Twenty-seven years ago I took a weekend to think about and write down some life goals. I broke them down to ten-year goals, five-year, one-year, and finally down to weekly and daily goals. I committed to pray over these goals every month.
I cannot find my old notebook that contains these goals, but I am sure it is tucked away somewhere safe, keeping company with other semi-precious items I have not seen for years. Fortunately, before I misplaced my notebook, I had about twelve years of incorporating most of those goals into my daily routine. The reason I do many of the things I do today can be traced back to those original goals and the action steps I put in place.
My new role within our organization requires me to plot out my goals for the next twelve months. I map out the goals for my area of ministry as well as my own spiritual and personal goals (albeit not too personal). My first reaction was a bit of fear. The failures and successes of goals are measurable and that can be a bit scary. However, something about goals being measurable is also a huge motivator for me. I played sports in college and actually coached volleyball for about four years, and an important factor in bettering your game is fine-tuning your skills. It is hard to fine-tune your athletic ability without aiming at some goal and implementing routines that move you toward your goal. And I tend to believe that what works in sports works in other areas of life (most of the time).
I am not intimidated by making goals, but I can get fearful that my goals are not enough. I can worry that I might be clueless as to how to reach my own or our ministry goals. I can fear being evaluated and that I might come up short. I have to take a minute and figure out where these “fears” originate.
Change is difficult and can make me feel insecure. New programs and systems seem can make me feel replaceable. But goals are not to be feared. Goals can be gifts we can dream and strategize about. With a changing organization like World Impact, we can be skeptical about everything new. Everything that lives undergoes constant change. I am choosing to embrace new ideas and systems in the hope that I will grow in the process. I am choosing to trust the Lord through my leaders, something that should not be new to any of us who are a part of a missions organization!
Lisa Entz is World Impact's Co-Director of Team Care and Development.
