Welcome back for the fourth and final part of my interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem. Read part one here, part two here, and part three here.
Dr. Grudem, where in ministry are you most regularly tempted to discouragement?
Honestly, I don’t often become discouraged. I continue to see evidence of God’s work in my life and the lives of those around me, and I am simply overwhelmed with thankfulness to him.
Are there events in the church that bring me sadness? Yes. I am disappointed when I see churches and organizations gradually adopt an egalitarian position, because I think it will lead them step by step toward liberalism, and because egalitarianism is not a position that God will bless.
As far as my own writings, I am disappointed when I read books and articles that simply misrepresent me or use incorrect arguments to criticize what I have published on some topic or other. But when such things happen, I also remember other times in the past when a scholar has published something criticizing my position on something, and God used that to prompt me to write a response and refine my position, taking account of criticisms and making my position more accurate.
So then I think, “OK, Lord, I didn’t want to work on this question any more but apparently you want me to go back and spend more time on it.” The tension comes when you realize that you have a finite amount of time in life and have to make choices about what to do, and you already have deadlines you are trying to meet.
Then I try to put my trust in God and ask him to guide me to know what I need to spend time on and what I should leave to others to do. Romans 8:28 is still true, and always will be true: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
One event that still puzzles me concerns my book Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth (2004). I had been involved in the controversies over biblical manhood and womanhood for over 20 years at that point, and during that time I had compiled a list of 118 objections that egalitarians (evangelical feminists) had made to the biblical teachings on men’s and women’s roles in marriage and the church. I then researched and wrote detailed answers to those objections, and added a number of appendices that could not easily be found anywhere else, key documents on the controversy over men’s and women’s roles. Many evangelical leaders gave strong endorsements to the book.
I had hoped the book would provide a final answer to the manhood/womanhood controversy in the evangelical world, but instead I don’t think it had much impact or visibility, due to some mistakes that were made so that it was not sent out for review to influential journals, and I didn’t find this out until over a year later, when it was too late for reviews. I believe that God is still sovereign, and in his wise providence he will yet use this for good, but I don’t understand it at this point. I leave it in the Lord’s hands.
Do you exercise? If so, what do you do? If not, why not?
I exercise on average about four days a week. I run in my neighborhood two or three days a week and lift weights two days a week. Usually I run for 25 minutes, but sometimes if have a bit more time and I’m feeling good I’ll run for 40 minutes.
Arizona has such great weather that it’s possible to run outdoors in your own neighborhood year-round. And I drive to a gym about five minutes from my house and lift weights following the general outlines of a program in the book Body for Life by Bill Phillips. A good friend who is a doctor told me that as I age I will continually lose muscle mass and be prone to injuries and weight gain unless I lift weights in addition to aerobic exercises.
My motivation in exercising is (1) I feel better and (2) I want to stay healthy to be able to serve the Lord effectively as long as I can in this life.
Currently, what sport do you like to play and/or watch?
I golf from time to time and enjoy it. I used to enjoy racquetball quite a bit but there’s no easy place to play near my home and I haven’t played regularly for a number of years.
I don’t really watch sports on TV, but when my sons come to visit, I enjoy going to a spring-training baseball game with them here in the Phoenix area. And now that the Arizona Cardinals are in the NFC championship I’ll probably watch that game this weekend.
What do you do for leisure?
Various things.
Margaret and I like to travel and we sometimes add an extra day or two to the beginning or end of a conference when I go out of town to speak. We love to wander through different cities! I also enjoy doing small (unskilled!) work in the yard or in fixing a few things that need repairs around the house.
I read spy novels to relax (see question above). Margaret and I enjoy watching movies together or going out to dinner either alone or with friends. And a highlight of each month is when we get together with two other faculty couples to play cards (we play a great game called “Cancellation Hearts,” using two decks of cards).
If you were not in ministry, what occupational path would you have chosen?
No question, I would have become a lawyer and gone into politics. (I’m writing a book now on Christians and politics, discussing Christian worldview issues from the Bible, and how they impact over 40 specific political issues.)
