Video Transcript: Simple and Measurable

Welcome back. We continue with our study, developing great commission skills.  We're moving still into our skill number three, setting objectives and establishing  accountability. Today we're going to be looking at simple and measurable,  simple objectives Stated simply, and holding ourselves accountable to those  objectives by having measurability built in to those objectives. You know,  effective effective objectives require that they be articulated in simple, clear  terms, measurability built in now think about this couple things to consider when  it comes to objectives. Simplicity. Simplicity is a virtue. Measurability is a  motivator. Simplicity is a virtue. It's something that brings blessing. It's  something that in its core, of course, is good for us. Simplicity is a virtue  because it dispels confusion. Vagueness it it makes it crystal clear what it is that  we are zeroing in on in terms of the clarity and the understanding of our  objectives, no confusion, no ambiguity, no misunderstanding, no  misinterpretation. Now when it comes to measurability, measurability is a  motivator, because once we once we see that that certain element of the  objective that that quantifies what it is we're trying to accomplish, it's a metric by  which we can measure Our effectiveness. So for example, if we set an objective  that said, our objective is to recruit six additional small group leaders for the  coming season. Well, at any given moment, we can take a look and ask the  question, how many new leaders have we identified? Two? Well, we haven't hit  our objective. Four, well, that's helpful, but we haven't hit our objective. You see,  we're motivated because we want to reach the objective, and so when we  realize that we we we've got a challenge before us, then we rise to the occasion  to try to meet that challenge, to try to hit that mark and achieve that particular  measurable element of the objective. So measurability is a motivator. Without  measurability, objectives just float in terms of, you know, hopes and dreams,  wishful thinking. It's vague. It's ill equipped. It doesn't drive decision making. It  doesn't drive actions that need to be taken. So let's look at, let's look at a couple of examples. Two contrasting objectives. Objective number one says this, my  objective is to hike to the summit of a mountain in Virginia. The second is this,  my objective is to hike to the summit of Mount Rogers, the highest mountain in  Virginia by elevation by October 1. Obviously there's a huge difference between  these two objectives. The first objective is simple. It meets that requirement, but  the measurability is so open ended. It's so vague, we can't really picture what's  being asked. We could just, we could just pick any mountain any time, and hike  that mountain, whether we do this tomorrow or 10 years from now, we've met  the demands of this objective. So an objective that is just open and vague like  this is not going to drive timely action. Now the second objective is simple, but  it's also crystal clear and measurable. What's going to be done? We're going to  be hike to the summit of a mountain, which mountain? Mount Rogers, when are  we going to do this? By October 1. Now, when we look at this objective, it drives  the making of decisions and taking actions. You know, the articulation of the 

objective itself drives the demands of that objective, hikers have to think about  what must be done, all the steps that must be put together consecutively  between now and October 1 to equip them and enable them to take that action  and meet that objective. Now, these decision steps and these actions could be  laid out in a plan. You see objectives that are properly crafted. Promote  planning. You know, specifically, what, who, how and when, what needs to be  done, the various steps involved. Who's going to take care of each step. How  are they going to do that, and when are they going to do that? And you see,  when we put when we put all of these together, what we find is that we have a  strategic plan. Now, when October 1 arrives, either we've met this objective or  we haven't. That's how simple, that's how measurable this objective is. By the  way, in this case, the particular objective in view actually is giving us a hint as to  the why. Because it's the tallest in elevation in the state. I mean, I've known  people that are into hiking, and they do think in those terms. They want to hit the highest mountain in every state, or they want to hike in a certain mountain range and hit the highest peaks in that range. These are goals, challenges that they  set for themselves. And they can be very simple. I'm not saying they're easy to  accomplish, but they're simple to understand what's necessary. And by having  targets, measurable targets, measurable elements within that objective, it drives  our behavior. What are we going to do? Who's going to take care of what? How  are they going to do that? When are they going to do that? You put those  elements together and you have a strategic plan. Now here's a tip for you.  Objectives exist to serve people. It's not the other way around. People don't  exist to serve objectives. So this is, this is a slight nuance to this concept. Yeah,  there is a sense in which having a worthwhile objective will drive the actions of  people, but those objectives are there to serve the interests, the passions, the  needs, the desires of people. People are not there to serve the needs of the  objective. Let's try this on for size, for example. I let's say, let's say that a given  church, their leadership, has determined that small groups ministry needs to  play a more significant role in the life of their church's ministry. So what is it that  they want to do? Well, they set a goal, an objective. You know, at present, let's  say 28% of the congregation is engaged in small group ministry, but leadership  has established an objective that says that, you know, by January 1 of the  coming year, 75% of the congregation will be engaged in small groups. Now  that's a very demanding, a very demanding goal, moving from 28% to 75% Why  would they do something like that? Well, obviously they have determined that it's extremely important that that particular objective be met, that it's going to  contribute to what they're trying to accomplish as a church. Okay, so it's very  clear the Great Commission objective that we have in view, 75% of our  congregation will be engaged in small groups by January 1. Is that simple? Yes? Is it measurable? Yes, it meets the criteria. Now this will force numerous  decisions to be made, numerous actions to be taken if this GCO is going to be 

