Staying focused in the midst of tough decisions

My post on decision making lessons from hockey refs was not by accident.  I am stepping into a time where I have to make some really tough decisions.  I will probably come back and read this post a lot just to remind myself to stay focused.

I will be diligent about reading scripture.  I cannot afford NOT to read.  Right now I am in Nehemiah.  Here is a man who made incredibly difficult decisions - but he stayed focused on his mission.

My prayer life will be critical.  I cannot afford NOT to pray.  And I am not talking about the "Now I lay me down to sleep..." kind of prayers.  I have to stop, get alone, and just pray.

Staying true to my calling will be imperative.  I will not compromise the vision and mission God has embedded into my heart and brain.  I will not compromise the mission and vision of Meadow.  I will intentionally go to posts like this one from Tony McCollum and this one from Gary Lamb and this one from Perry Noble to help me stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing.

I will stay focused on calling and challenging people to a personal relationship with Jesus.  In fact, I will be more focused on this than ever and realize that in making a new commitment to this I am inviting more opposition because when anyone threatens Satan's purpose - things can get nasty!

I am going to read, again, The Dip by Seth Godin.  Only 80 pages long, this is one of the greatest leadership books I have read in the past year.  It is all about quitting things - even things that might be doing well - in order to move forward and advance.  In fact, the tag line of the book is "A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick)".  I encourage you to get a copy and read it.  It will take you about 30 minutes to read and hours to process!

I will be spending more time listening.  Not only listening to God through Scripture.  But listening to God through other great teachers like Mark Beason, Perry Noble, Greg Rohlinger, Gary Lamb, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, and others.  These men challenge me to keep my teaching strong and focused and to keep our mission strong and focused.  (My iPod will be getting a MAJOR workout!)

We are experiencing some very healthy times at Meadow.  God is answering prayer and we are seeing our hard work come to life in full-color.  However, it is in times like these when we have to be even more diligent in protecting our vision and calling.  It is too easy to slack off.  Too easy to "just pray".  This is a time when we need to get even more focused.  Staying focused means making tough decisions.

Just yesterday I was talking via email with a trusted friend and I asked him, "Tell me, when does this get easy?"  He said nothing.  He only laughed!