Comments on Evotional.com: New Years Resolutions

Good call, Mark, and thanks for your transparency....

2008-12-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

Good call, Mark, and thanks for your transparency. You're right...this is a good time to evaluate and re-set &/or re-prioritize.
Btw, your goal-setting list is pretty inspirational and very helpful to those of us with writers-block.
Thanks for blessing and mentoring us younger pastors...via your blog.

Have a great holiday season.

Just last night I put my 'Yearly Planning' process...

2008-12-16T14:43:00.000-05:00

Just last night I put my 'Yearly Planning' process on paper. I've collected stuff from a few different places and I needed to get it into a sequential process (because I was swimming in my own head...)

Here it is, if you're interested.

YEARLY PLANNING
1. Review Mission Statement, Values, Guiding Principles and Ministry Manifesto.
2. Review my current Personal Affirmations.
3. Review my Roles in relationship to my purpose, values and personal affirmations.
4. Evaluate “My 10 Lives” looking for opportunities for change.
5. Review 12-24 Month Goals. Celebrate each accomplished goal.
6. Renew 12-24 Month Goals. Ask “What do I want?” and “Why do I want it?”
7. Create a Project for each new goal, as needed.
8. Renew Personal Affirmations, writing a new affirmation for each new goal. Read Personal Affirmations twice daily for 90 days, then several times each week for the rest of the year.
9. Review and Renew 3 to 5 Year Vision.
10. Celebrate and record dates as Goals are accomplished.

Ronnie's comment about Seminary is so ironic... an...

2008-12-16T14:39:00.000-05:00

Ronnie's comment about Seminary is so ironic... and so true! I remember those days.

I never learned in Bible College or Seminary the importance of life/ministry evaluation and goal setting. I never learned anything about Time Management either. How important are those things for life and ministry! In my last year of seminary I went to a Franklin Quest (now Franklin Covey) one-day seminar and it opened my world up to these things - and I thank God! How important is it in ministry to do what you'll say you'll do when you say you'll do it? Your credibility is on the line. Get a calendar. Get a process... and get with it! :)

So I love this time of year too. It's great to look back and forward. It's fantastic to begin again and get a little bit better at life and ministry.

Wow, this is a good kick in the rear today. I too ...

2008-12-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is a good kick in the rear today. I too need to do more Spiritual Training and I like the idea of JI Packer and reading through the Bible every year. I have tried but it seems with Seminary there is just no time, however I still seem to make time for Law and Order. Thanks for the reminder.

Yep, I need to do the same, though I've changed re...

2008-12-16T11:42:00.000-05:00

Yep, I need to do the same, though I've changed read the Bible to understand the Bible better, even if it is just one verse at a time like 1Thessalonians 5:16-18. Oh, and thanks for my newest one, A Lion Chasers Manifesto (from October InTouch) as we just finished a group study of the book. Later on in the same InTouch, Mark Littleton’s “The Ten Second Prayer Principle” is another. I have been doing constant prayer better, just need to do more on purpose. Another strong one I (we all) need to focus in on is in line with the blog on Reformation, renewing the faith foundations, and reaching the unchurched, or outsiders as in David Kinnaman’s “Unchristian.” Could be a busy year!