reached. For example, this is going to require. Identifying, recruiting and training a cadre of small group leaders to accommodate this huge increase in the  number of people in small groups, it's going to require that meeting places be  established in conventional small groups that would probably be in private  homes. So a number of private homes would need to be developed in order to  make this work. You know, the list goes on and on, but a plan and a timeline can be developed that would ensure that the ministry capacity to handle this  increase to 75% is in place. And remember, with accountability we're talking  about what, who, how, when, all right, so far, so good. We have a great  commission objective, a GCO that is simple and measurable. We have  established accountability with a strategic plan that includes the what, the who,  the how and the when. However, when we come to January 1, we discover that  we didn't reach 75% we're only at 62% that are engaged in small group ministry. So here's the question, is not reaching the objective, a failure? Well, here's the  thing, technically, we failed to reach our objective of 75% but we have increased  participation in small groups from 28% to 62% and that is a gigantic leap forward that is a resounding success. Now, what we really have uncovered here is not  the failure of an objective. What we have uncovered is the failure to understand  the time frame required to get to 75% maybe January 1 was a bit too ambitious.  So what can we do at this point? Well, let's move that objective from January 1e  to say June 1, we're already at 62% as of January 1. That's a wonderful thing.  That's a huge gain. But now we recalibrate the objective and say, okay, by June  1, we're going to move to 75% and more than likely, we're going to hit that bull's  eye, that objective, and we will have moved from 28% to 75% it's just that we  had to stretch the time frame out just a bit longer. Now, word of warning be  reasonable about quantitative metrics over stated periods of time. Don't set the  bar so high in terms of your quantitative metrics that you've created a virtual  impossibility. Yeah, we want to exercise faith. We want to we want to trust that  the power of the Holy Spirit is going to move in such a way that much more than what we could do on our own would be accomplished. But at the same time, we  don't want to go overboard with this. We don't want to be ridiculous in the  projections that we put out ahead of us. Here's the thing. Great Commission  objectives must be credible. They have to be believable, not that they're  absolutely going to take place, not that they don't include stepping out in faith,  but they're stepping out in faith in such a way that they're not just pie in the sky  random numbers or metrics of some other kind that we're throwing out there.  Now I want to, I want to talk for a moment about faith and possibility. There is a  verse in Scripture, Matthew, 19:26, and it says. This. Jesus looked at them and  said, with man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Hmm, all things are possible. Now here's the thing. I have been in numerous situations in  the past, where certain leaders have projected things that are just beyond belief. Yes, God can do anything with all things. With all things are possible with God, 

but we don't want to be presumptuous in our dealings with God. We don't want  to try to manipulate God into producing some outlandish projection that we have on our minds. Now, I've been in a number of meetings where churches that were really struggling in a variety of ways, where the proverbial writing was on the  wall, and yet the pastor, or perhaps a set of leaders, or maybe all of the above,  are still insisting that you know what we're looking at in reality is not truly  binding, that we can look past that and we can rely on God to do the seemingly  impossible. Now, there are times when I felt like such people were being  presumptuous to the point of arrogance. I thought they didn't really have a finger on the pulse of reality. I thought that their projection was so unrealistic that they  would lack credibility with the very people that would need to support this vision  and work toward this objective. Well, when I've done that in the past, sometimes I, I've been accused of having too little faith. You know, I was, I was accused of  short changing God's power. And on several of these occasions, someone  would quote this very verse, but Well, Ken, you know, with God, all things are  possible, as if somehow I'm, I'm a person who lacks faith. I'm not trusting God  for the impossible. Okay, I understand that sentiment. But here's the thing, God's power is not in question. The capacity of God to do the impossible is not in  question. What's in question here is the integrity and the discernment capability  of a pastor or a group of leaders who would, who would dare to project  something so far out of reach as if somehow that was a testament to their  faithfulness, yes, with all things, With God, all things are possible, but that is not  a strategy. You know, when I ask a pastor, when I ask a group of leaders, what is your strategy, the correct response should not be, well With God, all things are  possible. That's not a strategy. That is a measure of desperation. So let me  share this with you. Indeed, With God, all things are possible. But even with  God, not all things are probable. Not all things are probable. I want you to really  let that, let that sink in. You see, we're not testing God's power here. We're  testing our own ability to discern God's leading, to step out in faith, but to step  out in faith with integrity, with humility, and when we and we paint pictures of  reaching to heights that we've never, ever come close to this is a lot more than  simply saying, I have faith. This is daring God. This is trying to manipulate God,  trying to coerce God into doing something that is not just impossible, but. Highly  improbable. Now, one of the ways that I think of crafting objectives that are  simple and measurable is that that increases the level of probability that these  things are, in fact, going to come to pass. We can't build objectives on wild  assumptions, and dare God to do the impossible that is reckless, that is  careless, that is abuse of our relationship with God. Again, I don't want to  discourage stepping out in faith, but again, don't, don't go over the top and dare  God to do something that surely God has not truly led you into this can be very,  very dangerous. Setting Great Commission Objectives, GCOs, establishing  accountability. Effectively begins by carefully and prayerfully crafting Great 

Commission objectives that are simple and measurable. Simple to provide  clarity and understanding, measurable for accuracy in evaluating progress. Don't go off the deep end, exercise your faith, but exercise your faith responsibly with  respect for who God is. Now, this completes our video on the subject of simple  and measurable objectives. When we get together next time, we're going to be  talking about the skill topic, quality and quantity, that balance between quality  and quantity, both are important to God. Now, may God continue to bless you in  your ongoing studies, may you serve him well in ways that bring glory and honor to His name. Amen