A Critical Path to Achieving Goals in Life.
The mindset of many Christians is fixed on John 3:8, their thought being that if they don’t know which way the wind blows, let it blow them wherever God wills! What we really need is a Critical Path, one that sets out the steps necessary for us to get where we desire to go.
For example, a trip to the USA requires a current passport, a visa, an airline ticket, travel insurance, and a debit or credit card. Without the first three items, you’ll not get through the airport, never mind into the air. Likewise, if your goal is to build a business or begin a church, here are some questions that will help prepare a Critical Path:
1. Is your goal not just attainable but measurable? (A goal has to be realistic, but if it’s not also measurable, how will you know in the future how far you’ve come and how far you’ve yet to go?)
2. Is your ultimate goal apparent in your desire? Maybe you desire to know more of the Bible because your goal is to one day to preach it. Or you are learning another language so you can extend a business to an overseas country.
3. Is your idea abstract or is it concrete? By abstract, I mean unreal, theoretical, undeveloped. By concrete, I mean literal, practical, and well-planned. A purpose is abstract; a goal is concrete. There’s nothing wrong with ‘pie in the sky’ but ‘steak on a plate’ is by far better.
4. Have you made a difference between process goals and product goals? There’s a difference between process and output. Mark 6:31 records that Jesus called his disciples to “come apart and rest a while.” The purpose of recreation is to re-create. If you don’t come apart and rest awhile, you might come apart at the seams. Wisdom says that sharpening your axe blade will enable you to do more with less strength (Ecclesiastes 10:10). The effort is transferred from the muscles to the blade.
5. Are your words passive or active? Dynamic characters in novels speak in the Active Voice. Winston Churchill said, “There is a great deal of difference between a tired man who wants a book to read and an alert man who wants to read a book.” Move your verbs (doing words) upfront and let your nouns (naming words) follow. End as many words as possible with “ing” rather than “ation” – e.g. “examining” rather than “examination” and you’ll see the difference.
6. Turn Indicatives into Imperatives! An Indicative can provide a general direction, but an Imperative is specific. An Imperative is a ‘must’! Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul and told him that just as he had witnessed to his own people in Jerusalem, he “must” also witness to Caesar in Rome (Acts 23:11). How Paul went about doing that is a lesson in itself. Make a “Must Do!” list.
7. Get God’s sovereignty and your responsibility into balance. The two are often in creative tension. But be pragmatic. If there’s nothing you can do about one thing — focus on what you can do about another thing. (Acts 23:11 & 23:17.)
8. Read extensively and study intensively. In short, read widely and think deeply. This will allow you to speak about some things generally and other things specifically. “Deep and wide” as the old hymn has it.
9. Temper your Idealism with Realism. Pastors are agents of influence and evangelists are agents of change. Accept which role your present one is; and be pragmatic. You can’t take any of the glory for what God does, so don’t take any of the blame for what God doesn’t do. It may be ‘above you pay grade’ of spiritual experience.
10. If you are Pentecostal, learn to balance subjective experiences with objective truths. If you are Evangelical the reverse applies. Avoid extremism (unless one needs more emphasis because the other has been under-emphasized. Things will come back into balance.).
These 10 helpful points will help in planning a Critical Path that can help get you where you need to go, well before your journey begins.