Wish lists come easy. You look for what will fill the blank, scratch the itch, or complete the puzzle. Once you have it, everything works fine and you can get on with other business.
Every associational director of missions probably has his wish list, all the stuff we are convinced would make life a lot easier and more fulfilling for us. Following are some of the top items on my list (and I might just try to see how many of them I can bring into reality in 2011).
1. Congregations that practice the Great Commandments even to the point of personal sacrifice
2. Congregations that focus on God's Kingdom work instead of trying to build their own kingdom
3. Congregations that have servant evangelism as a basic part of their DNA
4. Congregations that see every member as a minister
5. Congregations that priortize both verse nineteen and verse twenty of the Great Commission
6. Congregations that recognize that cooperation does not mean sacrificing local church field priorities
7. Clergy that are wise enough not to confuse their own desires with God's will
8. Clergy that are wise enough to know that servant leadership gets more accomplished
9. Clergy that are wise enough to recognize the spiritual gifts of others
10. Clergy that are wise enough to give credit to others
11. Clergy that are wise enough to know they will have successors
12. Clergy that are wise enough to know they need to learn more
I do believe that this association would run better if a few of these items materialized. Of course some of them might be more readily available if some of the changes started with me!
