REFOCUS: Anchoring to the Unshakable Word

The Fourth of Seven

When you look at yourself honestly and see the gap between where you should be and the place you now find yourself, you have a decision to make. You can look away and pretend everything is fine or you can decide to do something about it. 

King Josiah looked into the mirror of God’s Word, he grieved the gap. But after grief there should be purposeful action. The third step in the renewal cycle is to Refocus. We must let God’s Word set our direction. No matter where you find yourself, God will help you to navigate yourself back to where you should be if you will make God’s Word the priority in your life. 

Josiah’s response after tearing his robes is decisive. He doesn’t form a committee. He doesn’t launch a new marketing campaign. He gathers everyone—from the least to the greatest—at the temple. And what does he do? 2 Kings 23:2 says, "He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant". He then stands by the pillar and leads the entire nation in a public renewal of their covenant with God, pledging "to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book".

The Word of God, which had been the source of their conviction, now becomes the source of their direction. It is recentered as the absolute, non-negotiable authority for the life of the nation. Everything else would now have to align with the Book.

Think about the return of Steve Jobs to Apple in 1997. The company he came back to was just 90 days from bankruptcy. Why? It was suffering from a catastrophic loss of focus. Apple was producing a bewildering array of products—dozens of different computer models, printers, peripherals—and none of them were great. They were trying to be everything to everyone and were failing spectacularly.

In one of the most legendary meetings in corporate history, Jobs, as the new interim CEO, walked up to a whiteboard and drew a simple two-by-two grid. Across the top, he wrote "Consumer" and "Pro." Down the side, he wrote "Desktop" and "Portable." He then turned to his executive team and said, "This is our new product line". He slashed over 70% of the company’s products, refocusing all of Apple’s immense talent and energy on making just four, world-class computers. He cut away dozens of good ideas to refocus on a few great ones. This radical act of subtraction and refocusing saved the company and paved the way for the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone.

Jobs's first major act was not to add something new, but to cut away the clutter. Similarly, Josiah’s first public act was not to launch a new festival, but to re-center the existing Word of God. The lesson is profound: renewal often requires the discipline of subtraction before the work of addition can begin. We must clear away the complexity that chokes out our primary purpose. This is the biblical principle of pruning: God cuts away branches that are unfruitful so that the fruitful ones can bear even more fruit.

What is the "whiteboard" of your life? If keeping the same grid, what are the four essential quadrants God has called you to? Your relationship with Him, your family, your vocation, your church community? Many of us are living cluttered, busy, unfocused lives, doing many good things but failing at the great things. To refocus means having the courage to say "no" to the good so that you can give your best "yes" to God’s best.

And as a church, we can suffer from the same mission drift. We add programs, events, and ministries until our calendar is full but our people are not being transformed. We must constantly refocus on our "four quadrants": the apostles’ teaching (the Word), the fellowship (Christian Community), the breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper/Worship), and the prayers. We must restore the public reading of Scripture, doctrinal clarity, worship, and earnest corporate prayer to the very center of our life together. 

In an effort to not just “preach” to you about the importance of refocusing the church, I have created another worksheet for you to evaluate what may need refocusing and then, what to do about it. I’ve sought to keep it as simple as possible without compromising effectiveness in self-assessment. I call it the Acts 2:42 Church Focus Assessment. You can download it, no strings attached, by clicking the button below. 

Acts 2:42 Assessment

If you have not taken advantage of the other free downloads in this series, you can find them at the end of each of the blogs. They are:

• Remind: Who I am In Christ Handout

• Review: The “One Another” Self Evaluation and Growth Plan