Fear of Goals

I just read a short article on setting goals. The message got me thinking. Many of us don't like setting goals. They create fear in us: fear of failure, losing, embarrassment, setbacks, starting over, and ridicule.

Here’s what Paul says about goals in Acts 20:24 “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace..” All those who enjoy sports understand goals. When we play sports the goal is clear, defeat our opponent. In playing sports, there will always be one winner and one loser. We love winning and hate losing.

A goal of every Christian should be to serve our King well. We risk falling short of our goal. However, failure cannot be an excuse for ceasing to serve and be obedient to the Lord. Christ is the standard – he never gives up!. Serving our Lord may include building a congregation, working in missions or supporting a non-profit. All of these endeavors require goals. These goals may include growing in number and to grow in influence for the Lords Kingdom. While laudable, these goals can closely resemble the secular view of goal setting; bigger, better, more powerful. In contrast, the Lords view of goal setting requires personal character development of every believer i.e.; humility, service, selflessness. Tiger Woods was winning in skill, but losing in character. We have all heard of Christians who have done the same; build churches, missions, and non-profits, only to fall short in personal issues.

I don't like losing. I don't like failing. The fear of these can keep me from setting goals and pressing ahead. Setting goals is to ask to be evaluated and criticized, normally we do all we can to avoid that. But to “play the game” is to risk failing or losing. But to not set goals is to risk never accomplishing what we can do for the King and His Kingdom. To not set goals is like the man who ‘buried’ his gift of money for fear of losing it and receiving the anger of the boss.

Fear can keep us from receiving the blessings of the Lord and the joy of a job well done. Set no goals and we feel like we can't lose and therefore no one can evaluate our failures or shortcomings. Setting low goals shows lack of faith in the Lord. When we set Godly goals, we place ourselves in a position of obedience to the Lord through which we experience satisfaction, fulfillment, and the excitement of accomplishing something worthwhile.

Godly goals are those structured by the objectives of our Lord for His Kingdom and His plan for our lives. These are not always easy to identify. I fear many times we set goals to “model” a successful person we admire thinking this is what the Lord would have us do. Instead we should be doing our best in accordance with the gifts God has given us.

The major goal is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. And then to love others the same. Then comes the task of carrying out His great commission, making disciples and helping them grow into a mature body of believers for Jesus.

Let us not live in fear. Let us set goals that we can only reach with God's help and the power He gives us. Let's move ahead. Maybe we won't achieve all our goals. However, I remember the saying, "It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all."

Let us set goals. Remember, in baseball terms, if we hit .300, we will be among the best to ever play the game. We may fail, but know that the Lord uses both our successes and failures to work His will in each of our lives.

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up each time we fail." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Together setting Godly goals to build His Kingdom,

John

Spiritual Growth

Mike and I (Dani) have great updates on the spiritual growth of two people who have come to know our Lord and Savior this past year.

First there is Jenny! We wrote about her in July of last year. Jenny was pregnant when her husband, Santos, was killed by a truck and left on the side of the road. Since then, Jenny has had her baby boy and named him Santos. Recently, Santos was baptized. Jenny started a small business selling hamburgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches on the weekends in her barrio. A church in Alaska donated money to help her get started with her business. Jenny has gone through our ambassador program and is now an ambassador for Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.” This program teaches people how to share their faith and evangelize using another tool called the “Peace Treaty.” Jenny is also being discipled and trained to be a leader in her barrio. Since she accepted Christ, she has transformed from a shy timid individual into a confident witness of the gospel. She is growing in Christ and becoming a great instrument for His Kingdom.

The other update is Victor. Victor is the taxi driver that shared his desire to commit suicide with one of our staff members. Our staff member shared the love of Jesus with him and he gave his life to Christ. Since his baptism, he has become involved with the men’s group in the city church and is an active church member. He not only attends church on Sundays, but he also attends one of our house churches during the week. He is so grateful for how God has changed his life! Victor is studying God’s word regularly. He just finished the ambassador program and joined the City Church preaching team. Victor is concerned that he is doing too much because someone told him to take it easy. We encouraged him that when God speaks it is His timing and we all need to obey His call. We also encouraged Victor not to allow anyone to squash his walk with Christ.

We ask that you keep these two children of God in your prayers as they continue to grow in their faith. We also ask that you keep this project in your prayers. We are making a real difference in the lives of many in Trujillo!

