God has given your school a mission. You are committed to it, you want to achieve it, and you believe that achieving it will impact the world for Christ.

But it’s Tuesday morning, and you have to get a sub for a teacher who is out sick, you have just been asked to attend a meeting at 9:30 regarding a student who is struggling, you have to talk with a 7th grader from a dysfunctional home who has been acting out in class, you learn that the father of your 6th grade social studies teacher has cancer, and 237 emails are sitting in your inbox.

Stop. Breathe. And remember that while Christian education is about responding to crisis and the parable of the Good Samaritan, it’s more about stewarding the mission and the parable of the talents.

Consider making one or more commitments regarding stewarding your mission. Here are 5 options:

1. Commit to focusing on the mission and to responding to crises as a function of achieving your mission.
   
2. Commit to investing 5 or more minutes during each staff meeting in discussing and celebrating progress toward mission achievement.
   
3. Commit to investing 30 or more minutes each week in assessing progress toward mission achievement and planning next steps.
   
4. Commit to getting 100% of your staff to be able to explain the answers to 4 questions: What is our mission? What is our definition of mission achievement? What is our current level of mission achievement? What strategic steps are we taking to close the gap between targeted and current levels of mission achievement?
   
5. Commit to developing an attention-getting scoreboard that measures your current level of mission achievement and your progress on strategic steps you are taking.

If you make one or more commitments, consider ways to get the support, encouragement, and accountability you need to carry out your commitment(s).