Having an “achiever” strength among my five signature themes, I prefer lists as a way of maintaining focus. So, each day is ruled by tick marks of some sort, elements of daily life reduced to to-do bullets, Post-it notes, and message systems. With the personal memory bucket being full, as well (to the point where things are beginning to fall out), lists are just another way of keeping important items on the docket every day.
HolmesThe most ambitious challenge of an Immeasurably More perspective may actually be generating enough traction to move convictions from my cluttered brain to a piece of paper and then to a workable mission objective. Lists are the treads of mission in my world, a way to grip the slippery slopes of BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), good intentions, unrealistic dreams, and cheap talk. When ministry is screaming, “Get a grip!” my little check marks are saying, “Lift here.”
All the talk about a Great Commission Resurgence has morphed Christ’s simple biblical mandate into something almost unrecognizable – seemingly more so in South Carolina than in neighboring states. The priority and urgency of making disciples of all nations has been seconded to wild speculation about our mission and the direction of our future work. All the conjecture triggers the list-making mechanism in me. I need something to give this thing proportion, to make it more tangible, to bring it out of the stratosphere where we can get our hands on it. Voila! A list – seven things I need to do to make a Great Commission Resurgence real to the leadership team at Northwood Baptist Church:
(1) Announce a Great Commission Resurgence at Northwood.
(2) Publicly commit to sharing Christ with one person every single day.
(3) Challenge and lead Northwood to give 1 percent of our budget – over and above our other financial commitments – to a church-planting strategy through our state convention, local association or other viable network.
(4) Expand our Hope North Charleston partnerships to include local government entities, fire and police protection agencies, and other community organizations.
(5) Cultivate an ongoing relationship with pastors and church staff members younger than I am.
(6) Meet regularly with a Great Commission accountability group of fellow pastors.
(7) Hold a missionary commissioning service at Northwood in January, appointing every member as a missionary to North Charleston.
This list is not profound, complicated, or deeply theological. In fact, the listed actions are simple. But they will give us some handles to keep us moving confidently forward in the new year. They were announced a few weeks ago in my personal blog at SonnyHolmes.com and to our church family over the past few weeks. Our congregation has been enthusiastically supportive. Most of my colleagues have been silent about them. But I need some bullet items to give me some traction.
You know, a “write the vision and make it plain” sort of thing.
– Holmes is pastor of Northwood Baptist Church, North Charleston, and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.