Tag: New Year

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Will 2022 be better than 2021?

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If 2022 is to be better than 2021, I must own the responsibility. I’m not arrogant enough to think that I have the solutions to all the mess that is going on around the world. And I don’t pretend to have the influence to impact big change around me. 

But I am responsible for a better new year, nonetheless.

Let me tell you what I DON’T plan to do:

I don’t plan to spend all my time pointing out the failures of others.

I won’t try to fix other people.

I won’t target others as a way to make the future brighter. That would be ludicrous.

I hope not to sit and complain, fret and be hopeless. 

This is how I hope to make 2022 better than 2021:

I’m asking myself (more importantly, I’m asking my wife and a few trusted friends) what I need to change personally in 2022. How can I improve? What should I stop doing? What new habit or discipline will make me more effective? How can I be a better man, husband, father, grandfather, friend and leader? I am asking the Lord to help me in my weaknesses, to teach me a better way to live, to increase my wisdom and to change me by the power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. If I change, grow and improve, 2022 will be better than 2021. 

This may sound a little silly to you. How can one person make a year better? My approach is focused on my responsibility to do what I can do. The major issues of society are beyond the scope of my abilities; although I care deeply, there is little impact I can make on major problems. But I can change me – and I am the only one who can change me.  

If 2022 is to be better than 2021, I must own the responsibility.

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The Older I Get, the More Diligent I Must Become

As we do every year this time of year, Letha and I have been talking about next year: how to improve, how to be more effective, how to make sure we are maximizing our opportunities. While prayerfully pondering this, a thought came to me.

The older we get, the harder we have to work if we hope to to improve. When we were younger, maturing and growth allowed us the presumption that we would improve with age, and most of the time we did. Simply living and learning about life allowed us to progress in our effectiveness. But now, improvement comes with a greater cost. Now that I am a more seasoned leader, I can’t just pass time and get better at things, I actually have to be intentional in my growth. What a revelation!

Allow me to explain. I have less energy now than I did when I was forty. So if I want to stay in good shape physically, I have to discipline myself to get off the couch and move (which I do!). Like many my age, my natural tendency may be to go with what is comfortable and familiar. But my comfort zones destroy my productivity! Now that I’m older, I enjoy my old friends. But as important as my old friends are, I need to stretch and grow in relationships, networks and connectivity. I can’t just recline in the “Lazy Boy” of life and expect to advance; I’ve got to be purposeful, intentional and action-oriented.

So if 2022 is going to be a better year than 2021, I have to work harder and think harder and behave harder than I have this year. Slothfulness and resting on my laurels (*info for this reference below) will defeat me. As a leader, the older I get, the more diligent I must become.

I want to improve until the day that I die. I want to be a better Christian, husband, father, Pop (grandfather), friend and leader. That won’t happen organically; I must work to improve.

So look out New Year, I’m coming for ya! I’m excited about 2022!

*https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rest-on-his-laurels.html

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Another Decade! Here we come!

IMG_9445Until today (Christmas Eve), I haven’t given much thought to the end of another decade and the start of 2020. While running errands with my wife, we talked about the presumed events of the next ten years. Grandkids becoming teenagers. Continuing to progress in our ministry. Potential relocations for work. Lots of productivity. Perhaps even retirement!

If my sketchy math skills are correct, I am approximately 80% done with my vocational ministry work. I started right out of the gate in the early 80’s, which makes me ancient. 4 decades of uninterrupted, full time ministry! If God continues to grant His favor, I have about 8-10 years of public ministry left. Of course, I plan to minister until I die, but our current church culture isn’t friendly to older men who still have a fire burning in their gut. So I’ll work in the main stream until I’m retirement age, then I’ll go rogue!

Another decade. 4/5ths done with my professional ministry career. What does that mean to me?

It means it’s time to lay down all hindrances. Abandon security and comfort. Reject mediocrity and status quo. Take risks, be aggressive, embrace innovation.

In my last decade of professional ministry, I want to work like a fiend. I hope to benefit from everything I’ve learned over the last 40 years. I want to reduce mistakes, focus on the most important issues and be as productive as is humanly possible.

Over the next decade, I’ll passionately invest in those coming behind me. I want to exemplify grace, mercy and compassion, and I desperately want to finish strong.

2020-2030 should be epic!

How about you? What does the start of a new decade mean to you?

