Goals For 2008

On Sunday I challenged everyone to set aside some time to take some personal inventory and set some personal development goals for the new year. I specifically challenged everybody to set spiritual goals and physical goals.

The old saying rings true that if you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there. As each of us gains greater clarity into the person that God is calling us to become, we will be able to pursue growth to that end in practical and intentional ways.

We must be both practical and intentional because spiritual growth does not happen by accident. We are only kidding ourselves if we think we can get somewhere we've never gone by doing what we've always done. In order for us to grow spiritually we must pursue it intentionally and proactively.

In addition to setting spiritual and physical goals, I'd like to encourage everybody to set some goals in a few other areas. Growth in these areas will help us in our effectiveness for God's kingdom:

1. Mental development goals
Find some new ways to stretch yourself mentally this year. Set some goals for reading and reflection. I am always reading books that help me grow in areas of spirituality, Scripture, leadership, and communication.

2. Dietary goals
Decide in advance what types of foods you need to decrease or cut from your diet. Sometimes we can short-circuit our productivity for God's kingdom by poor eating habits.

3. Friendship goals
Take some steps toward developing new friendships and strengthening old ones this year. Maybe more tv nights could be turned into dinner or coffee with friends. Since we were created for relationships, we must continually guard against the danger of isolating ourselves.