How to Avoid Kindness SMART Goals

“I’m about to fill out my pastoral report,” my friend and colleague told our congregation. She added, “And you know, in many contexts, when we do this, people tend to expect external numbers that you can measure: What was the attendance? How much money was collected in the offering?”

She continued, “But I like to report in a different way. After all, how can someone measure how much a congregation lives up to that vision in Micah — to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God?”

I started chuckling inwardly because, as a grant writer in a nonprofit setting, I often need to set goals that are concrete and measurable, like SMART goals — goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

I imagined writing, “Here are our SMART Goals on Kindness.”

There is often a push and pull when it comes to things that are measurable, like numbers. In the past, I remember having to report these kinds of numbers for a community I was serving. And I was evaluated by those numbers, even though the people receiving the reports didn’t know the names of anyone in the community.

Numbers can be important, and they tell a story, but relationships and communities tell a far better story. We don’t have to pick one or the other, but our work can certainly privilege that which is deeper.

I like what my friend said next. She added, “I like to report on creative risk-taking. Where am I seeing that? Are people sitting next to someone they don’t know? Is someone volunteering to lead in a way that is new to them? Is someone expressing a story with vulnerability and trusting the community to hold it?”

I wonder what life would be like if we evaluated our efforts by creative risk-taking.

How might that change things?

—Renee Roederer