Thank you, Dr. Grudem, for satisfying my curiosity on these questions!
January 29, 2009 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Interviews
Welcome back for part three of my interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem. Read part one here and part two here.
Dr. Grudem, what single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your leadership?
A very strong influence throughout my entire life has been the phrase found on the seal of Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, where I received an M.Div. degree in 1973. The seal says, “pasan tēn boulēn tou theou,” which means “the whole counsel of God.” It is taken from the Greek text of Acts 20:27, where Paul was speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus, a church where he had ministered for three years.
Paul said to them, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” If this verse is understood, I think it will have a profound impact on all leadership decisions that people make.
Paul was saying that he was blameless before God, as far as he knew, because he had faithfully proclaimed everything that the Word of God taught. He had not shrunk back in fear and avoided unpopular subjects. He faithfully taught everything that he knew from the revealed will of God, both from the Old Testament, and from Jesus’s earthly teachings that had been passed on to him, and from special revelation that God had imparted to him as an apostle.
The implication is that if he had failed to teach on some unpopular subjects, then he would have been accountable before God when the church at Ephesus strayed away on those subjects. If he had failed to teach on sexual purity before marriage, for example, or on the moral wrong of homosexuality, and then after he left some of the teenagers growing up in Ephesus had begun to have sex outside of marriage, or had become homosexuals, God would have held Paul accountable for that on the Last Day. But that was not the case with Paul, for, as far as he knew, he “did not shrink from declaring” to the Ephesian Christians “the whole counsel of God.”
That is why one of the items I pray for myself each day is courage to do what is right and stand for what is right before the Lord.
I know I have not always lived up to Paul’s example in this respect, but in my teaching and preaching, in my writing, and in my influence and leadership in organizations, I want, before God, to be faithful to everything that his Word teaches, even those things that are unpopular. I want to be able at the end of my life to say to the Lord that I have fulfilled whatever stewardship that he entrusted to me, just as Paul said his desire was that “I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24).
And even greater than Paul’s example is the example of Jesus, who could say to his Father, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4).
As far as human counsel outside of Scripture, God has given me several faithful friends at different points in my life, certainly including you, C.J.! (see question above).
There have been many wonderful comments from these friends. An important one that comes to mind is a brief comment that Robert Lewis said to me a number of years ago, when I was President of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and Robert was on the board. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had been trying to minutely manage everything that CBMW did, and I was becoming a bottleneck in the organization, preventing it from growing and moving forward.
During a break from our board meeting, Robert said to me, “Wayne, at Fellowship Bible Church, 80 percent of the things that get done are not done in the way that I would do them. But they get done.” Now I knew that Fellowship Bible Church, where Robert was the lead teaching pastor, had several thousand people attending it and had an incredible number of effective ministries throughout Little Rock, Arkansas, and the surrounding region. How did it all get done? Robert had just told me the secret. And it gave me freedom to release many of those activities to other people.
Join me tomorrow for the fourth and final part of my interview with Dr. Grudem.
Welcome back for part two of my interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem. Read part one here.
Dr. Grudem, if you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
Probably John Calvin, because of his remarkable ability to understand each passage of Scripture in the light of the whole Bible and all of God’s purposes for history.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
I think it would be my wife Margaret’s willingness to tell me what worked, what connected with the audience, or what was boring or unclear. She has done this for our entire marriage, and it continues to be helpful to me.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
The main example was Harold John Ockenga’s preaching Sunday mornings and evenings at Park Street Church in Boston when I was an undergraduate at Harvard. It was just solid, faithful, expository preaching week after week, month after month. It was his example of preaching that God used to persuade me to go to seminary rather than heading toward law school.
What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?
I find the most helpful thing I do regarding use of time is to spend time in prayer each morning bringing my plans and my “to do” list before the Lord and seeking his direction.
As far as human advice and counsel, I have found the system described in Getting Things Done by David Allen to be very helpful—I am just now rereading that to try to get all of my “in box” items back under control again and listed in one place, and then processed. I should add that I find effective use of time to be a continual challenge and I keep making small modifications here and there.