2020… here we come!

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My Goals for 2018: Less

 

designLess excess.

Less idle time.

Less excuses for a lack of progress.

Less careless communication.

Less “me time.”

Less hurt caused by my decisions.

Less stress.

Less blaming.

Less junk food and sitting.

Less ignoring individuals I come across.

Less driving.

 

Less is more.

 

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How to Have a New Beginning

designThe New Year is a great time for new beginnings. We know that God is a God of new beginnings. Throughout the Bible, people like Noah, Moses, Ruth and Paul experienced the thrill and joy of “starting over.” While sometimes a fresh start is nearly impossible, I believe that God is providing a new beginning for many of us. Please consider how God may be speaking to you about a new beginning in your life.

In order to experience a new beginning, we must:

  • Learn from the past but let go of the past. Those who live in the past are stuck there and can’t dream of a better future.
  • Be willing to take a risk. We do not know the specifics of how the future will turn out so it requires great faith to begin again.
  • Forgive yourself and others for past failures. Holding onto hurts prevents us from moving forward.
  • Pray and think creatively. God never runs out of fresh ideas for today and tomorrow. Seek His face for the future.
  • Be willing to change what needs to be changed. If we keep doing the same things we’ve always done, we will keep getting the same results we’ve always gotten.
  • Be assured that God is a God of new beginnings and He wants to help you to start fresh today!

2017 can be the best year of our lives. While the challenges are significant in regard to the details of everyday living, I believe that God has placed us where we are for this specific time. He doesn’t want us stuck in the past – He wants us moving confidently forward into the bright future that He has for us, all under the power of the Holy Spirit.

May the grace of God enable us to embrace the wonderful plans that He has for us and may we experience the joy of fulfilling those plans!

Rick

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Leader’s Devotional

design[25]This morning, I was praying for my grandbabies for the New Year. I was asking God to keep them safe and trouble free. I never want to see them suffer for any reason. Then the thought struck me – how will they be strong; how will they be prepared for what God has ahead for them in the future if they never have to endure any trials? I (reluctantly) began to ask God for His will for them, that He would prepare them to do awesome things for Him in the future. Because I am not naïve, I realize that, if we never struggle in life, we will be weak. I don’t want that for my grandbabies or for anyone I love.

Phillips Brooks said, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.“

Leaders – God has plans for you. They will require that you are strong and equal to the task. The only way to get strong is to endure difficulties, learn from them and grow.

Meditate on this verse: “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” – 1 Peter.5:10

Don’t be discouraged by the difficult times you are enduring or the ones that are ahead. If you remain strong, learn from your environment and trust God – you will be ready for whatever comes your way in the future!

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What’s Your Strategy?

When it comes to life and getting things done, progress and growth generally aren’t organic. By that, I mean that if we do not have a strategy for success (a plan that we work), success probably won’t come. This is true on a corporate level as well as on an individual level. Too many people just live a day at a time with no forethought about what it will take in order to make things turn out right. They have a desired future in mind but no idea how to actually arrive at that desired future.

Let me say this: If your goal is to simply maintain, you have made the decision to start dying. “Just getting by” is a strategy for failure. Life will not let us slide with that kind of a cop out. More is required if we hope to accomplish something of significance.

People are born with a desire to thrive. Babies want to eat. Little children strive to learn and do more. Sadly, sometimes things happen that cause people to quit reaching for something more. Once a person stops dreaming, things go down hill. The Bible relates it this way: ”Without a vision the people perish.” We are made with the need to dream. When the dream dies, we die with it. But dreaming is one thing. Being willing to work your tail off to make the dream come true is another thing. As Bob Goff says, “No one is remembered for what they just planned to do?” What is your plan to make your dream happen?

You need a plan of strategy! Whether you are considering your marriage/family, your career, or your ministry, you need a plan. It should be concrete, easily communicated and vision-driven. Regarding the coming New Year, let me ask you specifically:

~What is your strategy for growth and success for next year?

~What steps will you take to see your dreams fulfilled?

~Where do you want to be in 12 months, and how will you get there?

Now is the time to start answering these questions.

So, what’s your plan? If you don’t have one, you’d better get to work! And don’t bother with some little passionless, no-risk ideas. Let’s dream big dreams and get to work fulfilling them! Your ideas are too important to allow them to fail simply because you didn’t have a strategy.