I don't write very often. The rest of you are so much better at it than I am -- so I love tweeting to your great articles. (Thank you to all who provide great content and tweet it so we can help pass it along!) But today I couldn't *not* write, after reading Pastor Kevin DeYoung's article for leaders who feel unsure about progress toward their life's work. So let me offer the following. It came to mind yesterday as I was meeting with a handful of driven Christians, some from the evangelism sphere and some from the (Christian) emergency response sphere.
Puerto Rico has been in the throes of hurricane pain. Many are responding, doing their best to come to their aid. Among people's many needs *water* is the primary need (as in many disasters). Thus FEMA measured the percentage of Puerto Rico's population who had access to drinking water. It's not the only need, or the only process needed. But water sustains life! Thus the water metric concretely symbolizes the urgent state of progress.
Then in October 2017, federal officials visited the island, lauding the great (process-focused) work being done... while quietly removing the not-so-flattering (outcomes-based) water metric from the website. (Read Mercury News article here). A social-media storm ensued, and the water-metric was returned to the FEMA site... raising the obvious point (that businessmen have known forever):
"You get what you measure. And little else." (...because you manage what you measure.)
Or to paraphrase Pastor Rick Warren: "If your mission statement isn't measurable, it's just PR."
So Church, what's our mission and how is it measurable to know progress? What say we return to the very simplest form for answering that:
"Go into 100% of the world... making disciple(r)s."
Not just *some* of the world. Or some of the city. Or even just some of the neighborhood. ALL. 100%.
So where'd you go? And how's your going, going?
Of the many elements of making disciple(r)s, giving our friends & neighbors access to the *water-of-life* is most key.
So, pastors... in your church's defined neighborhood, what __% of those household have had an optimal opportunity to hear/see the Good News of the *water-of-eternal-life*?
And if indeed The Church is its people, let me ask all of you as well: Where did you go, and how's your going, going? What __% of your neighborhood households have been given access to this *water-of-eternal-life*, through a loving Christian friend?
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Next-steps: Visit BlessEveryHome.com.
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