MANAGING YOURSELF

The Managing Yourself studies look at a number of issues that impact the implementation of the
biblical priorities and principles identified in Setting Biblical Foundations

Introduction
Rosemary Bardsley 2014

In this series we look at a number of issues that impact our implementation of the priorities and
principles identified in Setting Biblical Foundations:
Developing a personal mission statement.
Identifying and developing long and short term goals both for personal spiritual growth and for
ministry.
Managing our time.
Developing life balance.
Handling stress and burnout.
Managing depression

Without direction and boundaries we become more vulnerable to the sin that confronts and
entices us on every side. With direction we know where we want to go; with boundaries we know
where we do not want to go. These practical studies are tools to assist you in your quest for
Christian spirituality.
If you are working with a Mentor, discuss with your Mentor:
Your personal mission statement
Your long term goals
Your short term goals
Your Life Balance Study
Your Time Management Study
Your stress levels
Your coping strategies to manage depression

STUDY ONE: DEVELOPING PERSONAL AND

MINISTRY VISION AND GOALS
Rosemary Bardsley 2009, 2014

Its best not to wait for a crisis to discover whats important in your life.

A. INTENTIONAL GOAL SETTING - WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS ABOUT GOALS?

In Ephesians 5 Paul identifies a number of life principles or goals:
Verse 1: To imitate God as dearly loved children.
Verse 10: To find out what pleases the Lord.
Verse 15: To live carefully and wisely.
Verse 16: To make the most of every opportunity.
Verse 17: To not be foolish, but understand what the Lords will is.
These goals help us to define what we want our lives as Christians to look like. Here are some
more biblical principles that help us identify our personal mission statements:
How do the following scriptural principles help you to identify your personal goals and mission
statements?
John 6:28 & 29 The principle that believing in Christ is the most important thing
Psalm 1:1-3 - The principle of directing ones life by the Word of God
Romans 14:22 - The principle of living with a clear conscience before God
Matthew 3:12, 1Corinthians 3: 10 15 - The principle of distinguishing between what will
endure and what will not
1Corinthians 7:31 - The principle of having a correct attitude to material things.
Hebrews 12:1 - The principle of getting rid of everything that keeps us from the ultimate
goal
1Corinthians 9:24-26 - The principle of self discipline
James 1: 5 - The principle of asking God for wisdom
2Timothy 2:3 - 2Corinthians 6:4-10 The principle of enduring hardship
Philippians 4:6 - The principle of prayer instead of anxiety
1Corinthians 15:58 - The principle of commitment
John 15:5 - The principle of dependence on Christ
1Corinthians 12:12,27 - The principle of unity of the body of Christ, and understanding
ones part in it
Ephesians 4:11- 14 - The principle of dependence on the Word of God for stability and
strength
Luke 9: 57 62 - The principle that Jesus is our first priority
Luke 14: 25 34 - The principle of counting the cost of following Jesus before you commit
Luke 12: 35 48 - The principle of being always ready for the return of Christ

Complete Study One Worksheet Section #1 now.

B. DEVELOPING YOUR MISSION STATEMENT

Begin with the end in mind
To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination.
It means to know where youre going so that you better understand where you are now and
so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and,
keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really
matters most. If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets
us to the wrong place faster. [p98 Stephen Covey: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People]
So, how do we define what our goal or mission or purpose is? Is there a right and wrong way of
going about this?
Stephen Covey suggests ten alternative centres around which people commonly base their lives:
Spouse
Family
Money
Work
Possessions

Pleasure
Friend
Enemy
Church
Self

While some of these seem obviously better than others, Covey believes that each of them has
potential inbuilt problems as the centre of our lives, impacting and inhibiting our felt or
perceived security, our decisions, our wisdom/outlook and our ability to act and move forward.
Because of these limitations he suggests a better alternative: that we should be principle
centred.
As Christians we have received from God a range of pre-determined biblical principles, some of
which addressed in the Setting Biblical Foundations studies, and some we have looked at in
Section A above. It is on these principles that our lives as Christians should be centred, and from
which we can develop our personal mission statement [purpose statement] by which our short
and long term goals will then be determined. By making God-given principles our centre we are
effectively making God the centre from which all of our life its priorities, its goals, its
standards, its choices - will emanate.
A Christians mission statement could be as simple as My mission in life is to glorify God and
enjoy him forever [taken straight from the Westminster Shorter Catechism]; or To love God

with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love my neighbour as myself; or: to honour
Christ in all I say and do.
Our mission statement gives our life both boundaries and direction. If God-focused Biblical
principles are the basis for your mission statement this will

provide a stable foundation and criteria for your choices and outlook in every area of
your life.

minimize the difficulty of decision-making,

help you avoid taking on tasks or responsibilities that are contrary to your fundamental
objectives.

help to protect you against pressure to conform to the norm.

help you to build the biblical mindset commanded by the scripture.

