Drew Boswell

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Didn’t We Just Decorate the Christmas Tree Last Year? Evaluation and Goal Setting

goalsChristmas shopping is in full swing, radio stations are blaring Jingle Bells, and the end of the year is roaring at us like that toy train at the bottom of the mall Christmas tree. With the end of this year and the beginning of a new one, it is important to take time to evaluate and plan. Tis the season is the best time to sit down, sip some gingerbread latte, and look forward into 2015. There is a wonderful gap in time right after Christmas and before New Years Day when the world’s spinning seems to slow down for a moment.

If we are not careful we will find ourselves repeating the same year again, and again, and again. If we allow ourselves to be swept away by the current of the day we get pulled into an undertow of allowing everyone and everything to dictate our lives. Year after year, after year. . . we will look back on our lives and realize we have gone no where. The way to avoid this is to set aside time to evaluate the previous year and determine a plan for the upcoming year.

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Why set goals?

1.   Goals allow us to direct our lives instead of being directed by circumstances and other’s priorities.

The statement “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” is a very true statement. But if you are constantly putting oil on immediate squeaky wheels you will never have time to determine what is making them squeak and stopping it. Let the wheel squeak for a while and take time to step back and think. Carving out time can be extremely difficult. But understand this time of evaluating and goal setting to be an investment in the overall health of your life and those that you lead.

2.   Goals help you to identify what are the most important areas in your life and establish plans to guard those priorities.

Sit down and choose five major areas of your life. They may be things like family, marriage, ministry, church, friends, education, relationship with God, etc. For example, if you know that you need to spend more time with your spouse, then take this time to figure out what is keeping that from happening.

3.   Goals help you to move forward as a person.

When was the last time that you did something that really stretched you? Goals help us to move from a wish to making something a reality. What is it in your life that is keeping from trying something really big? This may be the year when you need to cut off personalities that are constantly having a negative impact on your life. Set a goal and go for it!

The leader has to train himself to listen to the correct and healthy voices in his life. There will always be those that discourage, irrationally criticize, and are just negative. And there are those that give healthy criticism, and helpful suggestions. There are also that are encouraging, give energy to a situation, and add light to your life. Also, be aware that sometimes that negative critical spirit may even be you. So take some time and think about what you are hearing, who you are hearing it from, and intentionally surround yourself with people who will encourage you to go even further than you have ever been before. You can do it. I do believe that it is so important to reach a little further, and stretch yourself beyond what you feel comfortable doing. [Click here to read this entire article.]

4.  Calendaring With Vision and Goals in Mind.

Now as you look into the new year take your goals and put them on the calendar. For example, if you know you need to take batter care of yourself then put times at the gym on the calendar. It is up to you to guard those goals and times on the calendar. If you and your spouse have set aside Saturdays to be family days – don’t allow something of less importance to crowd out that set aside time. It is important to also build in “margin” or extra space into your calendar so that when life happens and you have to enter into that time you had set aside for something else, then you can still have time to accomplish what was originally in that time slot.

5.   Communicate Your Goals with Those Around You.

Letting other people know what you are working on will communicate to them what is important to you. It can also serve as a point of accountability when you begin to get off track with your goals.

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So What Now?

Vision – what does the end of the road look like? What vision do you have for your life, or far more importantly, what is the vision that God has of you life? Write it down. No one knows the whole life big picture, but you should have some idea for the next year.

Goals – Now after you have seen a picture for the next year, then establish some goals based upon the vision. Goals are not wishes. Wishes have no plan; goals are a vision that you have developed a plan to accomplish.

Mile Markers - Goals are then broken down into reachable steps or “mile markers.” If your goal is to run a half-marathon, then study and research to see how you would train and spread that out over the needed length of time.

Regular evaluation – how are we doing? Are we moving forward? Take time to regularly (daily, weekly) epaulet to see if you are on track to reach your goal and accomplish your vision.

No organization is autonomous from the community at large – how is the progress you are making affecting those around you? Sometimes your goals and forward movement can have a positive (or negative) affects on those around you. Recognize that others may not like your growth because it may challenge them — others may see it as a source for inspiration. Either way, keep moving forward.

Planning Your New Year

Is It Too Early To Begin Planning? 

