The Dialog

"I'm getting worried about you. You're getting to the point where you hate losing more than you love winning." An athletic director said that to my co-host Nick Surface when Nick was coaching youth soccer. He has never forgotten it.

So are you focused on the process or the outcome? Nick makes the case for plans and goals. I'm not really a goal setter. Between us sits Proverbs 16:9: "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" (NLT).

Should Christians set goals?
Nick says yes: no plan survives first contact, and the SEAL teams plan every time anyway. Where I land: set the outcome goal, then get focused on the process. Jim Rohn said it's who you become on the way.

What is God's will for your life?
Romans 12:2 says to let God transform you by changing the way you think. God's will for you isn't an outcome. It's transformation.

What's the right question to ask?
Not what do I have to do to reach the goal. What kind of person do I have to become to maximize who I am?

Why doesn't God show you the whole plan?
If He showed you step 10, you wouldn't be mature enough for it yet. What I do is not up to me. Who I am is up to me.

Scriptures
Proverbs 16:9 · Proverbs 19:21 · Romans 12:2 · 1 Chronicles 22:8 · James 4:13-15 · Acts 17:26-27 · Exodus 12:40

Thinkers and stories
Jim Rohn · C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien · Marcus Aurelius · The Epic of Gilgamesh · Kobe Bryant · Quincy Jones and Thriller

Chapters
0:00 Cold open and show intro
0:52 When the plan blows up anyway
1:57 Five kids was never the plan
2:55 Many are the plans in a man's heart
5:07 God's will is transformation
5:29 Is planning still worth it?
7:08 Obsessed with outcomes, or with control?
7:56 Deo volente: God willing
8:28 Jim Rohn: who you become
9:30 Kobe Bryant and loving the process
10:56 Does God care what I'm doing?
12:24 Placed in a time and place
15:19 The Epic of Gilgamesh
17:05 C.S. Lewis and the one true myth
18:03 How much does my plan matter?
19:36 Sovereignty and responsibility
20:37 The plans of mice and men
21:29 Doesn't this make you cynical?
22:25 Gladiator and Marcus Aurelius
24:28 The right question
26:55 Open doors and closed doors
28:02 A film degree
29:02 Isn't that outcome-based?
31:08 Leave room for God
32:21 What I do vs. who I am
32:47 Nick's soccer coaching story
34:14 Hate losing more than you love winning
35:43 Deciding your whole life at 18
37:03 Ten years of work, then it was over
40:08 Pursue excellence, measure maturity
41:37 Trust God with the future
43:01 Why God doesn't show you step 10

Previous: 1.18 / What does the Bible say about leadership?
Next: 1.20 / Have we confused our preferences with principles?

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Go to my website / https://jkc.is

What is The Dialog?

Ancient philosophers used the dialog to find answers to life’s greatest questions. The Dialog is a search for truth in modern life through the lens of ancient philosophy, history, and theology. This podcast will challenge your assumptions, change your thinking and show you how to master modern living.