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National Association of Christian Ministers How to Series: Ministry
By Michael Mooney, Exec. Elder
Jesus once said something very important about planning:
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him” (Luk 14:28-29).
The truth is that we have to make decisions on a daily basis. Sometimes these decisions are more serious than others. When we are faced with making “big” decisions it really helps to as Jesus said, “count the costs”, and to form a plan.
In the world a business there is a strategy for this known as a SWOT analysis. It calls for us to view our potential plans or circumstances in the context of their:
S –strengths
W- weaknesses
O- opportunities
T –threats
The Strengths and Weakness are viewed from within, and the Opportunities and Threats are viewed from without. In terms of personal development an example would look like this:
Within:
What are the strengths with me?
What are the weaknesses with me?
Without:
What are the opportunities around me?
What are the threats around me?
Many people think that they know this stuff about themselves –often thinking that this process is not necessary. However, the truth is that we are usually most blind to our own blind spots. Establishing this information will do amazing things to improve our abilities to make decisions. This happens by helping us to put into perspective the “costs” involved the directions we may take with our lives. Without such information we are only left to make decisions based on intuition, and lacking clarity about our overall purposes.
Sources:
Blocher, E. J.,Stout, D. Cokins, G., & Chen, K. H. (2006). Cost management: A strategic emphasis, (4th ed.).Boston: McGraw Hill.
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