The Mission Of Your Marriage And Family

If we were to ask you the mission of your marriage or family could you or your spouse or your children clearly articulate it?

In 1963 a study during the Kennedy Administration concluded that America had shifted its focus from the family to the workplace. JFK’s words, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” gave people the inspiration to make something of their lives. In the aftermath lay the broken and shattered families that we deal with today.

Every couple can develop a family Mission Statement by following the four outlined below.

Step #1 Determine Your Core Values

What matters to you? What matters to your spouse? Your kids? Core values are simply those people, activities, beliefs, or things that matter most. They range from concepts like love and acceptance, to something material like a house. Core Values are different for every person.

Some would say that only concepts can be values. We have experienced, however, that values are often expressed by the activities in which we participate. Or it may be the feelings that a particular place or object that might generate within us.

For example, Laura grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a major metropolitan area where anything and everything is easily accessible. I grew up in Petoskey, Michigan, a classic small Midwestern town. For the first three years of our marriage we lived in Atlanta. Laura thought life was wonderful, but I was less comfortable living in the metropolitan jungle.

It was Laura who suggested we pursue moving to Michigan. It was Laura who first thought that Alma was the town for us. And it is now Laura who wouldn’t leave Alma for anything in the world. Her Core Values now include the benefits of small town living. Thus, places and things —while they may not be values in concept —do generate within us feelings and emotions that can be categorized as values.

First Step in This Mission Statement

The first step in developing a Family Mission Statement is to list your Core Values. Now, don’t sit down one night at the dinner table and try to think of everything that is important to you. It’s simply not possible.

Start with a manila envelope or file folder. Keep it accessible and in plain sight. Each day write down one Core Value, and place it in the envelope. Sometimes a Core Value will become evident while you’re driving to work or the store. Or  it may enter your conscious reality through the verse of song or a line in a poem. Discussion of an issue over a meal or date may identify a Core Value. Please don’t rush the process. Allow 30 to 60 days to generate as many values as you can.

Now take a Saturday morning, a Sunday evening, or whenever is convenient. Dump all the Core Values you have written on a table. Categorize them by topic or any logical category that makes sense to you.

If you don’t understand a particular value that your spouse has written, take the time to have her explain it to you. It may be a value you already share. For example, one value that Laura identified was “fun.” I didn’t completely grasp the meaning until she explained that it was important for her to be stimulated by experiences we would share. Suddenly what Laura had written made perfect sense.

Pay particular attention to Core Values that you both wrote down. They will be a great bridge to build on in step #2.

Step #2. Discover Your Central Core Value

In youth ministry, we played a game with the teens that went along with the focus that night of “priorities.” It was a fun game, and gave us some deep insight into what really mattered to them.

We passed out pads and pencils and asked them to list the ten most important things in their life. Then we explained that “things” could mean anything from people to ideas to material possessions —anything they felt they couldn’t live without.

We strongly encouraged the kids to make choices based on their true feelings and beliefs. It was explained that the root of the word belief means “to live by.” Their decisions should be based on what they were prepared to live by, not just what they thought sounded impressive.

Next we told them to choose two they would give up. This decreased their list to eight items. For some, choosing was easy. For others it was a little more painful and time consuming.

The process was repeated, paring their list down to six, then four, then two, then one. We wanted to find out what was of highest importance in these kids’ lives.

The discussion which followed was prodded by the question, “Tell us why you chose to leave behind what you did and why you kept what you did?”

Central Core Values

Forever ingrained in my memory are the words, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” I am sure many of you share a similar memory. My persistent retort echoed, “Because I am not my sister, I am me!” As a result, one of my central Core Values is to be unique. Whatever I do, how I decorate my house, how I dress, how I live my life, I want to be unique. I want to be me!”

Hopefully, you’re already a step ahead of us. Write down your top ten Core Values as a couple or a family.

Now comes the process of discovering your Central Core Value. The way to do this is through open discussion, asking each other which of these values you could live without if you absolutely had to. Start by paring your list down to eight, then six, and so on. Do this until you identify (through mutual consent and support) that single Core Value around, which you will build your lives.

