Reclaiming "Strategy"

God’s preferred future. They lead to a clear, shared, and compelling vision of what that future will look like. They define the steps that will move the church or ministry in this direction. When this happens, the process is covered in prayer and patient in allowing Spirit-led consensus to emerge, and it can be transformative for the participants and the church or ministry. “Strategy” is important. It addresses questions of priorities and key steps to take. Without strategy, churches and ministries often end up with inspirational but vague visions that produce little movement. And yet, “strategic planning” is an inadequate term for what I’m describing. What’s my solution to this dilemma? Change the terminology. What I’ve described in this blog is much more than traditional strategic planning. It’s really strategic discernment. It’s a process that encourages participants to use their God-given talents (including strategic planning skills) while also inviting God’s presence and ultimately trusting that He will guide the outcome. It’s a process that requires hard work and deep trust. It’s inherently unpredictable and uncontrollable, which tends to make leaders nervous but also places them right where God wants them. If I can help leaders and their churches or ministries get to the place where God wants them to be, I will gladly reclaim – and redefine – the word “strategic.” It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>