When I was in college, I had the goal to finish as quickly as possible.  I wanted to spend as little time as possible in school, ironically, as I write this I have just started back to school for a Master’s Degree.  My first semester of college I planned out when I needed to work on papers, when I needed to study, etc.  I planned it down to the day and was able to finish all my papers and assignments two full weeks before the end of the semester.  It was great, but it was the only semester that happened.  The next semester I got involved in college life, ministry teams, etc. and never got around to making a plan.  So I was scrambling at the end of the semester to get everything done.  The start of my second year I declared that I wasn’t going to do it like I did last semester, but I did. Again I was scrambling to get things done. Next semester – same declaration and same results. My last year was no different.  I remember declaring for my last semester (no I didn’t skip time – I finished in three years) “Woohoo! My last semester of doing it this way!” By this point I only had three months left, why change now?  All to often individuals say that they want change, but they don’t really mean it. They say they want to grow, but don’t really want to go through the process or research to find out where they can grow.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why people do this and I’ve come to a couple of conclusions.  Now I don’t think this is a definitive answer to the questions – just a couple of key things I think hold people back. The first reason that people say they want to change, but don’t actually change is that don’t really think they need to change.  Sure they say it to those around them, they may even say it to themselves – but when it comes time for the rubber to meet the road and they see all the effort it’s going to take to bring about change and decide it’s not worth the effort, or they aren’t really that bad, or it’s worked for them this long so why do it?  It’s either laziness or arrogance.

I know in my past I’ve looked at things and figured it was “good enough” and didn’t need to make the change. For me it’s been arrogance or the hubris of ignorance. (Nice phrase huh?) I didn’t seek change because I was doing pretty good and had it mostly figured out. I’ve often looked back at opportunities to learn that I passed up because I didn’t think there was anything to learn there.  In college I could have worked with Dick Gruber, one of the best Children’s Pastor out there, but instead I decided to go do my own thing at a small church.  It’s always easy to look back and ask “what if?” I can’t change the past and God has blessed me, but what lessons could I have learned the easy way over the hard way if I had been willing to put down my own way of doing things and let someone help me grow?

I think the second reason that people don’t pursue change or growth is that they don’t know how.  They either don’t know where they need to grow or they don’t know how to get beyond where they are now.  The great news for those in this position is that help is out there (for those in the first position, it usually takes a hard hit to the head to bring about a change).  There is nothing wrong with not knowing – there is something wrong with not trying to find out.  We all have weaknesses and blind spots, that’s why relationships and teams are so important.  Teammates can help you see spots for growth.  As my friend Jim Wideman says: “Everyone does better with a coach.”

So which one are you?  Do you avoid change and growth because deep down you don’t really think you need to change?  Or do you just not see the areas where you can grow?  Pray about it, think about it, ask some friends – because next week we start talking about how to be a growing leader and the areas where a growing leader needs to focus.

Leaders – what makes a leader?  What doesn’t make you a leader?  What? What? What?  When you read leadership books a lot of them tell you what it takes to be a leader.  What qualities a leader should have, how to handle conflict, how to manage a team…all of these are great lessons, but I think a lot of leadership books miss a key factor in being a leader.  First and foremost, being a leader comes from who you are.  The basis for all leadership has to come from who you are on the inside.  I’ve known a number of “leaders” who were strong personalities, great speakers, inspiring figures, and empty on the inside.

So are those folks great leaders or are they great actors?

When I was a teenager I had the opportunity to connect with a nationally known evangelist – this guy was amazing.  He had a phenomenal life story, could communicate like you wouldn’t believe, and ministered to teens like a pro – but his personal life was a mess.  He was very successful for a number of years, but eventually he fizzled out.  The concept of “Talent is never enough” is true…our personal charisma, our personal ability will take us only so far – eventually we’ll stop being so spectacular – because we’re trying to do it all on our own.

For a leader to become a genuine leader – there must be a solid foundation on the inside.  Who you are matters.  Period.  As a Christian, you already have a foundation to build from – Jesus Christ.  All too often though a leader or christian will come to a place where they feel as though they have “arrived”.  They have made it to the big time and suddenly they stop growing.

A growing leader has a different paradigm, they don’t see a position as a place that they have arrived to – they see each and every opportunity as a place they can learn and apply

something new in their life.  Once they have learned something, and applied it, then they grow.  It looks like the diagram on the right.  But this diagram is incomplete – because it makes growth look like a circle, when in actuality a growing leaders life looks like an upward spiral.

.  So, if I were to stop right now and ask you this question:  Are you a growing leader?  What would your answer be?  It’s ok if you said no – because you can start growing today.  How do you do that?

• Step 1: Identify areas of personal weakness

Here are some questions  you can ask yourself:  Do I have a vision for my life? How’s my personal spiritual walk?  How are my personal relationships? How is my personal ministry?  How is my personal health?  These are good area to start looking in to find some weaknesses.

• Step 2: Set a good goal

I’m not going over that process – go back and read the last few weeks of my blog.  You can start at the last one and work your way back.

• Step 3: Learn , Apply, Grow

Once you’ve learned a new principle or technique apply it consistently and you will see growth.

• Step 4: Repeat

We can never stop growing, when we do we become stagnant.  And that’s never good…One of the goals for our ministry is to grow. In order for us to grow, we need to have growing leaders.  Over the next several weeks we’ll be talking about places we can grow ourselves as leaders to see an increase in our growth potential as a ministry.  My goal is to grow our leaders one step ahead of where we are growing as an organization.  I believe we’ll be able to see some personal and corporate growth as we focus on becoming growing leaders.

Railroad crossings are a great point of making a decision, and with the consequences of making the wrong decision – we usually make sure we’re making the right choice.

Goals can be similar to railroad crossings – if we set a bad goal, we can feel like we didn’t make it across the tracks in time and caught the 5:30 head-on.

We’ve been talking about setting good goals.  So far the three qualities of good goals are:

1. The goal is Specific
2. The goal is Measurable
3. The goal is Attainable

These three things will help us in creating good goals, there are two other qualities of a good goal that we should be aware of before we finalize any plans.

A good goal is also – RELEVANT. Let me ask you a question: if you set a goal, but have no passion for the area where the goal is focused – are you going to work on it?  My guess is probably not.  I know in my own life I have had the desire to learn to play the guitar, I have even signed up for lesson – TWICE.  As of today, I do not know how to play the guitar…do you know why?  I didn’t have any real application for  playing the guitar – I really just liked the idea of being able to play the guitar.  Does this mean you shouldn’t set a goal that is outside the realm of your focus?  No, but realize you have to set a realistic expectation for yourself and find the application to keep motivated.

The last trait of a good goal that we’re going to talk about is: A good goal is TIME-SPECIFIC. How long do you want to give yourself for reaching your goal?  Keeping in mind that a goal needs to be Attainable, what would be a realistic time frame?  Give yourself too much time and you’re going to lose motivation – give yourself too little and you’re probably not going to reach your goal.  So, going back to one of our original goals:  ”I want to lose weight.” (weight goals are common examples, because almost everyone can relate to them.)  Like we said a few weeks ago this is an admirable  goal, but isn’t a good goal yet.  If we just apply our criteria for what makes a goal good, we can easily transform it: “I want to lose 10 pounds in next six weeks.”

Just the addition of a couple key specifics changes the quality of a goal.  This is now a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-specific goal.  It is a good goal (and probably one most of us need…)

And if you’re really serious about your goals – then make yourself accountable to someone.  Tell someone else what your goal is and ask them to keep you on track – when we make something public we make it a more powerful influence in our lives.  So, what goals are you going to set for yourself?