Complete Section #2 of the Study One Worksheet now.

C. GOAL SETTING
The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention.
Basically there are Eight Key Areas of your life you need to consider in relation to goal setting.
As a Christian you need to look at each of these in terms of:
What you are currently doing.
What you want or ought to be doing.
How what you are doing or want to do fits with Biblical Priorities and Biblical Principles
How what you are doing or want to do fits with your person Mission Statement.
The eight areas of life, and what is involved in them for the Christian, are:
Spiritual: This relates to your relationship with God. Fundamental to your relationship with God
is your knowledge of God and your obedience to God. Under this heading your goals will relate
to things like
Deliberate reading and studying of the Word of God.
Regular prayer
A determination to know and believe the truth about God.
A determination to trust the Gods promises.
A determination to obey Gods commands.
A determination to serve God. [Relates to Vocation/Career below.]

Setting up an accountability relationship if you struggle with specific sins.

Being part of a Bible study group or discipleship program.
Family: This is potentially a very large and important area, depending on the size of your family,
and your current family status. Your goals may relate to
Maintaining loving and supportive relationships with family members.
Improving or mending relationships that are currently fragile or broken.
Being the kind of son, daughter, husband, wife, parent, etc that God wants you to be.
Living within the sexual and sexuality boundaries set by God.
Being a role model of Christian faith within your family.
Praying and working towards the conversion of unbelieving family members.
Finding a life partner.
Becoming a parent, or having more children.
Vocation/Career: Here you are looking at the area of your employment. It takes up a huge
amount of your days and connects with most of the other areas of your life. Because it consumes
so much time it is extremely important to have clear goals in place [and clear boundaries which
we will look at in a later study]. If this area of life is not contained within clear goals and
boundaries it has the ability to dominate the whole of your life, to the detriment of all other areas.
In setting goals here you need to think about:
Does the work you are doing, or plan to do, help or hinder your Biblical Priorities and
Principles and your spiritual goals?
Is the work you are currently doing the work you want to be doing 5 or 10 years down the
track?
Does this work fit with your personality, natural talents and learned abilities?
Does this work fit with your financial goals?
Does your current position demand too much overtime or travelling time, robbing your
family of your time and energy?
Does your current work or position cause so much stress that your physical and/or mental
health is deteriorating?
Should you be pursuing formal study in your field of work?
If you are studying, are you on the right study path for you and for your other goals?
Does your current work leave you with enough time and energy to serve God in a voluntary
capacity in your local church?
Is part-time or full-time Christian service part of your vocational/career goals?
Mental/Intellectual: In setting goals here you will consider:
Formal study goals towards your career or towards Christian ministry of some kind.
Informal self-improvement options deliberate discussion with work colleagues, personal
reading, etc.
If you are older decide how you are going to keep your brain active.
Recognizing poor or destructive habitual thought patterns and determining to replace them

with godly, faith-based thought patterns.

Maintaining your mental health, which includes knowing yourself and recognizing signs of
impending stress, burn out and depression.
If you are in a state of poor mental health, seeking professional help.
Physical/Health/Recreation: Physical health impacts all areas of life. Your goals here should
help you to maintain your physical health. They will cover such things as:
Factoring regular physical activity into your week.
Factoring margin [empty space] into your daily schedule.
Making sure your diet is healthy.
Removing excesses and/or addictions from your life.
Getting enough sleep.
Keeping your weight within the right limits for your height neither underweight nor
overweight.
Getting regular medical check-ups.
Deciding whether or not to be involved in organized sport or to pursue personal recreational
activities.
Financial/Material: This relates to your income, your money and your possessions. Here you
face up to questions like
Does my work provide enough income to finance my actual needs?
If not, what am I going to do about it?
Am I able to distinguish between wants and needs?
How much of my spending is on unnecessary items?
Could I live with less income and have more time for the Lord and/or for family?
How much should I be giving to God and to the poor and needy?
How can I use my possessions to serve God?
How do I plan to get out of debt?
Do I really need a credit card?
Should I be saving for a deposit on a house?
How much should I be regularly putting aside for the future for childrens education etc?
Should I be considering investment options?
Am I a slave of my possessions?
If Im married, do my spouse and I think the same about finances and possessions?
Social/Community: This area is about your interaction with other people [apart from immediate
family]. It is not just about whether or not you need interaction with an extended group of
people, but also about how you can serve God in the context of social groups and community
needs. While we all live in a social and community context, the degree to which you are involved
has a lot to do with the kind of person you are and the particular gifts God has given you. Your
relationships with other people are important as you seek to shine the light of Jesus Christ into
the world. Here you will think about goals in terms of:

Intentional friendship building with your neighbours and others you encounter regularly.
Whether or not to join a social or community group.
Your level of involvement in sport.
How you will serve your community in long term needs or in crises.

