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 Why I Don't Set GoalsPeople and institutions begin to corrode when fleshly zeal is tied to spiritual goals.
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What are your primary goals for the immediate and long-range future?" The question came from the audience at one of our annual pastors' seminars. "I have none," I replied. Dubious stares and blank looks everywhere. I continued, "We never set goals—that is, in the sense of numerical targets, fund-raising drives, or enlargement campaigns. Our one goal is to build big people. Every effort goes into developing each believer in the threefold ministry of worship, fellowship, and stewardship of the gospel." And I was telling the truth. From the time I came to the Van Nuys church 15 years ago, I virtually abandoned the church methodology I had used the previous thirteen years. I knew the quotes ("Aim at nothing, and you'll hit it," "No vision, no victories," "Plan your work, then work your plan") and I knew the ropes (zeal, promotion, enlistment, persuasion, training, projecting, enthusing, inspiring, recruiting, educating, etc., etc.). The quotes held an obvious element of wisdom, and the plain work of developing goals and generating means and personnel to fulfill them is a very practical way to get jobs done—naturally speaking. But it was at that juncture—the natural—that something inside me began to creak under the weight of the years. Conviction GrowthWhile pastoring in Indiana and then working for several years at my denomination's headquarters and also at its largest college, I had seen spiritually oriented human enterprise at its finest. I had also seen it bear a certain amount of fruit. However, God brought me to this church with the conviction that there was a better, simpler way to do things. I didn't know what that way was, however. So the congregation of eighteen members and I began fumbling, trying to apply New Testament priorities in ministry without surrendering either to mysticism or fanaticism. A primary principle evolved: I would stay away from the pressure to perform (something I was well acquainted with from the past). I began to discover the joy of (1) finding direction through prayer and (2) watching the fruit of obedience as people grew—and the church did, too. Individual health became apparent in the larger group, and we began to see more progress this way than I had ever achieved through promotional precision and evangelistic programs. We did not set out to prove a point or challenge a system. We only decided that the New Testament church seemed simpler and far more fruitful than most of what I had been able to produce. When we investigated why, we found that the Holy Spirit was the director of its life and program. The Goals Learning CurveI was in prayer one day about the church's finances at a time when the monthly offerings totaled around $1,000. I felt no complaint, but I knew there was reason to request more cash flow, if for nothing else than refurbishing the building; it certainly needed it. I started to ask God for "more money," when suddenly it came to my mind that I didn't know how much to ask for. |        
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