Gospel Centered Goal Setting
It is that time of year to reflect on and evaluate the passing year and look forward toward the new year. December is the month where my family and I take our yearly Gospel Life Plan retreat. For a few days, we review our previous year's goals and set new goals for the coming year for loving God, leading well, and living the gospel. Gospel Life Plan retreats have allowed us to grow closer as a family, see God's gracious fruit of the gospel, and challenged us to pursue Jesus with greater passion and affection.
At the beginning of each new year, the hype surrounding goals and resolutions is loud; many make goals and resolutions that are fundamentally flawed and left unmet after a few weeks. Does that mean goals and resolutions wrong? I don't think so, but as believers, we should have a different worldview for setting goals. The foundation for Christian goal setting is; are they relevant to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Make sure you don't confuse goal setting with performance. Your goals are not to define your value and worth; your identity is in Christ. There is no way we can set a "goal" for God to love us any more than He already does. We do not perform our way into pleasing God. Personal and family goals are a way to grow in Christ and manifest His kingdom here on earth, as you LOVE God, LEAD well, and LIVE the gospel.
The Gospel-Centered Life Plan is a resource for individuals and families to set measurable goals as they seek to love God, lead well, and live the gospel. A performance-driven life builds a foundation on abilities, education, experiences, and skills. A Gospel-Centered Life is built on the foundation of having your identity in Christ. The goal is not perfection or performance in following Jesus; the goal is being faithful in pursuing and glorifying Jesus.
I want to encourage you not to waste your life. Don't miss out on an opportunity to commit your life and year to loving God, leading well, and living the gospel as you and your family manifest God's kingdom here on earth.
Gospel Life Plan Resources
These resources include GLP Terms Sheet, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, Gospel Life Plan Grid (blank), and completed Gospel Life Plan Grid (example).
Each year my family sets goals in three spheres; loving God, leading well, and living the gospel. Here is a short explanation of each life sphere:
1. Love God
These goals should focus on spiritual disciplines, identifying idols, repentance, fruit, and community.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. - Mark 12:30
Spiritual Disciplines are a means of sanctification. Our sanctification is the will of God. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, For this is the will of God, your sanctification. Corporate body life, reading the Bible, praying, fasting, and scripture memorization are spiritual disciplines reflected in loving God. Without spiritual disciplines, we will not grow in Christ-likeness, and we will not deepen our love for God.
“The Spiritual Disciplines are the God-given means we are to use in the Spirit-filled pursuit of Godliness.” -Donald S Whitney. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
Spending time reflecting on our spiritual disciplines gives us an opportunity to address idols. Idols in our life are the primary reason we fail to love God. Tim Keller says, "If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning in life, and identity, then it is an idol." According to Scott Thomas, “We discover what our idols are by asking what gives our life meaning, worth, and value.” As you identify idols and demonstrate godly repentance, God graciously allows us to see fruit in our lives as He makes us into the image of His son Jesus.
2. Lead Well
Every Christian has the responsibility of leadership. Your leadership platform is shaped by age and season of life. Goals for leading well should flow from your role, seasons of life, and current leadership platform. Leading well takes shape as you set goals for leading well as a father, mother, single adult, or student. Areas for goals include finances, health, marriage, parenting, relationships, school, work, to name a few. Wherever you may find yourself, as a believer, you have a responsibility to lead well for the glory of the Lord.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:17
3. Live The Gospel
These goals should focus on disciple-making, personal evangelism, and missional living. I heard another Christian leader once say, "If you tell me you are a follower of Jesus, and you are not helping other people follow Jesus, I just don't know what you mean." If you are Christian, you are called to make disciples; this is not optional. I cannot count how many Christian's over 35 I have encountered that say one of two things: 1. I have never been discipled, 2. I have never discipled another person. What a tragedy! It should be the goal of every Christian to be intentionally discipling others to follow after Christ.
Personal evangelism is an intentional explanation of the Gospel and a genuine appeal to repent and believe. Pray earnestly for God to cultivate brokenness for lostness in your life and challenge yourself by setting some goals to be intentional about sharing the Gospel.
Missional living is where we embody the character of Christ and the mission of Christ through the Spirit of Christ, for the glory of Christ. We see the world through the eyes of Christ. Setting missional living goals will mean getting involved with the least of these. The broken, hurting, poor, abused, used, orphaned, and oppressed are not only around the world; they are across the street. Missional living is an intentional way to be the hands and feet of Jesus for the glory of God.
Here are three results of goal setting we have identified:
1. Communication- Our family has cultivated some excellent communication during these times. I am amazed at how much closer we become when we stop long enough to listen and talk to each other about our family and life.
2. Intentionality- There are 168 hours in a week. Suppose you sleep 8 hours a day that leaves you 112. What are your priorities? You will either AGONIZE or PRIORITIZE! Each year our family is challenged to set our priorities; we cannot do everything. Prioritizing our values and time changed our lives and kept us intentional about the most important things!
Everything cannot be a priority. You can't have it all.
Everything should not be a priority. All things are not created equal.
Some activities and investments are more important than others.
Some activities and investments are more lasting than others.
3. Growth- Joy and I will celebrate 19 years of marriage at the end of December. Over the last thirteen years, we have seen our most significant growth together as a couple and a family. During this time, Joy and I began intentionally setting goals for ourselves and our family in the area of loving God, leading our family, and living the gospel. We say loudly and often, there is NO perfect family, and we have no goals to try to be one! We do, however, have a perfect Jesus who has made us righteous, and He is worth pursuing with all hour heart, soul, mind, and strength. Goal setting for God's glory is an honorable pursuit; we hope you join us!