God Bless,

Mike and Dani

BUILDING A TEAM

I want to give you, our Partners, an overview of what Mike does to lead our team in Peru.

Mike comes from a sports background. He understands team play and team work. He has, as many of you have said, street smarts. He is astute and wise, and learns from what is going on around him. He is willing to work and work hard. He sees the big picture of why God has us in Peru and he understands our goals. He has been able to translate our strategies into actions and successfully lead our team.

Tim Coop has said of him, "Mike knows how to speak the truth in love." Many know how to speak the truth, but they do damage when they attempt to do so. Many love, but hold back and don't speak the truth out of fear. Mike is good at being honest, upfront, calling it as it is, without destroying the person he is talking to or his relationship with them. They know he loves them. That makes it easier to be told the truth.

Oh, he gets frustrated, and tired, and discouraged at moments. But like a great coach, team leader, and servant of Christ he learns from those moments and leads with greater passion to serve our Lord.

I have several conversations each week with Mike. I visit Peru every couple of months to have face to face time with him. There are also a couple other Christian men (Tim Coop and Mack Jennings) who speak with him weekly and who travel to Peru throughout the year. They help encourage and coach Mike in a number of areas. Dale Pyne, a supporter of PNHI, had Mike take the Birkman test, which will help him flourish in his work. I tell you this, so that you know, that we are a team - working together to carry out the Mission in Peru

Mike has taken his life experiences, the training and coaching he received and has developed his own style of team leadership. And it is a very good one. Below is a short list of some of Mike’s character strengths and his ability to lead:

1. 1) He is open to hearing new ideas
   
2. 2) He is teachable
3. 3) He is sincere and humble
4. 4) He is wise. Beyond his years
5. 5) He understands why we are in Peru and is committed to training our team to carry out the task
6. 6) He gives our team freedom to carry out the task and does not 'ride' them to get it done. He lets them do their job.
7. 7) He disciples the team and individual key leaders
8. 8) He takes a personal interest in their work, their effectiveness and their personal live

What does Mike do with our team? Let me list just a few items:

Team Building:

a. He has team meetings every Tuesday morning

b. He has pulls the team together for a 'praise, prayer and sharing time' every week. Having different team members lead each week.

c. He has established a "TeamWork" time when they talk about their jobs. Mike shares concepts and tools with them.

d. Every Friday he meets with our Key Leaders; those who are helping lead their smaller teams within the team. They go over their work and their team’s progress.

e. He regularly evaluates the entire team’s ministry/mission work. This helps them see where they are, what they are doing well and how to improve their work. Each week his Leaders are required to turn in a statistics report covering all activities in their barrios.

f. He has Team Goals, where the Leaders are required to work together, each doing their part to help the TEAM reach the common goal.

g. He has established monthly training with the team to help them learn how to be more effective in their roles.

h. He has set up discipleship studies with the entire staff to help them grow spiritually. They are currently studying "Experiencing God". He told me, “After just a few weeks of this study, he has seen an increased positive attitude in the entire team.” He has previously taken them through studies on leadership, personal living, finances, and marriage. As a result of all of these discipling activities he gets involved in the Team’s personal lives; coaching, encouraging, counseling and at times confronting them.

i. He invites others, mainly visitors from the U.S., to share with the team when they are in Peru. I just spent 4 mornings with the team teaching “Dragon Slayers”. Jim Larsen, another partner with PNHI, will be teaching the team "How to Listen" in an upcoming seminar. Jim also tries to get out and about to see what the team is doing 'on the ground' during his visits. He then shares with Mike any suggestions of improvement he can offer.

Mike also has to deal with financial issues, budgets, public relations, visiting teams, and individual visitors. And even with all he does for others he makes sure to carve out time to be with our Lord and Savior, and care for and love his family.

This is HARD work folks, being 4500 miles from all that he grew up with in the U.S., his family and friends, leading a team of people in another language, with a different culture. Mike and his family know that they couldn’t do all that needs to get done without God’s involvement in their daily lives.

Mike is an amazing man, steward, Christian, servant; please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Also, please keep our team in your prayers. Lastly, please pray that God will continue to provide all that PNHI needs to continue to be a blessing in Peru. We would like you to know that we pray for each of you, our partners, that God will pour out His mighty blessings on you and through you. Thanks be to God and each of you, our partners, for making it possible to do what God has called us to do in Peru.

In Him

John Hendee