Strategic Stuff
I recently read Simply Strategic Stuff. What follows are some quotes, thoughts, and personal reflections.
Drift
I think one of the greatest dangers every church plant faces is drift. You lose that "pioneering" or "entrepreneurial" spirit. You settle in to "business as usual" and lose the burning passion that inspired the risk in the first place. It's so easy to do what you've always done!
Tony Morgan says, "There is never a good time to pull away from doing ministry to talk about ministry."
Measures
What you measure is what gets time and attention. Here are 7 NCC measures:
1) Attendance--are we reaching new people?2) Income--are people growing in the grace of giving?3) Baptism--are people going public with their faith?4) Missions--are we investing outside our four walls?5) # of Leaders--are we recruiting, training, and unleashing new leaders?6) % Involvement in Ministry--are people identifying and using their gifts?7) % Involvement in Community--are people connecting relationally?
I think we need to add two measures to this list. We need to measure new believers--how many people are finding a relationship with Christ and taking a step of initiative to grow in that relationship? I think one way to measure this is some kind of class or group for new believers. Another important measure is how many people are identifying NCCer as their "church home." We don't do membership, but we need a system to help people connect. One way of measuring this would be a connection class that would be our version of a membership class.
Criticism
Tim Stevens says, "I used to think that I needed to take the time to convince every critical person to see things my way. I soon learned I was wrong. I was just wasting precious minutes God had given me to invest in meaingful and effective ministry. Answering every criticism and explaining every questioned action will wear you out! I'm convinced it will shorten your life, reduce your heart for people and create a cynical spirit within you."
One of the most painful experiences for pastors is when someone leaves the church. We tend to take it personally. Stevens says, "When someone leaves, it will hurt. That pain, however, may be because you are doing exactly what God wants you to be doing!" You can't be all things to all people! Radio stations don't appeal to everyone's taste in music. We need different kinds of churches because there are different kinds of people.
Structures
Tony Morgan says, "Growing churches require different types of organizational structures and systems. The same strategy that allows a church to grow from one hundred to three hundred will not allow a church to grow from one thousand to three thousand." The key is balancing two things: order and chaos. I think NCC is more on the chaotic side and that has served us well, but we're entering in a new stage or season as a church. Morgan says, "The irony of ministries that experience rapid growth is that the strengths that led to their initial successes may actually be detrimental to ongoing growth. In other words, it often takes a different set of talents and systems to maintain growth for the long haul. Ministries must trade a purely entreprenurial instinct for an approach that also values management principles and systems." It's like that statement was written about NCC. We're at that in between stage.
One footnote: structure doesn't equal committees!
Systems
"Without systems, all decisions rise to the top." Without clear guidelines, even the simplest decisions rise to the top. I remember an incident a few years ago where we realized it was time for a change. We talked about lightbulbs for several minutes and the final decision was mine to make. And I refused to make it because it was one of those surreal moments where I realized how much time and energy I had wasted thinking about light bulbs!
The key to overcoming this is clear lines of communication and authority and responsibility--organizational charts, bylaws, position papers, policies, guidelines, handbooks. What these things accomplish is a savings of time and energy because instead of having to answer the same theological or practical questions over and over again you answer them once! Morgan says, "Create systems or policies that release decision-making responsibilities to the front lines." Structure doesn't have to create bureaucracy. Structure can actually increase freedom and range or motion. We can structure for decentalization.
Here is a key question for every policy/guideline/rule: Does it make life easier for our staff and leaders? Systems should simply life! Systems should faciliate ministry. "What minimal structure is necessary to offer wise counsel and appropriate accountability?"
The 10/10/80 Rule
Granger Community Churches preaches what they call the 10/10/80 rule. The first 10% of your income belongs to God. The second 10% belongs to your future--save it or invest it. And you should try to live off 80% of your income. I think this is a great principle for churches to practice as well.
Perception
Tim Stevens says, "Perception is reality." What a profound principle. Once people get a negative perception in their head it's tough to get it out. It becomes part of their reticular activating system. Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric said, "One thing I learned during my years as CEO is that perception matters. And in these times when public confidence and trust have been shaken, I've learned the hard way that perception matters more than ever." The bottom line is this: a person's perception is their reality whether it's in touch with reality or not.
Discipleship Strategy
Most churches have no clearly defined pathway of discipleship. Tony Morgan talks about his experience at Granger Community Church. "We were effectively attracting a crowd on weekends, but there was no clearly defined path to help people mature in their faith." That is where we are at. We've tried "Plug into a ministry and plug into a community group" but it's had marginal success at best.
Thank God for the crowd. As Morgan says, "Without a crowd, there won't be anyone to take steps toward spiritual maturity." But we've got to turn the crowd into a congregation.
Speed Bumps
When I was in high school we had interesting forms of fun. One of them was hitting speed bumps (which we called "jumps") at high rates of speed. It was fun, but it caused structural damange to my car more than once. I sort of feel like we've hit a speed bump at full speed. We've got some structural damage.
But that is normal. Tony Morgan says, "The 'normal' path includes blood, sweat, and tears." There are times you feel like throwing in the towel or burying your head in the sand. But I agree with Morgan. "I'm convinced these hardships are God-ordained. Without them, our tendency would be to take control."
