Begin with the End in Mind
In the Navy, we use “fitness reports” (FITREPs) to gauge how well we are performing in our jobs. (Imagine a performance review, but you are also being graded against everyone else in the company at the same level as you, even with completely different jobs!) One of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten about FITREPs was this: “First, do your job with passion, and don’t worry about where you fall in the rankings. Second, write your last FITREP with everything you hope to accomplish by the end of your time in the unit… and then work backwards from there. What will it take now to accomplish those goals at the end?” Begin with the end in mind.
The time is short… In the military, you often get 18-30 months to make a difference where you are assigned. Depending on your faith tradition, the timeline is often the same. In teaching, you get a new set of students each fall, and you have one year to impart the knowledge you need them to learn. So, how do you get started when you know you only have a finite amount of time? You begin with the end in mind.
In American churches, we often spend a lot of time focusing on evangelism—helping people come to faith in Jesus, their Savior. But too often we then leave people to their own devices: The Holy Spirit will guide you. Just keep reading, praying, and coming to church… We don’t have a plan in mind to help people develop deeper faith and faithfulness in their daily lives. But Paul had a different vision in mind when he wrote to the Christians in Ephesus:
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Paul tells us that the work of the church is to help people become mature. Paul says the same to the church in Colossae: “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ” (1:28). The word in both of these statements in Greek is teleios, which is translated throughout scripture as “perfect,” “complete,” or “mature.” Interestingly, teleios is also connected to the idea of the end of time and the completion of all things… when that which will be is fully realized. It is the ultimate “end goal.”
As I have focused on my own spiritual development, I have used a series of questions to help me take stock spiritually and help me consider where more maturity might be needed. These are some of the questions I use for a spiritual check-up:
Am I displaying the fruit of the Spirit in my life? Am I more loving, joyful, peaceful, and patient? Am I acting in kindness and goodness and gentleness towards others? Am I struggling with self-control?
Am I connected to other believers, sharing life, confessing sin, promoting goodness, encouraging and being encouraged?
Am I dwelling in God through prayer, scripture, and spiritual disciplines that encourage, teach, or convict me?
Are there places in my life that haven’t been brought into the light—hidden sins or secrets or shame?
Am I sharing my faith in hopeful ways with people that I meet?
How are my relationships with others—my wife, my kids, my parents, my friends, my neighbors, and random people I encounter each day?
How do I react when I am frustrated or angry?
How am I focusing my time, my energy, my affection? Is it what is best in this season?
For me, those are questions that help me take stock of my heart, and they reveal where I need to continue to grow in faith and faithfulness. And they have helped me as I work with others who are developing in their discipleship.
Our goal is to present all people as “mature” in Christ. So what do the marks of spiritual maturity look like in your life? In your ministry? And what is the spiritual end goal? What are you hoping to form in your people as they come to know Christ more fully in their lives?
We have to begin with the end in mind. Only by answering the teleios question can we help people discover maturity in Christ.
