THE BENEFIT OF PURPOSEFUL GOALS
By Ken Blue
When called to the witness box in court, the attorney may ask probing questions and will not accept anything except a “yes” or “no” response. The goal is to discover our understanding and the facts concerning the subject. We may not like the questioning process, and desire to explain, but we are not always permitted to do so. The attorney has an agenda, and he attempts to move everything in that direction.
Perhaps those in the ministry should “sit in the witness box” and ask themselves some probing questions. Let me share some that might be a good place to start.
1. Do you have a clearly defined purpose statement that you understand and you are passionate about?
2. Do you have your purpose statement posted so others see it, and do your church members know and understand it?
3. Do you have five to seven clearly defined objectives stated and understood in order to reach your purpose statement?
4. Do you have clearly defined goals (these include what, why, who, when, where and how) on your calendar?
5. Do you have 5, 3, and 1 year’s goals on your calendar, and are these broken down into 6, 3, and one-month goals?
6. If you don’t have the above, can you be specific about what you are trying to accomplish?
What I observe in many churches is that their only goal is to have another church services next Sunday, and more special meetings throughout the year. The pastor thinks if everyone is busy, the church is moving forward. The truth is, they are on a carousel and don’t realize it.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.