my good friend brian berry (also the youth pastor at my church) has been wrestling lately with time, balance, priorities and future. it’s a good wrestle (even though it may leave his hip out of the socket, as good wrestles can do). he and i chatted at some point of the importance of not only looking at to-do lists, opportunities and responsibilities, but starting from a place of values.
brian took a swing at this and developed a stunning summary of his values that blows me away. seriously, i got a bit choked up reading it the first time (and have read it several times since), because it’s so beautiful. i encouraged him to post it, as an example to others. he’s done that, with the title “who i want to be“.
brian came up with five core values, then created a short list of actionable clarifications under each one. his five core values are:
PLEASE GOD, NOT PEOPLE
TAKE CARE OF MY SOUL AND MY FAMILY BEFORE MY MINISTRY
BE A LEARNER
BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT MY DECISIONS
WORK HARD TO BE AND DO THE THINGS GOD HAS CALLED ME TO
i couldn’t more strongly encourage you to read it, and consider something similar for yourself. i think an exercise like this is so critical in our goal-obsessed american church culture.
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Totally agree with your assessment Mark. Read it. Love it. Implementing it. That’s how it’s supposed to be. I know most of us “think” this, but how often do we actually “do” or “live” this? Good stuff.