I know that the second week of December seems a tad early to begin discussing the new year, but I typically use the down time between Christmas and New Years to contemplate the next year. But with new responsibilities and ministry planning, the next year already weighs heavy on my heart. So as I prepare to spend time with family, finally buy my Christmas gifts, and celebrate Christ’s birth, I also begin to think about the new year.

God in His grace gives us newness; new days are given after a night’s rest, new growth is seen as the seasons of the year change, and new years are given to be used for His glory. If you have not had a good year, or if you seem to be reacting to life instead of moving the rudder of your life’s ship, then consider the following as you approach the new year:

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Six Items To Consider As You Prepare For a New Year

1)   Pray. It seems obvious, but God already has your year mapped out, so why not see what he says about your next year. Are there things that you find yourself foolishly repeating year after year simply because you didn’t spend time with the Lord? Before we begin to plan our next steps, we must consult the Lord and His plans for us.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare2 and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

2)   Develop Your Calendar. It has been said, “If you don’t control your calendar, then your calendar will control you.”  As you chart your next season of life, begin by taking your yearly calendar and adding all of the big annual events (vacations, ministry events, family events like anniversaries and birthdays, and conferences).

Once you have yearly events, then move to monthly, and then weekly. But before you add all the events from last year to the calendar for this year, you must prayerfully consider each one. How will you evaluate if you need to do this or that event again, on the same scale, or the same way?

Make sure you put as much information as you know on the calendar. There will be events that you do not have a specific date for yet, but try to place it as close to the date of where you think it will be held. By having all your events on the calendar before you, you can also evaluate if there will be simply too much going on, or if more things can be added to the calendar. Perhaps, an alternative is to move events around until you find the balance between the two.

3)   Along with your events, simultaneously, develop your budget. How much will you need for specific events, trips, or ministry efforts? You may find that you need to scale down an activity or that you have the ability to do something else or to do the event on a larger scale than you once thought possible.  Like air in a clown’s balloon, you can twist all the links into it you want, but there is only so much air and the balloon can only stretch so far.

4)   Consider your own personal goals and need for growth. If you are finding yourself feeling “burned out” spend some time asking the Lord, “Why am I feeling this way?” or “What am I doing regularly that is negatively impacting my life?”

It may be that you are spending too much time away from home, or not enough in devotional time. It will be different for everyone, but now is the time to plan out how you will not continue to do these same things. You don’t have to feel tired, depressed, worn out, etc. all the time.

This is also a great time to consider the needs of your family. Just as the seasons change, so do the needs of family. Each year brings its’ own set of problems and challenges, and so as you prayerfully plan your budget, calendar out events, and set your personal goals, also consider how your family has changed in the past year. Avoid excessive activity, and build in family time, or special time with a child that may need some extra attention. Your first responsibility is to your family, and then to ministry.[1]

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New Years Resolutions

For a person to keep a New Years’ resolution it has to be rooted in the person having a genuine need and the person seeing the benefit of keeping the resolution. Your praying, planning, budgeting will bring needed resolutions to your attention that if you make these changes will help you to be healthier, happier, more rested, and growing as a person.

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5)   Review the past year. I keep a journal where I record detailed notes of meetings, planning lists, journal entries, ideas etc. and I when I go through this time of planning I review these journals from the previous year. I am reminded of ideas that I had forgotten about, people I need to develop relationships with, projects that have been completed, or even goals that have been met.

These journals are encouraging because I am able to see how God has answered prayer, provided what was needed to complete various ministry projects, and carried me through one more year of ministry. They are a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

Unlike a previous year’s calendar, a journal reminds me of thoughts and feelings. There are some items and information that I will transfer from an older journal to a new one, but for the most part each journal is a step forward into a new year.

Regardless of your method, how will you review the previous year?

6)   Contentment but not Satisfaction. This is not about “we had 20 last year, so this year I want to have 40.” Or “we had 6 groups last year, so this year I want to have 12!”  Wanting more people, money or “equipment” simply because that’s how the world measures success is not a good way of determining a direction in ministry. This method is rooted in pride and will be quickly abandoned when things get difficult.

We should be content with where we are, being the person we are in Christ, and in the position we hold, but we should never be satisfied in our level of quality and service to the Lord.  So, we are not to look for the next bigger and better thing, instead we are to look for ways to constantly improve what we are doing for the Lord.[2]

[1] 1 Timothy 3:4

[2] 2 Corinthians 12:10; Philippians 4:11; 1 Timothy 6:8

"Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts." Rick Warren

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