SMART targets and good fruit

Tim Keller has reminded us of the important category of fruitfulness. 

"A more biblical theme for evaluation than either success or faithfulness is fruitfulness. Jesus, of course, told his disciples that they were to “bear much fruit” (John 15:8). Paul spoke even more specifically. He spoke of conversions as “fruit” when he desired to preach the gospel in Rome “that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles” (Rom 1:13)." [Keller, Center Church, p. 13]

This was a strong theme in the preaching of Chrysostom in the fourth century. He didn't have any time for unapplied doctrine or an ornamental church.

"What good, after all, tell me, is a tree reaching to the sky and bearing leaves aplenty if it is devoid of fruit?" [Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Genesis]
"Nothing is more frigid than a Christian, who cares not for the salvation of others... Look at the trees of the forest, see how sturdy and beautiful they are, how tall they grow, and how smooth is their bark. Yet when we plant a garden, we prefer other kinds of trees, such as pomegranate and olive trees. This is because we want trees that bear fruit. We are the trees which God has planted in His garden. He is not concerned at how sturdy and beautiful we are, at how tall we grow, or at how smooth our skin is." [Chrysostom, Homily 20 on Acts]

Why did Christ come and die for us?

"...who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." [Titus 2:14]

So what does fruitfulness consist of? It must be the function of at least four things:

Fruitfulness = (A) Knowing the good + (B) Considering how to do it + (C) Doing it + (D) Divine action

A and C come from James 4:17:

"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them."

There is no point doing a lot of stuff when it's not the right (good) stuff - as Matt Perman has pointed out in What's Best Next. Also, there's no point (in fact it is sin) to know lots of good to do and yet fail on implementation (we'll think about this in another post).

D (Divine Action) is absolutely crucial. The Lord God uses means but he is the only one who has life in himself and can impart life.

"[the farmer] does not know how" (Mark 4:27)

"God gave the growth" (1 Cor. 3:6)

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty." (Zech. 4:6)

"I will build my church" (Matt 16:18)

And there's another factor - (B) - Considering how to do it. 

Paul says to Titus:

"insist on these things [the gospel], so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works." (Titus 3:8)

"And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful." (Titus 3:14)

The word translated 'devote themselves to' could be translated 'maintain' or 'cause to stand', 'direct', 'govern', 'lead', 'manage'. It sounds a lot like task orientated personal management. And Christians are to be 'careful' and 'learn' this sort of management of good works. We are to:

"consider how to..." (Heb. 10:24)

And this is where planning and SMART targets can come in. We can know the good that needs to happen (A) - e.g. putting on an evangelistic carol service or planting a church. We can be committed to the hard work (C). We can be praying earnestly for God to graciously work to bring life and growth (D). But we also need to consider how to do it (B). We need to ask:

• Where are we now?
• Where do we need to be?
• How are we going to get there?

That last question involves at least three things:

1. In what manner will we get there? How will we think about getting there? This is about values, culture, methodology, ministry philosophy, 'strategic anchors' (Lencioni), 'theological vision' (Keller). Doing the right thing in the right way. This is the stage where it’s especially important to have our Bible open and to make sure we’re all on the same page as a team. What is our basic modus operandi? What do we think is important? What is non-negotiable? What are the boundary markers within which we will ‘play the game’?
2. What do we need to do to get there? This is about the strategy and tactics, planning, logistics. We need to break it down into steps and get super specific. 
3. Who is the "we"? Are we trying to do everything ourselves as an omni-competent one-man-band or have we recognised (as Matt Perman also helpfully points out) our inability to do everything ourselves is meant in part to make us rely on one another, on the other members of the body of Christ? How can we set our goals in such a way that they are for us to do together.

It's at that second and third points (what and who) that SMART targets can be helpful. It sounds very 'business-world.' That might get you excited or make you want to run a mile. But maybe it's just a way to stop being vague and consider how exactly to do the good works that God has prepared for us to do. 

If you Google SMART targets you find that there are dozens of different ways that people assign adjectives to S.M.A.R.T. So I've collected them together into themes:

1. Significant, Appropriate, Aligned, Meaningful, Acceptable, Resonant
2. Specific, Simple, Actionable
3. Measurable, Results-orientated, Tangible
4. Assignable, Assigned, Agreed, Resourced
5. Time-related, Time-bound, Time-tabled, Trackable
6. Stretching, Aggressive, Ambitious, Motivational, Aspirational
7. Achievable, Sustainable, Manageable, Attainable, Realistic, Reasonable

The first five of these are the sort of things you could have as column headings in a plan:

Larger vision area that this target falls within	Measurement criteria	Specific objective	Who is assigned to this and any resources/budget necessary	Time frame

The other two areas (points 6 and 7 above) are in tension with one another and are more things to discuss in the process of coming up with the targets: to what extent are we wanting to aim really high (shoot for the stars on the basis that we have a great God and we’ll end up higher than with a low target) and to what extent do we need to have realistic deliverables that will not be too daunting? The realistic element is especially important when it comes to events – best to aim at doing something simple well than going for something really complicated and impressive that is biting off too much.

SMART targets keep us honest and make sure we get really clear on why, what, who, how, when. And ultimately that’s what 'considering' is all about – asking the questions and keeping asking them until we’ve got clarity and a plan.

Let's just make sure that it's a plan to do what is genuinely good (exalting Christ), that we are doing it in his way, with his heart and prayerfully in his strength ("without me you can do nothing"), and that we actually go and do it.