I am a big believer in New Year Resolutions. Even the ones I don’t end up keeping are good for at least a few weeks. And the more people I tell the higher the accountability, so once again this year I am blogging my resolutions. Feel free to hold me to them.
- Read the Bible in a Year, Chronologically.
To read the Bible from beginning to end is great, but to read it in the order that events actually happened is even better. A wonderful guide is “The Great Adventure Bible Timeline” by my friend Jeff Cavins. Check it out for yourself, you will never approach the Bible in the same way again. I have a reading plan that will take me all the through the Bible in 365 days.
- Fill the Conference.
One of the great big events of 2018 is going to be the REBUILT Conference (featuring Jeff Cavins, by the way). This is the rebranded “Matter” conference, which we suspended during construction. We’re looking to fill all 1,000 seats on April 16 & 17 and will be working hard to make that happen.
- Work Out More/Walk & Stand More.
I am episodic in my exercise and workout routines. Definitely there are periods of discipline and dedication, followed by inactivity. Sadly, in recent months the latter has been the case. I used the excuse of the opening of the new church, which did take up quite a lot of additional time, but really there is no excuse and the New Year is the perfect opportunity to get things started again. I need to also push myself to walk and even just stand more for purposes of health and posture. In all of this my associate Tom is an incredible example and one I should follow.
- Invest in Staff.
We have a great staff and they do an incredible job. But they could probably use more investment of my time. With so much travel, as well as the construction schedule of the last year, this is perhaps another area that has been neglected on occasion. We are planning on spending some time with our friend Patrick Lencioni this winter to set some new goals for our ongoing effort to build a great staff culture.
- Begin Next Round of Strategic Planning.
Now that our new church is completed (and paid for) and we’ve had a moment to savor the achievement, it is time to look ahead. What does our campus, staff, schedule, strategy look like in 5 years? What challenges will we be facing ahead? What opportunities can we identify?
May God bless and keep you in 2018.
