Spiritual SWOT Analysis

By Mike Cox

Companies sometimes utilize a tool called SWOT analysis to assist in determining a strategy or to gain a better idea of the condition and/or the potential condition of the company. This tool can also be used to assist us in determining our spiritual condition. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

For our purposes we will evaluate our strengths from a spiritual standpoint. Have we grown spiritually year to year? What helped us to grow? How is our prayer life? Has that progressed, regressed, or maintained? How active are we in the work of the Lord? Whether it be in an assembly, taking care of the church building, taking advantage of the opportunities that may come our way to talk to someone about things pertaining to God. We can pose the same questions in relation to the weaknesses portion of the SWOT analysis. What are we doing to promote the cause of Christ? Can we do more, do we want/seek to do more?

What about our opportunities? What opportunities do we have to grow spiritually? We can think about what additional duties we might participate in. Are there opportunities to spend time encouraging others, primarily from a spiritual standpoint? (Galatians 6:2, Philippians 1:3-8) What about additional studies? Are there any opportunities to serve as a co-teacher or substitute?

What threats to our spirituality are there? Could it be our lack of growth? (Mark 4:19,20) Could it be the friends or other influences that surround us? Do we believe in the word of God and the promise of Heaven that awaits us if we are obedient? What level of desire to serve God do we have?

Sometimes analyzing where we stand and putting it in writing can help us visualize the condition of our spirituality. It can also help to us create a plan that will help us to grow. The planning can be easy, but the execution is often times difficult. Just as not every plan or strategy will work for every business or company, the same applies to each individual Christian. Our plans have to be such that it is fitting for us and one that we can achieve. Therefore, we must look at what we can do; we all may not be able to do the same things (Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:12). We also will have different weaknesses. In either case, we need to prepare ourselves to grow and to protect us from the snares of the devil. We can do this by putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17) and evaluating the condition of the armor on a regular basis. If there is a crack in our armor (spiritual weakness) we need to fix that crack. Performing a SWOT analysis of our spirituality is one way that we can identify what we are doing a good job in and what we can improve on.

Add To Your Faith

By Randy Case, Jr.

Growth is a requirement for all Christians if they desire to be pleasing to God.  The Hebrew writer rebuked the brethren for not growing as they should.  The writer states that they ought to have been teachers, but they still needed the milk of the word and were unable to handle solid food (Hebrews 5:12-13).  They failed to apply themselves to spiritual matters.  Therefore, they were still in need of teaching and were unable to teach others.

Many individuals put on Christ in baptism, but they do not grow as the Scriptures command.  God demands Christians to develop certain characteristics.  The book of 2 Peter was written to encourage Christians to continue to grow spiritually.  Peter tells us that we must add certain things to our faith (2 Peter 1:5).  Faith, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), is the foundation.  Peter gives us seven qualities that are extremely important in 2 Peter 1:5-7.  As children of God we must possess virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love.  Virtue is defined as moral excellence.  Knowledge is spiritual discernment or understanding what is morally right or wrong.  Self-control indicates discipline.  Steadfastness refers to patience and the ability to maintain self-control.  Godliness is characterized by a God-like attitude, doing what pleases Him.  Brotherly kindness denotes a fondness and caring for individuals.  And love seeks the best for the object of our affections.  Peter states that these characteristics must be found in us and they must increase (v. 8).  If these abound, then we will not be ineffective or idle as Christians.

In Galatians 5, Paul gives us a list similar to Peter’s.  Paul describes the “Fruit of the Spirit” as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Love is the foundational element upon which everything else stands.  It is an “agape” love, which is the highest form of love.  The joy that we are to have is not based on outward circumstances.  A Christian’s joy comes from knowing that they have the hope of heaven as promised by the Creator, despite their situation.  We must have a peace with God, with ourselves and with others.  This peace is a tranquility of mind that no one outside of Christ should have.  Patience indicates being long tempered.  We must seek to be kind to all, willing to help those in need, especially Christians.  Goodness refers to moral excellence that does not tolerate error.  Christians have a standard to live by and that is found in Scripture.  Faithfulness is a characteristic that simply carries the idea of being loyal.  Our loyalty and allegiance must be to God in EVERY circumstance that we encounter.  Gentleness or meekness is strength under control.  And self-control requires us to restrain, or keep, ourselves from giving in to Satan’s temptations. 

Baptism is an important part in obtaining salvation.  But, it is only the beginning.  If we fail to develop the characteristics that Paul and Peter talk about, we become near-sighted, forgetting that we have been cleansed from our former sins (1 Peter 1:9).  We should never be satisfied with our present growth.  Let us always add to our faith!