If you and your church or para-church organization's leaders are thinking about
doing some serious strategic planning, I have a question for you:
How firm is your foundation?

This may sound like an odd question. If so, before you dismiss it out of hand,
you might want to consider the findings of the study into the impact of
strategic planning upon a congregation behind Herrington, Bonem and Furr's
Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide to the Transformational
Journey.

Among the findings of their study is that, while significant conflict emerged in
every case in which a church engaged in strategic planning, the type of conflict
that occurred and its impact upon the church was determined by how strong the
church's spiritual and relational foundation was. Consequently, the success of
your strategic planning effort could well depend entirely upon how firm your
foundation is.

Following the lead of Henry Blackaby and Claude King, the authors define
strategic planning as "the work a congregation does to (1) identify the activity
of God and (2) make the personal and congregational adjustments needed to join
him in that activity." (p. 8)

As they worked with a number of congregations, they found that strategic
planning always produced either life-threatening conflict or life-giving
conflict. Citing the Exodus story as the prime example, they define
life-threatening conflict as that which occurs when a congregation loses sight
of the vision to which God calls them. Life-threatening conflict. occurs because
the congregation has become more concerned with its own comfort than with
accomplishing the ministry God has given them. And, therefore, is unwilling to
make the adjustments necessary to move forward in mission. Conversely, citing
Acts 6 as the example, life-giving conflict occurs over the deeper and more
significant issue of how the ministry of the church can best be accomplished. As
the congregation seeks to find God's will within the context of the ministry he
has given them, a better solution is found and the church is empowered to carry
out its mission. (pp. 8f)

They write:
"We began to understand that a congregation must have a certain foundation
before making the adjustments that the planning process will require. We refer
to this foundation as spiritual and relational vitality. The change process, by
its very nature, creates conflict. A congregation with a high level of spiritual
and relational vitality can accept change and can manage conflict in ways that
give life. Conversely, a congregation with a low level of spiritual and
relational vitality will tend to manage conflict in ways that preserve the
status quo." (p. 9)

They concluded the congregation's spiritual and relational vitality foundation
is so important that apart "from a strong sense of vitality -- in relationship
to God and with one another through a shared vision -- the change process is
doomed to failure." (p. 10)

So, ... just how firm is your foundation?

L J Stevens

http://www.metanoic.org

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]