I would also like to say this to you, C.J.: You probably remember that I have talked with you numerous times about how to decide on what things to schedule, how to set priorities, and other questions about wisdom in time management, and your suggestions have always been very helpful!
Several verses of Scripture also have influenced me in this regard. Paul said, “It is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy (or “faithful,” Greek pistos)” (1 Corinthians 4:2) and that has made me seek to be faithful to God in the way I use all of my time.
Join me tomorrow for the third part of my interview with Dr. Grudem.
Over the years many pastors, leaders, and authors who have influenced my life have also become my friends. I marvel at and am humbled by this fact. And while I am always eager to promote these men and draw attention to their writings and teachings, too often these friends are known primarily for their public ministry.
I know from personal experience that these men have much to teach us from their private lives. So on this blog I want to occasionally interview these men, ask them questions to draw out their personal example, and introduce you to a private side of them you possibly have not seen.
Here we go.
Wayne Grudem
Meet Wayne Grudem. Dr. Grudem is smart—B.A. from Harvard, M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. from Cambridge, smart.
Dr. Grudem is the author of a number of excellent books including Systematic Theology and a simplified systematic theology for guys like me (Bible Doctrine).
He is the cofounder of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and coeditor (with John Piper) of one of the most important books I know of: Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
Dr. Grudem is now the Research Professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary, having previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for 20 years.
But you may already know all this.
So who is Wayne Grudem? What does he read for fun? What discourages him? How does he structure his devotional time? What correction from others has most benefited him? What career path would he have chosen if not ministry?
Dr. Grudem was kind enough to entertain my curiosity. I divided the interview to run over the next four days (Tuesday–Friday).
Thanks for your time, Dr. Grudem! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
I usually wake up about 6:00 a.m., but sometimes as late as 7:00 or 7:30 (if I’ve been up late the night before—I need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep or I don’t think as clearly). I get a cup of tea and one of Margaret’s excellent high-protein muffins and open my Bible.
I simply read sequentially through the Bible and then start over at the beginning (I’m currently in 1 Corinthians and Psalms, reading two portions each morning). I will read the Bible for 15 or 20 minutes, underlining some verse, or making some very brief notes. Many times I will wonder about something in the Greek or Hebrew text and check it briefly, but I don’t get involved in extensive exegesis because that is not my purpose at that time. I’m looking for God to teach me directly from his Word, with application to my life.
Usually I just “camp” on a phrase or verse, sometimes writing it out and pondering application to my own life. I also keep a blank notepad beside me because God often brings to my mind things that I need to do and I make a quick note.
Then I will usually pause for five or ten minutes just waiting in the Lord’s presence and thinking about the verse or talking to him about it. After that, I pick up a notebook with different pages for people and things that I am praying for—some pages about various things in my own life, then my wife Margaret, then our children and their families, then my parents and other members of my extended family, and then other friends and people in different organizations such as our church or Phoenix Seminary where I teach.
There’s also a section having to do with our government and concerns of our nation and world. That will take 15 or 20 minutes, and sometimes longer, so the total time may be between 30 and 60 minutes.
At the end of the time I will usually bring before the Lord my “to do” list, and pray about various items on the list, asking the Lord to help me know what to make a top priority today, and asking his blessing on the things that I plan to do. Often at the end I also have another time of maybe two or three minutes or maybe five or ten minutes just resting in the Lord’s presence and waiting on him.
I find in those times of quietness, when I’m not praying about anything in particular but simply resting in the Lord’s presence, that he will bring to mind solutions for problems, or people I need to contact, or things I need to write, or things I should not spend time doing, or any of a number of other things. I also find that over the course of the entire Bible reading and prayer time a deeper sense of peace and rest in the Lord’s presence comes on my heart.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
For my soul: Only the Bible at the present time, no other Christian books. But I recently finished your book Worldliness and was challenged and rebuked by it!
