MGA4: Mission Success

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Selah)  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  (Selah)  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.  (Selah)  Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth.  He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.  “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Selah)       ~ Psalm 46

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  ~ Colossians 3: 23, 24

Lord God, my refuge and strength, my ever present help in trouble and the source of all good things, You hold my success and safety in Your hands, You are my fortress and defender.  You hold my harm and failure in Your hands, You are my fortress and defender.  Bless the work of my hands, the risks I assess and mitigate, the resources that I manage, and the decisions that I make.  Protect me from pride and failure, protect me from unwise decisions that put people and resources at risk.  Bless me with wisdom that comes from You, wisdom to protect people and effectively use things, wisdom to achieve success in the activities with which I am charged.  Remind me that I work only for You; give me perseverance and strength to serve You; comfort me with Your presence and the hope of an eternal inheritance.  At Your voice, the earth melts; wars end and nations fall at Your discretion.  I will be still and know that You are God, I exalt Your holy Name.  AMEN

MGA 4 is Executing the Mission, which is described as being threefold “primary mission…readiness (for war), and mission assurance command and control.” These missions stand up on the early MGAs, effective resource management, leadership of people and constant improvement of the unit.  For me in my future position, the primary mission will revolve around the provision of primary medical care; it will be measured by things like how many future medical appointments are available, how satisfied are patients, how many patients are seen daily etc.  The readiness mission will involve assuring that the military medics under my authority are prepared to deploy in support of a military engagement, to care for war wounded. The mission assurance command and control has to do with mitigating local threats to all resources and personnel and maintaining authority over those resources; it means knowing where resources are at any given time and being able to use them to achieve specific objectives at a moment’s notice. 

The mission is founded upon a mission directive or specific statement of capability that is provided by my leadership; it gives me my priorities and therefore informs the priorities and actions of those I lead.  All decisions should therefore be made based upon how much they support that primary directive.  When I make decisions about people and resources, I should be asking myself “does this decision support our primary patient care mission?  Our readiness training mission?  Does it ensure solid command and control?”  These give me my coordinates for the directions and guidance I give others, the decisions I make.  

In Colossians 3: 23, I’m reminded where my prime mission directive comes from as Paul says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…”.  I am working for the Lord God, and the questions I should ask are “does this give God glory?  Does it lead His people well, with compassion and justice?  Am I honoring His name with my efforts and decisions?”

Right now, I’m chomping at the bit to leave my current job and start me new one, the one where I will be leading more people with more authority.  I have several more months to prepare myself.  During this time, I’ve been given guidance to construct my leadership philosophy, my priorities and underlying framework for decision making.  I’ll receive the specifics of my mission directive from my boss when I arrive or shortly before; the substance of my daily work will be dictated by my chain of command.  But the style will be my own.  The substance is dictated by the nature of my vocation, a vocation which I believe I have been led to and which serves God’s kingdom on earth; it is not a ministry nor an obvious mission, but it is the arena in which I will serve God’s people.  The style is my own, and the style is where I believe my Christian faith will be and should be most apparent.  Colossians 3: 23 reminds me to work hard at what I do as a service to God.  1Thessalonians 5: 13b – 15 says “…live in peace with each other.  And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.”  

I love that phrase “…warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone….”  I believe this sums up most of what I should be doing as a leader.  And my style?  “…be patient with everyone [m]ake sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind…”.  Be patient, just and kind.  

Psalm 46, the Psalm I landed on this morning and which I started this writing with, reminds me where my success begins and ends.  “Come and see the works of the Lord…He makes wars cease…He breaks the bow and shatters the spear, He burns the shields with fire.  Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  God Almighty is my refuge and strength, He controls the future and the success of every endeavor.  I will receive guidance and direction from my earthly leadership; I will do my best within my human abilities to achieve the goals which I establish.  But ultimately all success and all failure rests with God.  Even striving to do my best, I will sometimes fail; even praying for guidance, I will sometimes choose foolishly or sinfully.  My best decisions, my best guidance, may still fail if it is not God’s will.  I must continually balance a desire to do well, to lead well and achieve success, with a knowledge that God alone controls my successes.  

As I type this, I feel like I’ve inadequately addressed this MGA.  Maybe because the specifics of my future job are still so unclear, so far away.  What can I prepare myself to do?  To trust in the Lord Almighty, my fortress, my refuge and my strength.  To warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient, just and kind.  To not fear, even when the earth gives way, mountains fall, waters roar and mountains quake; to not fear even when I experience failure, nor to become full of pride when I experience success.  I will be still and know that the Lord is God and that He will, in all things, be exalted on the earth. 

1)      How do you measure success?  What is the “mission” you are given and what defines successful accomplishment?  

2)      What would failure look like?  Read Psalm 46.  How can you—or have you in the past—trusted in God’s ultimate control, providence and blessing even in the face of earthly failure?

3)      Wherever you serve, you are serving God.  What specific shape does that take in your life?  Where are you challenged to behave with patience, justice and kindness?

4)      “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”  In Jesus Christ, God showed just how “for us” He is—willing to die to save us!  How does this perspective encourage you even in the midst of earthly challenges or failures?