I remember my first day as a cadet at West Point. It was day full of tasks: haircut, new clothing, new rules, the list goes on.
As we waited at every station, we were instructed to study knowledge – military trivia, famous quotations, and more. We could be quizzed at any time and if you made a mistake you were quickly interrupted by the junior or senior cadet quizzing you, then told to start over. Needless to say, you didn’t want to make a mistake.
While most of this knowledge is forgotten, I never forgot the “Troop Leading Procedures.” The acronym RIMSCCIS (pronounced rim-skiss) was the pneumonic device I used. It stands for:
Receive The Mission; Issue a Warning Order; Make a Tentative Plan; Start Necessary Movements; Conduct a Reconnaissance (fancy word for learn about where you are going); Complete the Plan; Issue the Complete Order; Supervise and Refine the Plan.
WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! While most of this military jargon is lost on people, these are the critical steps to make a military plan, to organize your Soldiers efforts, and then GO COMPLETE YOUR MISSION! So how does this apply to the World Race, ministry, and my relationship with God?
Well, we have a very serious mission and we need a strategy and some planning to be successful. Enter the Troop Leading Procedures!
Receive the Mission: You mission is “Go into all the World and preach the Good News to everyone.”
Issue the Warning Order: “Hey Mom and Dad, I’m going on the World Race to the 10/40 Window. Don’t freak out!”
Make a Tentative Plan: “Okay, so I’m going to send fundraiser letters, flood Facebook with news about my trip, message random people, make business cards, and sell super cool t-shirts . . . Oh, and pray a lot!”
Start Necessary Movement: Do the stuff in Make a Tentative Plan!
Conduct a Reconnaissance: Okay, were is Kyrgyzstan located again? *Thanks God for Google Maps!*
Complete the Plan: T-shirts are coming in the mail, letters are sent, everyone is tired of your Facebook post (that’s okay! Keep on posting!).
Issue the Complete Order / Supervise & Refine: “Hey Mom & Dad / Friends & Family, I’m leaving on blah blah blah day. I don’t know how God is going to use me, but I super excited to find out! We’ll figure it out as we go… right?”
So why say all this? Well, when we seriously embraced God’s offer of salvation and the Gospel of Grace – we decided to stop being lukewarm – we needed to take action. But we shouldn’t start by simply jumping into Revelations and praying that God will just drop amazing knowledge on us.
It’s a process.
Before you open up your Bible, then about what steps you are actively taking to grow your relationship with God. Maybe you’re reading “The Art of Listening Prayer” by Seth Barnes to learn to hear God’s voice. Maybe your studying 1 Samuel, because life has offended you or your boss tried to impale you like Saul tried to do to David.
If you’re like me, you cannot simply just go around begging for money and fundraise $17,000. You need to have a strategy. You need to build a network of people who you are accountable to and can support you while you are abroad. Most importantly, you need to talk to God and ensure that your strategy is in line with his strategy.
So wherever you are in your walk, take time to evaluate to your mission. Steal the Troop Leading Procedures and take a step of faith.
Blessings,
Charles