Habakkuk 2:3 says, "These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it was surely take place. It will not be delayed."
Drift
I think one of the greatest dangers every church plant faces is drift. You lose that "pioneering" or "entrepreneurial" spirit. You settle in to "business as usual" and lose the burning passion that inspired the risk in the first place. It's so easy to do what you've always done!
Tony Morgan says, "There is never a good time to pull away from doing ministry to talk about ministry."
Measures
What you measure is what gets time and attention. Here are 7 NCC measures:
1) Attendance--are we reaching new people?2) Income--are people growing in the grace of giving?3) Baptism--are people going public with their faith?4) Missions--are we investing outside our four walls?5) # of Leaders--are we recruiting, training, and unleashing new leaders?6) % Involvement in Ministry--are people identifying and using their gifts?7) % Involvement in Community--are people connecting relationally?
I think we need to add two measures to this list. We need to measure new believers--how many people are finding a relationship with Christ and taking a step of initiative to grow in that relationship? I think one way to measure this is some kind of class or group for new believers. Another important measure is how many people are identifying NCCer as their "church home." We don't do membership, but we need a system to help people connect. One way of measuring this would be a connection class that would be our version of a membership class.
Criticism
Tim Stevens says, "I used to think that I needed to take the time to convince every critical person to see things my way. I soon learned I was wrong. I was just wasting precious minutes God had given me to invest in meaingful and effective ministry. Answering every criticism and explaining every questioned action will wear you out! I'm convinced it will shorten your life, reduce your heart for people and create a cynical spirit within you."
One of the most painful experiences for pastors is when someone leaves the church. We tend to take it personally. Stevens says, "When someone leaves, it will hurt. That pain, however, may be because you are doing exactly what God wants you to be doing!" You can't be all things to all people! Radio stations don't appeal to everyone's taste in music. We need different kinds of churches because there are different kinds of people.
Structures
Tony Morgan says, "Growing churches require different types of organizational structures and systems. The same strategy that allows a church to grow from one hundred to three hundred will not allow a church to grow from one thousand to three thousand." The key is balancing two things: order and chaos. I think NCC is more on the chaotic side and that has served us well, but we're entering in a new stage or season as a church. Morgan says, "The irony of ministries that experience rapid growth is that the strengths that led to their initial successes may actually be detrimental to ongoing growth. In other words, it often takes a different set of talents and systems to maintain growth for the long haul. Ministries must trade a purely entreprenurial instinct for an approach that also values management principles and systems." It's like that statement was written about NCC. We're at that in between stage.
One footnote: structure doesn't equal committees!
Systems
"Without systems, all decisions rise to the top." Without clear guidelines, even the simplest decisions rise to the top. I remember an incident a few years ago where we realized it was time for a change. We talked about lightbulbs for several minutes and the final decision was mine to make. And I refused to make it because it was one of those surreal moments where I realized how much time and energy I had wasted thinking about light bulbs!
The key to overcoming this is clear lines of communication and authority and responsibility--organizational charts, bylaws, position papers, policies, guidelines, handbooks. What these things accomplish is a savings of time and energy because instead of having to answer the same theological or practical questions over and over again you answer them once! Morgan says, "Create systems or policies that release decision-making responsibilities to the front lines." Structure doesn't have to create bureaucracy. Structure can actually increase freedom and range or motion. We can structure for decentalization.
Here is a key question for every policy/guideline/rule: Does it make life easier for our staff and leaders? Systems should simply life! Systems should faciliate ministry. "What minimal structure is necessary to offer wise counsel and appropriate accountability?"
The 10/10/80 Rule
Granger Community Churches preaches what they call the 10/10/80 rule. The first 10% of your income belongs to God. The second 10% belongs to your future--save it or invest it. And you should try to live off 80% of your income. I think this is a great principle for churches to practice as well.
Perception
Tim Stevens says, "Perception is reality." What a profound principle. Once people get a negative perception in their head it's tough to get it out. It becomes part of their reticular activating system. Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric said, "One thing I learned during my years as CEO is that perception matters. And in these times when public confidence and trust have been shaken, I've learned the hard way that perception matters more than ever." The bottom line is this: a person's perception is their reality whether it's in touch with reality or not.
Discipleship Strategy
Most churches have no clearly defined pathway of discipleship. Tony Morgan talks about his experience at Granger Community Church. "We were effectively attracting a crowd on weekends, but there was no clearly defined path to help people mature in their faith." That is where we are at. We've tried "Plug into a ministry and plug into a community group" but it's had marginal success at best.
Thank God for the crowd. As Morgan says, "Without a crowd, there won't be anyone to take steps toward spiritual maturity." But we've got to turn the crowd into a congregation.
Speed Bumps
When I was in high school we had interesting forms of fun. One of them was hitting speed bumps (which we called "jumps") at high rates of speed. It was fun, but it caused structural damange to my car more than once. I sort of feel like we've hit a speed bump at full speed. We've got some structural damage.
But that is normal. Tony Morgan says, "The 'normal' path includes blood, sweat, and tears." There are times you feel like throwing in the towel or burying your head in the sand. But I agree with Morgan. "I'm convinced these hardships are God-ordained. Without them, our tendency would be to take control."
Habakkuk 2:3 says, "These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it was surely take place. It will not be delayed."
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