An Eternal Perspective Assessment - Did You Have a Good Year?

I pray that you have had a great Christmas and a outstanding New Year. The question I have for you to consider is, have you scripted the first month of the new year? Getting started well is an important first step. It is important to evaluate the areas of your life and leadership that you should focus on in order to know where to spend your leadership time and energy.

How are you doing? Take the C12 Group 10 point assessment and find out

It has become a year-end tradition at the C12 Group to take a uniquely Christ-centered retrospective look at the results of our past year's activities, focusing on the eternal perspective. Periodically, we should stop and assess how we are doing. Aside from business performance measures, how are our actions and leadership pleasing to God?

What is it that we should be looking for as we examine ourselves? Take our 10 point assessment below to help you determine what kind of year you've had, in His eyes. This will also help you to know where you should focus your time and energy in January to start your new year in the right direction.

The 10 Point Assessment: You're having a good year if . . .
Rate your year from 1 to 10 (1=low, 5=average, 10=high) as measured against your potential or opportunity.

____ 1. You spent more time with The Lord. Everything we are or do comes out of our relationship with God in Christ Jesus. Obedience to God is the FINAL definition of success in our lives and our obedience comes out of our relationship with Him. As we grow to know Him better we are more able to hear His voice. The more clearly we hear Him, the easier it is to obey Him.

____ 2. Your family relationships strengthened. Were you able to spend more time with your spouse and children? We need to look at these relationships right after our relationship with God. We can't really get closer to God and not be convicted to love and serve our mates and children.

____ 3. You spent more time listening and relating to your key team members on a one-to-one basis. You did this with an ear tuned to God and His purposes and eyes searching for ways to minister to stakeholder needs. You had a good year if you frequently prayed for their salvation, and an even better year if you actually did something more to impact them for eternity.

____ 4. You saw the people that you deal with - suppliers, customers, employees, and others - as objects of your personal ministry than objects to be exploited for your personal gain. If you increasingly see yourself as an entrusted servant to them, rather than master over them - you had a good year.

____ 5. You are less acquisitive than you were a year ago. The urge to acquire things is of the flesh, not the Spirit. If you've extricated yourself, even a little, from its grasp, and are more able to steward your gifts with an open hand before the Lord, you've had a good year.

____ 6. You are measurably more thankful for what you have and content with your present lot in life. Spiritual maturity brings with it a contentment that comes from the awareness of what God has done for us by grace. What do we have that we deserve? Can you say, "Thank You, Father...I already have more than I deserve or need," and really mean it? If you can, with a truly grateful heart, you've had a good year.

____ 7. You have more peace in your heart. This is especially true if the peace is not related to circumstances, since circumstances always change. Spiritual maturity, and the peace that comes with it, is dependent on abiding in our God who never changes. Do you more clearly see God's hand in your circumstances (i.e., "...give thanks in all circumstances" 1Th 5:18). If so, you've had a good year.

____ 8. You learned more about your profession and are able to apply greater technical expertise in your field. If you believe that your business is a gift from God, as steward you're to run it for Him with excellence, and you've mustered the time and will to learn and apply better ways to do so, you had a good year.

____ 9. You took better care of your body. Did you get the exercise you need? Was your diet better than last year? The way we care for our body is one measure of our self-control and a visible part of our witness. Mastery of self is a key to spiritual growth. If your temple is in better shape than it was a year ago, allowing for the wear and tear of time, you had a good year.

____ 10. More eternal fruit has been produced through and around you. It means simply this: your obedience to God in what you say, do, and are, influences others to move towards God in their thoughts and actions, yielding eternal fruit. This is true in all areas of our lives, not just in business. If you can see that more eternal fruit has been produced in, around, and through your business, you've had a GREAT year.

_________ Total for Year
_________ Average rating for year (Divide your total by 10)

To find out more about the C12 Group go to www.c12group.com.  I would love to see you at one of our C12 Group Roundtables.