For pastoral ministry: I’m not in pastoral ministry, but for professional ministry I’m just finishing Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel. This is an attempt (unpersuasive I think) to show that geography and local types of plants and animals determined why some nations became rich and some did not. It’s all materialistic determinism and, in the end, terribly dehumanizing because it gives no importance to the real factors, human choices and human cultural values, and whether those choices and values were obedient to the truths established by the one true God.
For personal enjoyment: I just finished a new Vince Flynn novel, Extreme Measures. I think I have read all of his books and I enjoyed them a lot (the terrorists are the bad guys and the Americans are the good guys, and the Americans win in the end). But I liked this last one the least because it was so inconclusive at the end. I’ve also enjoyed a number of spy novels by Daniel Silva within the last year (the hero is an Israeli Mossad agent). These are “escape” novels that give my brain a change of pace.
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
Probably The Hidden Life of Prayer by David MacIntyre, because it encourages my faith to read of Christians in the past who have had such a significant effect on advancing God’s kingdom through their ministries of prayer.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
I underline and write notes in the margin as I go through the book and often write some key thoughts or summary points on the title page as well. Then I shelve it in the right place in my home library!
Join me tomorrow for the second part of my interview with Dr. Grudem.
January 23, 2009 by Tony Reinke
Categories: Cross of Christ | Videos
Blogger Josh Gunter pulled an excerpt from C.J.’s message “The Cup” and set the clip to a video collage and music. Thank you, Josh, for your work on this—the video is an encouraging reminder of Calvary and the love of our Savior.
The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are an interconnected priority for the church (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). French theologian John Calvin wrote that when we speak of the benefits we receive from Christ’s resurrection we are implying the crucifixion of Christ—and the other way around.* The two themes are interconnected.
And a new book has brought together writings on the resurrection of Christ in light of the death of Christ. The book is designed for the Easter season (which is quickly approaching), but the cross and the resurrection are worthy of our attention year round.
Edited by Nancy Guthrie, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter (Crossway, 2009) is a collection of 25 contemplative readings from various authors.
The chapters are short, averaging less than six pages each, and are mostly pulled from previously published material. Their scope and diversity is evident from a glance at the titles:
1. True Contemplation of the Cross (Martin Luther)
2. He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem (John Piper)
3. An Innocent Man Crushed by God (Alistair Begg)
4. The Cup (C.J. Mahaney)
5. Gethsemane (R. Kent Hughes)
6. Betrayed, Denied, Deserted (J. Ligon Duncan III)
7. Then Did They Spit in His Face (Charles Spurgeon)
8. The Silence of the Lamb (Adrian Rogers)
9. The Sufferings of Christ (J.C. Ryle)
10. Father, Forgive Them (John MacArthur)
11. With Loud Cries and Tears (John Owen)
12. That He Might Destroy the Works of the Devil (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
13. I Am Thirsty (Joseph “Skip” Ryan)
14. God-Forsaken (Philip Graham Ryken)
15. Cursed (R.C. Sproul)
16. Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit (James Montgomery Boice)
17. Blood and Water (John Calvin)
18. He Descended into Hell and Ascended into Heaven (J.I. Packer)
19. A Sweet-Smelling Savor to God (Jonathan Edwards)
20. The Most Important Word in the Universe (Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.)
21. Resurrection Preview (Francis Schaeffer)
22. Peace Be unto You (Saint Augustine)
23. Knowing the Power of His Resurrection (Tim Keller)
24. Sharing His Sufferings (Joni Eareckson Tada)
25. Crucified with Christ (Stephen F. Olford)
In Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross Guthrie has pooled a superb collection of devotional writings to focus your attention upon the cross, and simultaneously intensify your appreciation for Christ’s glorious resurrection.
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* John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, ed. John T. McNeil (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960), 1:521 (2.16.13).
January 21, 2009 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories:
I think I had the best seat in the house yesterday for the inauguration of our new President Barack Obama. Please don't misunderstand. I wasn't actually there on the Mall. Even though I live in the Washington DC area and could have received tickets, I wasn't present for this historic event. Instead I was in Louisville spending three days with my good friends Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Lig Duncan, John Piper, and Thabiti Anyabwile.
