Someone recently asked me what my goals are for 2018. The answer was easy. Without blinking I told them I have three goals for the coming year.
1- Live to the best of my ability as an authentic disciple.
2- Lead the church where I am pastor to make more authentic disciples.
3- Leverage what influence I have to help other churches make disciples.
If I can look back in twelve months and know that I have made progress in these three areas, then I know I have had a good year. At least I will know I have hit my goals, whether or not it feels like a good year.
When it is all said and done, twelve months from now I really only want to be able to say what Jesus prayed in John 17:4, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” If at the end of 2018 I can say that I have brought God glory on earth by completing the work He gave me to do, then it has been a good year.
As I understand it, the work Jesus was given to do was to live as an authentic disciple, lead others to live as authentic disciples, and leverage His influence through others to start a movement of disciple making. I would say Jesus hit His mark!
I am writing this blog and living my life the way I am because Jesus brought God glory by completing His work on earth. It is really not that complicated, is it?
Now that 2018 has arrived, let me suggest a simple way to set your goals for this new year. Set the same goals for your life that Jesus set for His. How can you go wrong with that? Living like Jesus lived sounds like a great way to approach 2018, 2019, 2020, or any other year of your life.
Regardless of your occupation, you can live like Jesus lived. If you are a pastor, school teacher, policeman, or salesman, you can live as an authentic disciple. You can lead others to be authentic disciples, and leverage your influence to start a movement of disciple making. You can bring God glory on earth by completing the same work Jesus did. I think doing what Jesus did is worthwhile living, and it sure makes setting goals much easier.
This year, why not make 2018 the year you simply live like Jesus lived and do what Jesus did? My guess is that twelve months from know, you will feel very fulfilled by knowing you have brought God glory on earth by the way you have lived your life.
If you need help figuring out how to live as a disciple, lead others to become disciples, or leverage your influence to start a movement of disciple making, then check out impactdisciples.com. We exist to help you bring God glory by completing the work Jesus did.
