Leadership Corner: Self Examination Tool

Preparing Yourself for 2019

Key Thought: Effective leaders conduct a yearly personal and ministry self examination.

Self Examination Tool

Part I

Read each of the following statements and evaluate if you are aligned with them:

• Success: God's goal for me - to be all God wants me to be
• Significance: Focus on things that matter for eternity
• Fulfillment: Accept your unique roles (example - parent, spouse etc)
• Satisfaction: Raise the quality of relationships
• Happiness: Be thankful for what you have and where you are
• Fun: Remove non-scriptural inhibitors
• Security: Focus on the eternal not the temporal
• Peace: Internal order not circumstances. 

Part II

Write out your life values in one sentence statements. For example here are the values that guide my life:

1. To know Christ
2. To be found a good steward of all that God has given me (time, talent, resources)
3. To live a life of compassion and justice
4. To impact the lives of others so they can reach their God given potential.
5. To become whole and mature 

Part III

Review the following six aspects of your life and for each area write out a goal; make an assessment of where you are now and list action points for the coming year. The six areas are:

1. Physical
2. Financial
3. Vocational (Ministry or work)
4. Relational
5. Emotional and personal development
6. Spiritual

For example this was my evaluation of my spiritual area in 2005

    Goal: To have an alive and growing relationship with God

    Assessment: My relationship has drifted as I have gotten busier in ministry

    Action Points:

1. Take a Sabbath day every Monday
2. One hour of silence and solitude each week
3. Implement one hour of prayer each morning except Sunday and Wednesday.

Follow the same format for each of the six areas listed.

This format has helped my over the years. It is also interesting to look back over prior years and see how God is working. I started this in 1997. One of my physical action points that year was to run the NYC marathon (never happened). One of my vocational action points was to finish my training and become the pastor of a church which happened.  I hope this tool will help you or you will develop your own tool for self evaluation. One day you will look back and praise God for the great things He has done.

Pastor Willie