This process may be intense. For some the paring process could take weeks or months of discussion, prayer, and soul searching. For others, it may not be that difficult. You may discover that even though you express it in different terms, you and your spouse are on the same page when it comes to your Core Values.

After discovering that Central Core Value, you will be ready for the third step:

Step #3. Devise Your Family Mission Statement

To successfully devise your Family Mission Statement, we recommend a formula. It is not the end all, be all, but it does provide a solid foundation for you and your family to build a mission statement that is poignant, pregnant, and bursting forth with truths to live by.

First review the Core Values on your top ten list and find the final three to five. These additional Core Values are what we call Subsequent Core Values. They are not your Central Core Value, but are of extremely high importance to you. If you examine them closely, they may support or parallel the achievement of your Central Core Value.

Our Family Mission

To encourage others to become like Christ through loving relationships,
healthy lifestyles, and stimulating experiences.

The formula is quite simple and reads as follows: To (insert Central Core Value here) by [or through] (insert three to five Subsequent Core Values here). Sounds too simple, doesn’t it? Formulas can’t be that easy-or can they?

Let’s look at our Mission Statement again. Our Central Core Value was encouraging others to become like Christ. This surpassed our immediate family to include the people that we encounter in Alma every day and through many speaking and workshop settings across the country. We accomplish this through our Subsequent Core Values of loving relationships (with our family and friends), healthy lifestyles (balancing all areas of life), and stimulating experiences (a phrase which encompasses Laura’s idea of “fun”).

Developing a Family Mission Statement will help you step off the treadmill and begin to move in the direction the Lord has given you. Focusing on the values you hold dear in your life will help you stay on course and not allow you to stray back to the treadmill.

After Jay and I completed this process, I had to evaluate my activities and decide whether they were keeping me on the treadmill or facilitating the accomplishment of my mission. While they were all worthy causes, I now had the freedom to say “no.”

Step #4 Develop Personal Habits

Your final step in the Family Mission Statement process is to give you and your family a framework in which to live out your mission. Again, this may seem too simple, but the best way is to review the Core Values your family recorded in the file folder. These can ultimately be expressed as habits you and your spouse or family desire to practice. Here are the Laffoons’ 25 Habits of the House:

Habits of Our Home

We obey the Lord Jesus Christ.
We love, honor and pray for each other.
Also, we tell the truth.
We consider one another’s interest ahead of our own.
We do not hurt each other with unkind words or deeds.
Additionally, we speak quietly and respectfully to one another.
When someone is sorry, we forgive him.
When someone is happy, we rejoice with him.
And when someone is sad, we comfort him.
When someone needs correction, we correct him in love.
When we have something nice to share, we share it.
Plus, we take good care of everything God has given us.
We do not create unnecessary work for others.
When we have work to do, we do it without complaining.
When we open something, we close it.
And when we turn something on, we turn it off.
When we don’t know what to do, we ask.
When we take something out, we put it away.
Also, when we make a mess, we clean it up.
We arrive on time.
We do what we say.
Also, we finish what we start.
We say please and thank you.
When we go out, we act as if we are in this house.
When necessary, we accept discipline and instruction.

Living Documents for Our Mission

Now you possess power and freedom you may have never experienced before. The reality is that these documents —both the Family Mission Statement, and the Habits of the House —are “Living Documents.” They are not etched on tablets of stone and may need to be reviewed and revised from time to time, but they do provide guidelines to build a home filled with celebration.

This article comes from the humorous book, Make Love Everyday, by Jay and Laura Laffoon, published by Celebrate Press. It gives 12 ways to celebrate your marriage and gives couples permission to celebrate, plus shows them how to live with respect, ceremony, and festivity.

Jay and Laura are an inspirational duo whose conferences offer unique opportunities for celebration. They focus on Biblical principles that will transform your marriage. They can be reached at Jayandlaura.com.

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