Good evening everyone!

What is your BHAG? BHAG is a term that was created by a pair of gentlemen, James Collins, and Jerry Porras, in their 1994 book "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies." The acronym stands for Big, Hairy, Audacious, Goal. The premise of the book and the acronym is that most successful companies are founded with a single-minded focus on a goal that is monstrous. Examples would be Microsoft. Their BHAG was to put a computer on every desk, in every home. At the time this was believed to be virtually impossible. Another example is that of Google. The basic purpose they were built on was to organize the world's information, making it universal and useful. These goals fit specific attributes required of a BHAG, and it drove much of their success by holding true to those key elements.

The idea of having proper goals has been an understanding long held in the Church of God. In our modern history we had a booklet entitled "The Seven Law of Success," which detailed the first law of success is to begin with the right goal. Do we have a solid understanding of what God has revealed as our BHAG? We are just one week away from our observance of the Feast of Trumpets which will continue our rehearsal of God's plan revealing our BHAG. Our Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to inherit the Kingdom of God as sons and daughters in the Family of God. It does not get much bigger than that! Let's consider the elements of our goal that are essential if we are to cling to be successful in fulfilling this plan for our lives.

 A BHAG needs to be long-term. Most businesses lack the vision required of a proper BHAG. Companies focus on quarterly earnings, next year's budget, or even a 2-5-year growth strategy. True BHAG is not focused on months or years but decades! Hebrews 12:1-4 describes our need to endure, not just for this week or this year, but to the end our lives.

BHAG's are action oriented. The "hairy" portion necessitates work. Even though the goal is long-term, there is no time to waste, else the goal will not be met. This element of BHAG was evident with Microsoft's BHAG. Their goal was huge, but if they failed to act, other companies, IBM, or Apple, would surpass their efforts.  A race was on and urgency was key. This same element needs to be in play for our lives. While there are many verses we could turn to, Romans 13:11-14 is one that highlights our need to awake from sleep. If we want to achieve the goal of entrance into the family of God, we must be working urgently! There is no time to waste!

A third item required in a BHAG, is that it must be compelling and exciting. The commitment and difficulty required to work towards goals like these, it must be worth achieving. There has to be a vision of something that merits the efforts. Of course, the purpose for which we were created is worthwhile. Not simply worthwhile, but as stated in Romans 8:18-23, it surpasses everything in this life.

Over the next several weeks, we will have the privilege of increasing our vision of the Big Hairy Audacious Goal that God has set before us. Let us entrench the attributes of this great objective in our minds as we keep the upcoming festivals of God.

I wish you all an edifying Sabbath!

Devin Schulz