Once again we are together for the gospel (regretfully R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur weren't able to join us this time). We are together caring for each other, encouraging each other, correcting each other, and laughing together. This time together is a unique gift from God to me. I learn so much from these men and as the least deserving man to be included in this gathering I would argue I am the most grateful to be here.
So I think I had the best seat in the house yesterday (except I wish Carolyn was sitting next to me so I could hold her hand) as we watched this historic event with the rest of the world. And after the inauguration concluded we spent time (as I'm sure you did) immediately praying for our President, his cabinet, and our country. We spent time thanking God for the many evidences of common grace and appealing to God for the mercy we so desperately need.
And as Christians, we can serve our President by praying for him (1 Timothy 2:1–2). And if you are wondering just how to pray, let me direct you to a most effective prayer crafted by my good friend Al Mohler. Al has served us all and served us well by composing this theologically informed, humble prayer that I pray our merciful Father will hear and answer for his glory.
Read "A Prayer for President Obama" here.
January 19, 2009 by Tony Reinke
Categories: Sermons
C.J.’s Sunday morning message, delivered at
Capitol Hill Baptist Church in downtown D.C., is now online:
The Troubled Soul
C.J. Mahaney
Psalm 42
January 18, 2009
Capitol Hill Baptist Church; Washington, D.C.
1:06:33 run time; 11.5MB MP3
Download
here.
Listen here:
This series is becoming increasingly practice oriented. As it does, I think it is important to note that my approach is merely a recommendation, one recommendation among so many available today.
It’s not important that you emulate my approach, but you do need some theologically informed approach to time management, a custom-designed approach that incorporates your particular roles and goals into your weekly or monthly schedule.
So let me explain how the specific goals work in relation to each of my five specific roles.
1. My Goals as a Christian
If you are a Christian, you have personally experienced God’s saving act of love. And no other role is more crucial or central than that of “Christian.”
Yet I suspect the role of “Christian” is also the one we’re most likely to assume when we write our schedules. But the relationship with God we’ve been given as a result of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ for our sin should be our highest priority.
I find it useful to identify two specific goals. As a Christian, my goals are:
- Communion with God.
- Participation in the local church.
Communion with God. It’s possible to view our practice of the spiritual disciplines (study of Scripture, prayer, etc.) as optional additions to our routine when time allows, rather than goals derived from our primary role (Christians). Our communion with God can often remain a vague “should do” in our minds that—if we’re honest with ourselves—often takes less of a priority in our schedules than that important Wednesday lunch meeting with a colleague.
The consequence of neglecting a personal goal is nowhere more serious than when we neglect God and neglect our own souls. Scripture sternly cautions us to enforce all diligence over our hearts: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23, ESV). We must study our hearts. We must monitor the condition of our hearts. We must work by the grace of God to employ the spiritual disciplines to keep our hearts with all vigilance.
And ultimately we must look outward and upward, surveying the wondrous cross and the Savior who died there for us. The Father’s wrath against all our sins has been satisfied. We must never lose sight of Calvary. And the spiritual disciplines help us daily focus our gaze on the Savior.
So we should be careful that this primary role is reflected in our schedules.
In carving out 45–60 minutes of time in the morning, I am seeking to:
- Acknowledge my dependence upon God, affirm my intention to trust in him, and voice skepticism of my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6).
- Slowly enter the day, careful to begin with a divine perspective.
- Preach the gospel to myself.
- Get my soul happy before God by meditating on Scripture (a practice I learned from the writings of George Mueller).
Participation in the local church. As those who have been forever changed by the gospel, we have the privilege and joy of serving in the local church.
When we consider how to apply this goal to our schedules, we can ask ourselves three simple questions.
Ask yourself:
- When and how am I intentionally serving those around me? this year? this week?
- When and how do I care specifically for those closest to me in the church? this year? this week? (For some of you, this will consist of serving those in your small group.)
- When and how do I pray for and support my pastor? this year? this week?
These are questions that flow directly from my goal.
