December 16 & 17, 2006
In this week’s installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I will suggest that there are times when you need to lower the bar. This is not my typical message! I'm usually pushing for more and reaching up and out. But there are short seasons in life when you simply need to set your expectations a little lower and try to get through. Simple survival is all we can hope for at certain time. For instance, the renowned expert on child raising, James Dobson, had a funny reply when asked what parents should do when their kids enter the teen years. He said, “try to simply survive,” or something painfully similar. It sounds pitiful; but that is all you can hope to do at times. We don’t adjust our purpose; it is unchanging. But we do need to adopt temporary changes in our strategies that match the needs we are facing. During this week of the stomach flu, I’ve had to lower expectations or I’d fall into dismal discouragement. Setting my sights low is not my style. But I needed to keep a low profile in order to get better and in order to not get anyone else sick! Every now and then we need to slow down and simply try to survive. I’ve seen churches use this strategy well at certain times. I’ve seen others misuse it and keep their sights low when it was time to take off and fly. For now, I’m just reminded about the importance of settling down now and then. And that’s my reminder to you this week.
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