Looking Back in Order to Move Forward

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It’s that time of year again.  It’s time to look back and reflect on the year past in order to move forward into the new  year. In these last few days of the year, I want to encourage you to finish strong. I recommend that you hit the pause button to reflect on your growth as an apostle of Jesus over the past 12 months. A new year brings new opportunities for spiritual growth, but first, it’s important to reflect on what you have accomplished in the last year. Offer yourself the gift of looking back as the year draws to a close.

Why bother? Reflecting on and completing the year past clears an open space from which to freely jump into the next year. Avoiding or refusing to pause and reflect won’t allow you to truly recognize how far you’ve come, or to note prayers that God answered.

In doing my own year-end reflections, I like to use the “5 Quantum Leaps of Faith” to see where I grew. These leaps are grounded in the Bible and exemplified by Jesus Himself. Best of all, each leap moves you from discipleship to apostleship.

As you read through the following five leaps, score yourself, on a scale of one to five, so that you can quantitatively see what you can celebrate and where you can stretch. Give yourself 1 point if you can answer “yes” to a question, 3 points if you can say “yes” for multiple instances, and 5 points if you feel that you consciously made a point to do each on a continual basis. Then we’ll tally up the results at the end.

This is a great model to use to engage your leadership team or church committee.  Remember to include and acknowledge the leaps your people have made as well.  Like a long-jumper, measure even the smallest advances and remember that gradual growth leads to exponential gains.

Finally, I recommend that you document your growth. Creating a visible record of your progress solidifies the gains you made and clarifies gaps you can close in the coming year. Get creative and have fun celebrating how far you have come.

Now, let’s take a look at the 5 Leaps of Faith I’m talking about.

Leap #1: Be fruitful and multiply like Jesus

There’s more to following Jesus than emulating the spiritual principles He taught. You are also called to emulate Him by multiplying yourself. This comes by passing on your Kin(g)dom vision and values to the people you lead.

  1. Did you delegate to involve people in new ways?
  2. Did you contribute to the growth of the kin(g)dom by sharing power and authority with those who wished to grow?
  3. Did you freely share a vision and employ those around you to help move it forward?

Leap #2: Be empowered like Jesus

One of the most Jesus-like practices that a Christian leader can embrace is to be empowered and empower others. Lord knows we all need it. Jesus shared His authority freely and authorized His followers again and again to do the very things He did.

  1. Did you feel empowered to act?
  2. Did you say yes to Jesus and accept the freedom and authority He gives?
  3. Did you follow the promptings of the Spirit?

Leap #3: Be accountable like Jesus

Jesus was accountable to the one He called Father for fulfilling His call and He was rewarded mightily. When we become accountable for our own giftedness and potential, we can begin to live fully into the gifts we’ve received.

  1. Did you recognize and use what you’ve been taught?
  2. Did you employ your spiritual gifts?
  3. Did you maximize the gift of time by saying yes and no to the right things?

Leap #4: Believe like Jesus

Jesus makes it clear that He wants us to have the same kind of faith He Himself has.

He teaches His followers to not only have faith in Him, but to have the faith like Him. Every time we participate in miracle-making, just as the apostles did, we are demonstrating Christ-like faith.

  1. Did you act on the belief that your life has purpose?
  2. Did you live in partnership with God?
  3. Did you contribute to any miracle making?

Leap #5: Love like Jesus

Jesus practiced the holy trinity of love: love of God, love of neighbor and love of self. Love is an action and a commitment, based on being Christ-like. When we practice self-hate, self-neglect, self-abasement, or self-denigration, we harm and damage ourselves.  When we practice self-love, we increase our ability to love others.

  1. Did you grow in self-love this year?
  2. Did you offer love and grace to others, even when you didn’t want to?
  3. Did you surrender negativity to God?

Now that you have inventoried your growth, let’s add up your points to see where you stand.

  • 60 – 75 points: Rock on! You’re in the zone.
  • 40 – 59 points: You’re on the right track, keep going!
  • 20 – 39 points: You’re getting there; look for places you can stretch in the coming year.
  • 0 – 19 points: Are you giving yourself enough credit? If there’s room for improvement, what better time to start than today?

No matter what your score is, this is the time to celebrate and to stretch. A great way to stretch in the new year is to grow in self-awareness. Expand your emotional intelligence by joining me for the timely Platinum Rule Leadership for Changing Times workshop, where you’ll do just that. The first session begins on January 6.

Happy New Year! Here’s to a year of quantum leaps of faith for us all.

Rebekah Simon-Peter serves as "chief visionary" for her coaching and consulting firm and is passionate about "reconnecting spiritual leaders with their God-given powers to co-create miracles with the divine." This post is republished with the author's permission from her webisite. Copyright © 2021 rebekahsimonpeter.com, All Rights Reserved.