In the coming posts I’ll focus on my personal goals derived from my roles as husband, father, grandfather, and ministry leader.
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Want to share your own personal list of roles and goals with C.J.? We invite you to email your list, and any suggestions or questions, via email (blog AT sovgracemin DOT org). We cannot promise a personal email response, but we can promise your words will be read and taken into consideration. Thanks for reading! – Tony Reinke
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Biblical Productivity: This post is part of a longer series. Find the complete index of series posts here.
January 13, 2009 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Busyness | Time Management
Have you ever looked at an empty calendar and asked yourself, “What am I supposed to be doing right now?” Have you looked at a calendar filled to the brim with 25 hours of things to do each day and asked yourself, “What am I supposed to be doing right now?”
By themselves, neither empty schedules nor suffocating schedules help clarify our daily priorities. But identifying our God-ordained roles will. And if you are following along in this blog series, you have hopefully by now developed your own list of God-ordained roles.
More on this in a minute.
Judging from the emails you have sent in, there are at least a few of you who want to make the jump from roles to scheduling. Please don’t jump until you hear me out. Because until we fill in the middle, that often-fuzzy area that connects our roles to our schedules, our calendars will lack purpose and specificity.
So please hang on for one more post before we jump into scheduling.
My Roles
Earlier in this series I listed the five primary roles I currently fill:
- Christian
- Husband
- Father
- Grandfather
- Ministry leader
This looks like a simple and obvious list—and it is—but it does require a little focused time thinking through and prioritizing these roles. The order is important. So I hope you have invested a few moments to define God’s roles for your life and have the list in front of you.
Please write this list out. We are constantly tempted to read about things we may wholeheartedly agree with (like biblical productivity), yet fail to respond with anything more than a head nodding in agreement. So please take time to list these roles on paper.
The 15 minutes you devote to clarifying your roles will quickly repay itself in hours of time-saving clarity and purpose as you determine your goals and finalize your schedule.
My Goals
Okay, now onto my goals. For me, I work from two general categories that work well with most of my roles (especially my relationships with other people). Broadly speaking, my goals are twofold:
- Serve (How can I serve others?)
- Surprise (How can I surprise others?)
Obviously, I don’t think these are the only categories you may work from, but thinking in terms of serving and surprising has helped clarify my goals and scheduling week after week over the years.
Serve and What?
I think most of us understand the priority Scripture places on serving the needs of others. I don’t think I need to convince you of its importance.
But what about surprising others? What’s up with that?
Granted, surprising others is not always distinct from serving them. But while we often think of serving as limited to meeting obvious needs, there is more to it than that. Paul writes, “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10, ESV). The intentionality and the intensity of this statement are hard to miss. God commands a holy competition in showing honor to others.
So do our schedules reflect obedience to this command?
Convicting, isn’t it?
As you can see, I find it helpful to think of these goals—serving and surprising—as separate categories. Roughly speaking, to serve is to effectively provide for legitimate needs. To surprise is to happily and generously honor and bless others!
Both categories should be the effect of the gospel in our hearts and the appropriate expression of love for others. And both categories honor God, and both categories should find their way into our schedules.
Limiting Goals
Now please don’t be running off and setting hundreds of goals in relation to each role! I have too often set too many goals that went unfulfilled and left me discouraged. I recommend just a few goals for any single role. I create no more than three goals per role in a given week.
While we could no doubt develop a long list of goals under each role, our time, energy, and gifts are restricted. Four or more goals are likely more than many of us can handle, and especially if you can identify more than three personal roles.
Please don’t misunderstand. My approach is merely a recommendation for your consideration. There is no need to follow my approach. But you do need to custom-design some approach that incorporates roles and goals into your schedule.
That’s for next time.
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Want to share a comment with C.J.? We invite you to email your suggestions and questions to blog AT sovgracemin DOT org. We cannot promise a personal email response, but we can promise your words will be read and taken into consideration. Thanks for reading! – Tony Reinke
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Biblical Productivity: This post is part of a longer series. Find the complete index of series posts here.