Planning is an integral and essential component for any new project or service to proceed with success and ease. As servants we are sometimes overly excited by our ideas and dream about the end product which we envisage as being successful without actually sitting down and paying attention to the details of our plan including its feasibility, implementation and financial liabilities.

Christ himself alludes to this when he states;

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it– lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Luke 14:28-30

I am no expert when it comes to service however I would like to share some of my experiences with you in the hope that you can learn from my experience as well as my many mistakes.

1.       When you get an idea to revolutionise a service or an idea to do build something, the best thing to do is say “STOP”. Why? you may ask, the answer is really simple, St John in his 1^st epistle writes,

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God…“                                                                                                                               1 John 4:1

This is essential for the success of your initiatives, ask yourself the following questions, what is the motivation behind your idea, is itself gain, pride, jealousy or is it truly a service that you will do from your heart for the benefit of people.

2.       The successful servant has an ability to gouge the general response to his or her idea from fellow servants. If the response is encouraging and people seem excited by your idea then you are most likely going to succeed. If however the response is Lukewarm you should consider whether your idea is worth the struggle because there is nothing worse than beginning a project and not having the support of people around you to help you when the going gets tough. It’s really easy to say people are just negative and lazy but it takes wisdom and courage to sit down and think about their luke-warmness. Simply be honest with yourself for its horrible when you fail and people say “I told you so”.

3.       Having agreed that your idea is worth the pain and struggle to implement do you have the man power and resources you need to make your idea prosper. It is often the case that I see many services begin and just crumble away because of the “burn out” factor. The sooner you realise you can’t do anything yourself the closer you are to becoming successful. As the old adage says there is no “I” in “TEAM”.

4.       If you still think you have everything going for your idea, then ask yourself whether you have the big “C”. Commitment makes or breaks your service. So many times have I seen servants passionately serving when their idea is new or fresh, but after a few weeks, a fight here or there etc, they just give up. This is just so sad and a reflection that the servant had no real commitment to their idea. Literally they did not sit down and plan for the worst case scenarios. You have to be prepared to stick it out in your service. If they mocked Christ, scourged him, whipped him, spat on him and crucified him for his cause then expect the same.

My friends, before you jump into the pool, make sure you know how to swim and if you drown make sure someone is there to save you!

Till Next Time!

In Christ!

Bishoy Marcus