October 1 is near. We have three full months of the year left. Twenty-five percent is a lot. At my house, a lot of life will get lived in these next three months. My family has not yet had a Halloween here, but from what I hear, our neighborhood will look like Stars Hollow. That’ll make Elliot’s quarter. He loves Halloween. My family has not yet had a Thanksgiving here, but good folks at FAB and God helped us find a home with a kitchen that will do it up. As I do, I’ll work on the turkey while watching President Bartlet call the Butterball Hotline. My family has not yet had a Christmas here, but Kristy and Eleanor will go all Clark Griswold, as they do. I figure we’re in for three…four…Christmas trees this year. Nothing makes a new house in a new town in a new state feel like home like the holidays. I’m looking forward to it.
At FAB, we have three full months of the year left and a lot of church will get lived in these next three months. The staff and commissions are already hip deep in all the usual things.
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” My pastoral coach encourages people living and working in these unstable and unpredictable times to dial in tight and deal with vision in small chunks. I’ve participated in numerous retreats where she coached the group to define a 90-day vision.
October 1 is around the corner. What might you set as your vision and work at with intention for the final 90 days of the year? Focus on things you have capacity to affect. Identify a What. With Whom? Where and When? How, specifically? Shuffle the order if that helps you think broadly and creatively, but I’ve found starting with What and Who makes the process easier.
Examples help me. I’ll make up two off-the-cuff.
What: I would like to pray more. Who: N. and N. are good pray-ers. How: I’ll ask them to meet monthly to pray with me. When and where: On Tuesdays at noon in the FAB Chapel…for 90 days.
What: I want to help people in my community. Who: My Sunday School class. How: I’ll invite them to bring a something every two weeks.
When and where: On a Thursday PM ahead of Halloween,
Thanksgiving, and Christmas, deliver to…
Vision doesn’t have to be an exhaustive, for-life mission statement. You’ll never get there. What is your vision for the final 90 days of 2026? You can pick almost anything. You’ll get to pick again in 90 days. You can re-up in January or shift gears. Either way, the effect of the discipline compounds annually. The 5- and 10-year yield can be staggering.
October 1 is near. A lot of life…a lot of church…will get lived these next three months.
~ Rev. Zach Bay
