life plan cannot guarantee you that life will or will not go a certain way, but it can give you a much more active role in determining where you go and how you end up. A life plan cannot assure you of specific results, but it can help you get the most out of your resources as you reach for your goals. Much like a GPS system in your car, it will not prevent unexpected course changes due to forces beyond your control, but it can help you get back on track as quickly as possible.

So, I hope that you are a little closer to making a decision to create your own LIFE plan. If you are, there are two more questions to answer.

When Should I Start?

The next question you should ask is “When” to start. Well, I have heard it described in this way:

The best time to plant an oak tree was ten years ago. The next best time is right now!

In light of that, I would recommend you start as soon as possible. Your first efforts at this process do not have to be perfect. You would literally laugh if you saw my first plan (if you could call it that)! Perfection is not the point. Progress is the point.

I encourage you to determine right now that you are going to do this. Do not worry about how it is going to look or what anyone else might say if they saw it. You are not doing this plan for anyone but you and Jesus.

Assuming you are ready to take the leap and get started, you only have one more question.

How Do I Do It??

How exactly does one go about creating a life plan? What are the steps? What are the components? In the next several posts, I will guide you through the answers to each of these questions. I will break down the components of my own plan, as well as the steps I take each year.

When we are done with this series, you will definitely have a better idea of what a life plan looks like and how to create one. You should also see the benefits to starting your own. You will even have resources you can use in your own process. As we go, please make sure to ask questions and get clarification on anything that is unclear.

What are your thoughts?

Do you see the need for a life plan?

If you already have one, have you seen the benefits?

This post was originally published 1/22/12

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Is A Yearly Audit On Your To Do List?

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I have been a C12 Group member now for over 6 years. For the past 6 years, our December meeting material has included one segment that has been the same every year. While you would think that might get boring after a couple of years, it doesn’t. This one segment is called the “Yearly Audit” and it is a very effective tool for a year-end review.

yearly audit

LIFE Planning

If you read my series of posts on my LIFE planning process, you will likely remember that I spend time at the end of every year reviewing that year and creating a game plan for the next year. I feel this process is a critical part of my job as a CEO, husband, and father, as well as all of the other roles I play throughout the year. One valuable part of this annual process is C12’s “Yearly Audit” segment.

I encourage you not only to read this segment, but also to incorporate it into your own year-end review process. If you do not have a year-end review process, then this is the perfect tool with which to start!

Below is the introduction to the segment by C12 founder Buck Jacobs.

Yearly Audit

[box]It has become a year-end tradition in each of our C12 groups to take a uniquely Christ-centered retrospective look at the results of our past year’s activities, focusing on the eternal perspective.

Taking such an inventory is, of course, a very normal thing to do in the economic dimensions of our businesses. We’re all familiar with such metrics as net income, profit margin, ROI, market share, and sales growth. We’ve devised numerous ways to measure our financial effectiveness and it’s important that we use them well.

This segment, however, is entitled Working ‘On’ my MINISTRY in God’s Business and in it we focus on an entirely different set of criteria. In many ways it’s much more difficult to measure our results in the ministry or spiritual dimension of our business lives. The whole idea of using our business as a platform for ministry can sometimes seem bewildering as it’s not nearly as well ‘codified’ as such routine business processes like filling orders and tracking financial profit or loss.

In terms of what’s eternally important to our lives, the spiritual dimension is much more — even infinitely more — important to us. So, with apologies to none, we are now going to offer some thoughts on how we might take a year-end audit from a uniquely Kingdom-oriented perspective.

What is it that we should be looking for as we examine ourselves and our spiritual lives in relation to the ministry in our business? Is it only souls won to the Lord, or dollars given to support His work, the number of Christ-honoring events we’ve hosted, or the number of tracts distributed? Is it only those things that we can quantify?

No, of course not. While we know that all these things are an important part of the fruit of our ministry which need to be quantified and recorded to help us measure progress in these areas, we also know that there’s another set of criteria.

It is these personal criteria that we’ll examine today. These criteria pertain to growth, the kind of growth that will lead to fruit…much fruit! We offer these criteria as indicators of growth which we can all use to measure what kind of a year we really had in our Master’s eyes.

