I think the hardest thing I do every day is not to build or sustain momentum for the church. It’s not writing messages, or even giving leadership to our team.  The hardest thing I do is to keep the church outsider focused. 

That actually shouldn’t surprise me because the hardest thing I have to do in self-leadership is to keep my personal life pointing toward others, not myself.

The drift inward – for organizations and individuals – is automatic, gravitational and effortless.  Almost all organizations would rather care for their own interests, not the interest of others.  Like employees at a retail store who look bothered when a customer interrupts their personal conversation to ask for help, most communities are self absorbed.  Why? Because (no surprise), most of us are self-absorbed.  The nature of sin is self-focus.  We evaluate church through the lens of personal preferences (I like this…I don’t like that….), not through the lens of what will reach our neighbours or be faithful to the ultimate purpose Christ has for the church.

If an organization becomes self-focused, ultimately it becomes selfish, unprogressive, resistant to change and indifferent or even hostile to the needs of others.  An outward focused organization becomes more generous, more compassionate, more responsive and ultimately far more effective.  No surprise there of course, because Jesus said when we give our life away for His sake we’ll find it.

I’m increasingly convinced that when the church in North America is declining it’s because we are self-focused, and that when the church in North America is growing its because we are others-focused and Christ-focused.  We plant churches all the time that claim they exist to reach the lost but function as though they exist to please their members. 

But focusing outward is incredibly hard work.  Because an inward drift is steady and instinctual, an outward focus has to be intentional,  deliberate and sacrficial.

Every day, I feel like I am on a personal and collective journey to make this life about Christ and about others.  I wish it was getting easier, but it’s just hard work.

How about you?  What’s the hardest thing you do?  How is your life and your community becoming more inward focused or more outward focused?

At Connexus, like at many North Point Strategic Partnerships, we relentlessly ask this question:  how do we know we’re winning?  It’s another way of saying ‘how do we know we’re accomplishing our mission?

That’s a very different question than "are we growing?"  or "are we meeting budget?" or "do we like what we’re doing?"  (three easy questions to ask).  

Primarily we ask these three questions: 

- Are we creating a church unchurched people love to attend? 

- Are we leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ? 

- Are we helping parents and families win at home?

The first answers our vision statement, the second, our mission statement and the third, our family ministry philosophy. 

But I find as a leader I am tempted to dump these questions in favour of this question:  Did I try really hard?  I find this to be true: the more I invest in a message/series/project/venture the more likely I’m going to declare it a win whether it’s a win or not. 

I am constantly tempted to measure organizational success by effort rather than results.  I think it’s one of the key ways organizations get off track.  It’s how 50 very sincere Christians can end up building a church no one but them wants to attend.  It’s how artists produce music no one wants to listen to or preachers pour their hearts in messages that have little relevance.  It’s how a great organization can become a once-great organization.

Our entire team can work relentlessly hard on a project, but if we fail to reach unchurched people, don’t help people grow in their relationship with Christ or avoid helping families win at home, we’re engaged in a heartfelt exercise in missing the point. That’s not why we started the church.  It’s not why we exist. 

As we plan for 2010, we are focusing increasingly on measuring outcomes.  As I regularly share with our staff, staff spend 99% of their time planning for ministry and 1% evaluating ministry.  The congregation and community do exactly the opposite – they spend 1% of their time planning and 99% of their time evaluating.

How about you?  Do you find it easy to keep focus?  What helps you stay focused?  How do you measure what really matters most?