Mission Statements; Vision Statements; Purpose Statements; Stop the madness...How About Just "Being True To Your Life Mission"

Over the years I've had the privilege, and frustration, of helping carve out mission statements and vision statements for colleges, non-profits, and churches. Many of you have too as for many years these were the primary focus of the business world.

We wrestled through our identity; our calling; our clientele; how long it should be or how short it should be; the difference between mission and vision; and on and on... And in too many cases watched those skillfully crafted documents go up on a shelf until the next push for mission and vision statements came along, usually with new leadership.

But many years ago I worked through an exercise in discovering God's mission or purpose for my life and since then I've tried to keep that in focus (yes, believe it or not I've actually tried to live by it). Simply stated, I believe my Life Mission is "To Live A Transformed Life That Leads To Transformed Lives." One year ago God's call lead us to the City of Detroit with the mission of "Transforming A City That Transformed The World." Looking back it's evident how God was making preparations in my own life then for the place of service He has us in now.

But now I have to be honest and transparent. This past year we have been pulled in multiple different directions trying to be true to God's call and measuring up to mainly preconceived ideas of what we should be doing. In all of that I somewhere along the way sat down God's mission for my life and picked up man's mission for my life (at least the one I thought I needed to write). How frustrating it is to live outside of God's Life Mission in lieu of your own life mission.

But this last week we were traveling to Florida to perform a wedding for a great young couple. As we drove we listened to some leadership podcasts for a business that we're part of. Guess what came up? You betcha, personal life mission statements and core values.

Rochelle asked if I had ever developed my own Life Mission Statement and list of core values. I immediately said "yes," and then fell under a strong conviction that if Rochelle had to ask then I haven't been living them well enough. Over the next several days God and I continued a conversation about returning to the Life Mission He gave and the core values that empower that Life Mission. For me they are:
  Lead by example
  Accept others without trying to change them
  Understand others before trying to be understood by others
  Give more than I get
  Help others find success in life
  Teach
  Edify God and others
  Reflective, prayer based living

These core values remind me to LAUGH, because I tend to live life with an intensity that can drain me I need my core values to remind me to spend time in laughter (ask Rochelle or those who know me well and they'll agree that this is hard for me, but I know I need to focus on it for my own good and those around me).

So I re-engaged my Life Mission and committed to living a truly transformed life in order to lead others to finding life transformation; first in Christ, and then in other areas of their lives. After all, Jesus is in the life transformation business and calls us to be about His work.

If you really want to make Kingdom impact, whether in a large city in need of Jesus life transformation, or in the rural areas with the same need for Jesus, discover your own Life Mission in Christ and commit to living it out daily. Outside of His Life Mission we live in frustration. But inside of it we live in victory and joy.

Now, go knock on someones backdoor of life and live out Jesus Life and love.

Shawn