Other: This category is here because we are all different. There may be something important in
your life that is not covered by any of the above.
Complete Section #3A-C of the Study One Worksheet now.
C.1 Setting long term goals and short term goals
Now that you have worked out what you really want to do with your life you are ready to create
your short and long term goals. You set your long term goals first. These define what you want to
achieve by five or ten years down the track. Some of these will be more important to you than
others, particularly in fulfilling your over-arching Mission Statement. You need to get clear in
your mind which are the most important, or you will find yourself spending too much time,
money and energy pursuing long term goals that are not the most important.
Then you set yourself some short term goals that will help you get to the long term goal step by
step.
For example, if your list of 8 important ambitions includes getting married and having a
family one of your long term goals will be:
Get married
To achieve this long term goal you might set such short term goals as:
Regularly talk to God about my desire to get married.
Keep myself sexually pure for my marriage partner.
Define the kind of person I want as my life-long partner and the parent of my children.
Date only those whose mission statement parallels mine.
Prepare myself for marriage in terms of health, finance, spiritual walk.
Complete Sections #4 and 5 in the Study One Worksheet

C.2 Working with short and long term goals

[1] At all times keep your goals before the Lord in prayer which goals to prioritize, desiring
Gods honour in all you do, needing his help to achieve anything at all, needing his strength to
enable you to press on.

[2] As you life moves forward circumstances change. Sometimes it is necessary to reset your
long term goals and your short term goals. That is okay. God is sovereign, not your goals. Do not
allow these changing circumstances to throw you into a tail-spin. God knew all about them
before you set your goals, and he knows your underlying commitment to him, his glory and his
kingdom. He makes use of your circumstances to get you to the place where he wants you to be,
particularly in terms of your spiritual growth.
[3] As you study the Word of God you will sometimes realize that the goals you set dont really
run in sync with God. Thats a good thing to learn. You will need to redefine some of your goals
[both long and short] so that they conform more closely to God and his purposes for his children.

STUDY ONE WORKSHEET

Rosemary Bardsley 2014

#1 The Scripture and goal-setting

From the Bible verses listed in this section, select ten that you believe are the most important
ones to help you define what you want your life to look like your personal mission and vision.
List those ten here. Include a summary of what these texts say.

#2 Write a draft Mission Statement:

On the basis of what you have studied in Sections A to C write a draft mission statement for your
life. This should be only one sentence. [If you are working with a Mentor, discuss this with your
mentor and refine it if necessary.]

#3A Goal setting Step one

Under each of the headings below make a list of what you are currently doing, and what you
would like to be doing, even things that at the moment seem way out of your reach.
Spiritual

Family

Vocation/Career

Mental/Intellectual

Physical/Health/Recreation

Financial/Material

Social/Community

Other

#3B Goal Setting Step Two

In each of the above categories do two things:
1. Put a cross through the things you are currently doing that do not reflect the Biblical
Principles identified in Study One and in the Setting Biblical Foundations studies, and that do not
fit the Draft Mission Statement you wrote above.

2. Put a circle around the two things from each category that are most important to you, making
sure that you first count the cost of pursuing these ambitions.
#3C Goal Setting - Step Three
From the 16 ambitions you identified now list Your most important 8:

Now break this down to your most important 4:

Now your most important 2:

Now the most important of all:

#4 My long term goals [see Notes below before doing this].

From the above 8 write out your long term goals one for each of the 8 categories in #3A.
Spiritual

Family

Vocation/Career

Mental/Intellectual

Physical/Health/Recreation

Financial/Material

Social/Community

Other

Now number them from 1 to 8 in terms of how important they are to you. [Number 1 being the
most important.] This is an important step to help you know which goals you should spend most
time, effort and money on.
#5 My short term goals
Now for each long term goal identify several short term goals that will work towards fulfilling
your long term goals. Remember to keep your Mission Statement in mind as you write these
goals.
For long Term Goal #1:

For long Term Goal #2:

For long Term Goal #3:

For long Term Goal #4:

For long Term Goal #5:

For long Term Goal #6:

For long Term Goal #7:

For long Term Goal #8:

Notes:
[1] The above list of 8 long term goals has left out quite a lot of things that are important to you.
As you make progress in working toward these via the associated short term goals, you can work
out short term goals for other important long term goals.
[2] If you would rather work towards multiple goals in fewer categories than one goal in each
category, that is okay. For instance, if you have nothing in Other you could work towards two
long term Family goals. Or, if you are already fit and healthy and fully engaged socially, you
may choose to work towards three long term Spiritual goals, if you notice some lack in that
area.
[3] If you are working with a Mentor, discuss your long and short term goals with your Mentor.