A framework for your next steps

How I processed what to do next (and how you can too!)

Last year, I was blessed to take a Sabbatical. I made and kept a goal to avoid reading or thinking about ministry strategies and plans until the final third of the time. It was amazing to spend the bulk of the time focused on my relationship with the Lord.

As the last third of the time started, however, I felt a little lost on how to even think about seeking the Lord for next steps. I fell into this framework (below), so I wanted to share it with you. If you want to work your way through it as a practical exercise, be sure to grab a journal or a blank word processor and set aside some time to pray and think. (Also, check out my notes at the end if you want help doing this!)

Past Direction

What has God already told you?

First: If you are a follower of Jesus, you have directions from Scripture. They are ‘general directions’ in the sense that they apply to any believer, but when it comes to you, they are specific. These are things like: Follow Jesus, Fish for People, Make Disciples, etc. Depending on your life, you will have more specifics. For example, if you have a family, you need to love your spouse and kids. Whatever those general directions are for you, write them down.

Second:

While you wait, continue doing the last thing God told you to do.¹

Had God led you toward anything specifically in the past? Did you complete it? Is the call still out there? For me, I realized I had never really had the call removed², but to my own shame, had gotten discouraged out of it.

You might also have some smaller directions that you still need to complete. For example, maybe the Lord put a specific friend on your heart to reach out to. If you haven’t done that yet, it is a ‘thing God told you to do.’

Again, if you have any of these past directions, and possibly multiple of them, write them down.

Stewardships

What has God given you to steward?

You are not arriving at this moment of seeking clarity in a vacuum. You’ve lived a life, you have built relationships, and you have certain skills. Anything that is a part of your life is a gift from God, and as such, we should seek to steward it for his glory. We can even steward past difficulties for his glory.

This doesn’t mean you need to do everything you have been doing, but it does mean you should not take lightly past relationships and experiences.

• What is true about your life that anyone can see? Things like your family, your schedule, where you live, your job… these are all stewardships from the Lord. Write those down.

• Think through your past experiences of life and ministry. What skills and experience have you gained? Write those down.

• What relationships are unique to you? Who do you know and have a connection with that does not exist elsewhere? That’s a unique stewardship. Think people when you do this brainstorming. Write those names down.

• What spiritual and natural gifts do you have? I was surprised by how little I had actually thought about this, but it stands to reason God would want you to use the gifts He has given you moving forward. You don’t need to take multiple gift tests to find this out (although you can): If you don’t intuitively know some areas you are gifted in, ask a family member or close friend. Write those gifts down.

Current Reality

What’s really going on around you?

Even in the previous two steps, you are probably starting to see some clarity towards the next steps (or maybe, like for me, a reminder of the previous direction). Take some time and think about: What is the current reality of where I am (or where God is calling me)?

For example, I realized that making disciples of lost people, with a geographic focus around me, was a general direction to aim for. So, I took this Current Reality step to write out the stark reality: Are disciples being made? Where are the wins? Where are the gaps where nothing is happening?

Again, write it down!

Alignment

Where do things line up?

Where do you see alignment across the three preceding areas of Direction, Stewardships, and Current Reality? This step takes a little more time, but it is well worth it. Review the three lists you have made, and see where there is synergy.

For example, maybe you are gifted at discipling new believers (stewardship), God has called all believers to make disciples (direction), and in your church, there are immature believers that need to be discipled (current reality). There is an alignment there that could be stated: One of my potential next steps is to seek to disciple the believers in my church.

There will not always be a three-way alignment like in that example, but even when two things come together, you should pay attention. Try to come up with 10 to 15 areas of alignment and write them down.

Two Final Questions

Pulling it all together.

After doing that exercise, there may be a specific alignment (or two) that stands out to you. Or maybe when you look at the list of alignments, you see a few general directions that capture them. (That’s what happened for me.)

Given everything so far, (don’t put it aside, keep it in mind!), consider these two questions:

1. Where do you have the greatest opportunity to impact lostness?³ Look at your list of alignments and consider that question.

2. Dawson Trotman said: Never do anything that someone else can and will do when there is so much of importance which others cannot or will not do. What on your list of alignments is something that others are not doing?

This is where this road map for discernment gets sticky, because I’m not you, and I can’t answer for you. Hopefully, at this point, you have some sense of God’s leading in some next steps. Take time to pray, continue to think and consider this framework, and write down some clear next steps God is directing you toward.

Then, run it by some friends. Again, this should be more than a five-minute conversation. Set aside some time to share what you’ve been working through, where you feel God is leading you, and then ask your friends for insights and affirmations, for or against what you’ve shared.

If this was helpful, let me know.

If you are even more confused after my attempt at providing clarity, PLEASE let me know that so I can refine it.

If you want some help working through this framework, reach out! I would love to do so over a couple of Zoom meetings or email exchanges so I can improve these concepts.

1. Blackaby, Henry T., and Claude V. King. Experiencing God: How to Live the Full Adventure of Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994. p153

2. What are you doing here?

3. It might not be directly engaging lost people, though you should never stop being a ‘fisher of men’. Oftentimes, kingdom workers can have a bigger impact on lostness by investing in the next generation who are closer to lost people than you are. This may or may not be true for you, but do some thinking here and don’t automatically assume the answer to this question is ‘go knock on more doors.’