Leaders who use the practices and principles of a Renewable OrganizationTM understand the critical importance of asking purposeful questions. For church leaders, there is no more purposeful question than this one: What in the world is God up to…and how can we help?!?”
This question is at the heart of what it means to be the church, whose life together should be characterized by the ongoing discernment of God’s purpose and direction. Congregational and judicatory leaders must learn to ask in every time and every place, “How can we be useful to God?”
There are times, however, that it becomes wise and necessary for a congregation or a judicatory to engage a deeper and more intentional period of revisioning – or you could say regrouping – for mission. These times often come before, during, and after key transitions: a building project, a staffing change, a relocation, a major conflict, a seismic shift in size, etc. But they can also come after a long period of “business as usual” when you sense that it's time to wake up and pay attention to what God is calling you to be and do in a new and more focused way.
Use this checklist to determine your need for a revisioning process:
- Has it been longer than 3-5 years since the last time your members (and not just the leaders!) spent in-depth, focused time together reflecting on God’s purpose and direction for your common work?
- Are you preparing for, in the middle of, or recently been through a major transition? (Add a point for every major transition, if there are more than one.)
- Are your leaders tired and/or burning out?
- Do your leaders have a hard time saying “no” to things because they aren’t clear about what is really important?
- Is the giving and participation level of your members at a plateau or in decline?
- Are you itching for something new to happen but you’re not sure what to do next?
- Do you need to create more focus and/or enthusiasm in preparation for a major fundraising campaign?
- Do you sense that you're missing out on opportunities because you haven't been able to make the changes you know need to be made or muster the resources and enthusiasm of your leaders and/or members?
- If polled, would the majority of your members be unlikely to articulate the purpose, principles, and directions of your church?
- When faced with major decisions, do most of your leaders forget to ask how your purpose, principles, and directions can guide them?
- Are your members and/or leaders prone to conflict over things that really just don’t seem to matter?
- Do you wish other members of your church had more clarity and deeper commitment to your common cause?
- Are you unclear about the purpose, principles, and direction of your church?
If you answered yes to one or two of these questions, including question #1, you probably need to engage a revisioning for mission process. If you answered yes to three or four of these questions, including #1, you are most likely in need of beginning a revisioning for mission process immediately. If you answered yes to more than four of these questions, including #1, the situation is critical. Any delay in engaging a revisioning process may put you in danger of spiraling into deeper malaise, conflict, and/or decline.
Most church leaders, above all else, want to be useful to God. They long to have a sense of common purpose and direction. They want to do what matters. That begins with listening together for what God is calling you to be and to do. Is it time for a more intentional and focused effort to hear what God has to say to you, your congregation, or your judicatory?
Living Lutheran: Renewing Your Congregation, Dave Daubert, Augsburg Fortress, 2007 - Lays out a process for congregations of all kinds (in spite of the title!) to use in articulating purpose and principles.
Seeing Things With New Eyes: The PAWN Process for Faith-Based Groups, A Renewal Enterprise, ARE Books, 2009 - Teaches faith-based leaders to use three lenses (God, self, neighbor) to see what God is up to in your context for the sake of developing an "umbrella strategy" that includes purpose & principles and missional directions for your congregation, agency, or faith-based school. Part of The Renewable Organization for Faith-Based Groups series.
ARE offers consulting, coaching, and training to help faith-based leaders revision, realign, and retool. Contact us for more information.
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