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Technorati4. Establish some priorities.
You don’t have time to do everything, so you have to learn the difference between the important and the urgent, the helpful and the life-changing, and being efficient and being effective. Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. You need to focus on doing the right things. When you do this, you’re developing a plan to achieve your dreams – and that’s essential.
5. Evaluate the cost.
This is what’s called a calculated risk. Proverbs 20:25 says, “It’s a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later consider his vows.” (NIV) You need to ask yourself three questions when you’re planning out a dream:
Is it necessary? (Can I reach my goal another way?)
What will it cost? (What’s the price tag – in terms of time, energy, money, and reputation?)
Is it worth it? (That’s the most important question.)
After I’d gotten a dream for Saddleback Church, I then had to ask myself the question, “Is this worth my life?” And I came to the conclusion, “Absolutely!” It’s worth every ounce of energy I can give it. We’re talking about eternal matters here.
6. Plan for problems.
Your plan needs to account for problems. Things are going to go wrong. Are you ready when they do? Proverbs 22:3 says, “A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.” (TLB) Ask yourself, “What can go wrong with this dream?” And “What will happen if it does?” That’s not being pessimistic. The Bible says that’s just being sensible.
7. Be willing to risk. Face your fears.
Most people won’t take ministry risks because they don’t want to face their fears. Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man is a dangerous trap, but to trust in God means safety.” (TLB) We hate to admit it when we’re afraid. God says to go ahead and admit it. Fear is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of humanity.
But the secret to stepping beyond your fears – know who gave you the dream. Proverbs 14:26 says, “Reverence for the Lord gives confidence and security.” When you know your dream is from God, it gives you confidence. It gives you the security to keep on moving toward it. If you know where your dream comes from, you won’t care what the critics say. You won’t let people tell you why it can’t happen. Laws can be changed. Money can be raised. What matters is that God has said to do it.
8. Do it now.
There comes a point of decision where you’ve got to stop talking and start acting. You’ve got to begin. Once you’ve decided it’s worth the risk, you need to go for it. There’s got to come a point in your life when you say, “God’s called me to do this. I’m going for it.”
It doesn’t cost anything to dream. Dream big dreams for your ministry. Everything that is possible now in our society was impossible at one point: cars, computers, planes, microwave ovens, the Internet. Today’s impossibilities are tomorrow’s miracles.
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Copyright 2005 Pastors.com, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
