My 3 Words.

by Tim Schraeder on 01/18/2010 in Just For Fun with 3 Comments

Blaine was inspired by Clay who was inspired by Chris… and yes it’s January 18, sort of a weird time to be declaring your goals for the New Year, but hey, that’s how I roll.

I’m over making resolutions but I love the idea of three words that you hope will mark your year. Instead of specific goals they are more themes that will guide and shape the decisions you make.

So for me, my words are AUTHENTICITY, INTENTIONALITY and CREATIVITY.

  • Authenticity – one of the great gifts those of us in the church world can have is the gift of BS. In my mind, one of the greatest necessities in life, especially in ministry, is authenticity. And sadly, too often, the church is one of the last places we can be real. For some odd reason we like to have a glossy finish and appear to have it altogether. I’m fairly guilty of that and I want this year of my life to be marked with authenticity in all areas of my life… personally, at work, with friends and in community.
  • Intentionality – I tend to live life a bit haphazardly. I am a fan of randomness and spontaneity but realize that isn’t always the best place to live life from. This year I want to be intentional with my time and relationships. I want to live life with more balance and schedule my life around relationships and things that matter. I want to be intentional in taking time for myself, too.
  • Creativity – I’m a creative but I haven’t felt very creative lately. I’ve done some creative things… but I’m ready to do something new. I want to do things this year to cultivate creativity and inspiration in my life. I want to go to more concerts and art galleries, read more and spend less time in front of a computer screen. I believe that the best creativity is derived by time spent with the Creator, and so I hope to create [no pun intended] time to do just that.

So, all of this sounds great, but making it a bit practical…

On Authenticity, I hope to:

  • Be real. Have some tough conversations.
  • Be honest. If I’m not having a great day, I will be real about it!

On Intentionality, I hope to:

  • Be organized. I want to start actually putting things in my iCalendar and live my whim.
  • Be committed. I want to set up weekly/bi-weekly/monthly times with friends who I can invest in and with those who can invest in me.

On Creativity, I hope to:

  • Be a reader. My reading has been limited lately. I want to unplug and connect with some good books this year. And by that I mean more than 2 books per month.
  • Be a student. I want to take a class or do something to expand my horizons a bit. I’ll definitely be hitting up some conferences this year but it would be fun to broaden my  horizons this year and check out some new ones.

All in all… I hope to have a healthy and balanced year… marked by authenticity, intentionality, and creativity.

Tim Schraeder
Tim Schraeder is passionately committed to helping churches effectively communicate the timeless message of the Gospel in a way that’s relevant to our ever-changing culture. He presently serves as the co-director of the Center for Church Communication and is the creator and general editor of Outspoken: Conversations on Church Communication, a field guide for church communication leaders. Tim lives in Chicago where he can be found in any neighborhood coffee shop that has free wifi. Subscribe via RSS | Subscribe via Email | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Sign Up for My Newsletter
Tagged: , , , ,
  • http://WeAreStAndrews.com Greg Shore

    Great post, Tim. One of the things I struggle with is being too plugged in to the church. At one point, I had zero relationships with those outside of the walls of the church. I knew everybody on my block. Half of them went to my church, the other half to the church down the street.

    I managed to break out of that by taking an art class at the local community center. That stretched me functionally (I had never painted before) and relationally.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/timschraeder timschraeder

      being too plugged in is totally a struggle… i love the idea of taking an art class… how did the paintings turn out ;-)

  • http://WeAreStAndrews.com GregontheRun

    The paintings don't exist anymore! That wasn't my thing. Instead, I'm now a gym rat and coach running. I have lots of fun relationships outside the church which leads to great spiritual conversations. I've been introduced as somebody's pastor to the hospital staff when a friend was in recovery and overheard someone say recently, "He's not just my running coach. Greg's my spiritual advisor." That's pretty weighty.

    Go for any class that interests you at the local community education center. Sometimes, it was hard for me to walk away at the end of the day to go to a class but guess what? The work was still there in the am and it still got done. It's amazing how God can re-order priorities without everything falling apart.

←
→