For those who were members a year ago, we recommend putting the prior year’s ratings alongside for comparison purposes, as each of these areas deserve long-term focus. For each of the following 10 dimensions, rate your year from 1 to 10, with 1 being Low, 5 Average and 10 High as measured against your potential or opportunity.

– Buck Jacobs[/box]

Yearly Audit Download

Now that you know what to do, CLICK HERE to download the “Yearly Audit” in .pdf format. I encourage you to begin in prayer, asking God to prick your heart in any area that He wants to get your attention.

I hope you find the process of going through these questions to be as fruitful as I have. If you approach it with the right heart, I am sure you will see the benefit.

Are you currently doing a self-evaluation at year end?

If not, what other ways are you planning for effectiveness?

Do you see how this “Yearly Audit” can help you focus?

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Pruning The Fruitful Branch

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Have you ever read or heard a specific Scripture many times before, but then one day something entirely new jumped out you – from that very same Scripture? I read something in my quiet time this week that stopped me in my tracks. It was about becoming more fruitful and I want to share it with you. Hopefully, you will see it to be as meaningful as I did.

fruitful

Fruit At Work

The book I was reading is called Fruit at Work, by Chris Evans. The Scripture that he referred to was John 15:1-8. In this passage, Jesus is talking about how He is the vine and we are the branches. He produces the fruit and we bear it. Without Him, we cannot produce any fruit of our own.

In the past, I have read and listened to Bruce Wilkinson’s Secrets of the Vine. This book has a great explanation of this same passage about the vine and branches. I was significantly impacted by Wilkinson’s book and wanted to be more fruitful.

Becoming More Fruitful

In going through this book, I learned in depth about how important pruning is to the production of fruit. Though painful, pruning makes the branch more fruitful. I could easily identify times of pruning in my own life.

In Fruit at Work, there is a similar quote from Evans on this same idea:

Even a well cultivated tree will only produce sparing fruit if left on its own. The way a gardner coaxes the most fruit out of a plant is by pruning. Pruning is a process of cutting back part of the plant, sometimes severely, to allow the plant to focus its nutrients in fewer places. Our master gardner does the same thing.

A New Perspective

I have read this John 15 passage literally hundreds of times, before and since. I have often thought about the process of pruning and becoming more fruitful. But what I do not know that I have ever recognized from a different perspective was one verse in particular. In verse 2, Jesus says the following…

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

What I do not remember from Wilkinson’s book is the following idea from Chris Evans. If this idea is in Wilkinson’s book, then I apologize. Evidently I was not ready to hear it then! Take a look at the quote from Evans:

As you bear fruit in your life, be aware that the areas where you are bearing fruit are subject to pruning. This may mean that a job you start to do well is replaced with another job that will challenge you to produce more fruit.

While this is uncomfortable, God knows what he is doing. You should see this pruning as encouragement that God is caring for you and is taking an active role in your growth.

More Specific Pruning

My understanding of the pruning process before did not get very specific. I just understood that I was going to undergo pruning to become more fruitful. As a branch in Jesus, I wanted to bear more fruit and knew that pruning would be a part of that process.

What I had never considered before was that God would prune in particular areas of my life, setting those areas up for a greater multiplication of fruit in the future!

Does that make sense to you?

While this is not a “salvation” epiphany, I do see it as having huge implications in two ways!

Implications

First, if there is an area in which you are bearing fruit, God is more likely to prune in that area so that you can be even more fruitful. This means you will certainly encounter difficulty and disappointment (symptoms of pruning) in your passion areas – like your Christian business! Expect it. Embrace it. Endure it.

Second, when you DO experience this pruning, take it as a sign that God is indeed caring for you and “taking an active role in your growth.” That should be extremely encouraging! Do not let the enemy whisper lies in your ear about failure. Thank God that He is working in you!

Have you experienced pruning in specific, fruitful areas of your life?

Have you recognized this process as being designed to make you even more fruitful?

Do you draw encouragement from this idea?