THE PRESENT FUTURE–MOVING FROM PLANNING TO PREPARATION
January 20, 2010
The Present Future–Moving From Planning To Preparation
Well, I got caught up in other “ministry” last week and didn’t continue this blog, so I’ll recap last week’s session and then do another entry for tonight.
Reggie contends that if we continue to “plan for the future” as we always have we’ll keep getting the same results we’ve been getting, which have not been (the old plans) successful in expanding the Kingdom of God (fewer and fewer people are coming to church). Plans often fail because we use the past to make our plans instead of looking to the future. Instead of planning (like we’ve always done it) we need to prepare for the future. God has already done the planning for us. Jeremiah 29:11. We may not know what is coming in the future but there are things we can do to be prepared for ministry in this “present future.” Reggie suggested and commented on the following five (5) characteristics of preparation. Vision–The ability to see what the next chapter looks like. Vision should rise from the congregation (not from the preacher/minister/elders). It’s keeping our eyes open so we can observe what’s happening around us in our culture and in so doing be effective in ministry. Values–These are the behaviors that support the vision. It’s not enough to say that values are “what we believe.” How we act/what we do is really what we believe. Results/Scorecarding–This is how we measure how we’re doing. Preparation takes a new method of “keeping score.” Those who are preparing for the future realize that how many come to the building for services, Bible classes, church activities, how much money is given, etc. are not really an accurate way to measure kingdom growth. Maybe we should look more at how many people are involved in community service, how many people were helped this week, how many folks were encouraged in the name of Jesus, etc. to assess how we’re doing. Strengths–What we bring to the table. So often planning begins around our weaknesses. Where did we mess up and how can we fix it. Why not look at where we are strong and how we can use those strengths to benefit the kingdom? Learnings–There will always be things we don’t know how to do that are needed to expand the Kingdom. We need to find out the thing or things that our community most needs and then dedicate time and resources to equip ourselves in how to do those things. Each of these characteristics of a preparation modality are focused on partnering with God to expand His kingdom. Since God already knows the plans he has for us, shouldn’t we be prepared to take advantage of those plans when the opportunities arrive?
Ministers’ Blog
THE PRESENT FUTURE–MOVING FROM PLANNING TO PREPARATION
The Present Future–Moving From Planning To Preparation
Well, I got caught up in other “ministry” last week and didn’t continue this blog, so I’ll recap last week’s session and then do another entry for tonight.
Reggie contends that if we continue to “plan for the future” as we always have we’ll keep getting the same results we’ve been getting, which have not been (the old plans) successful in expanding the Kingdom of God (fewer and fewer people are coming to church). Plans often fail because we use the past to make our plans instead of looking to the future. Instead of planning (like we’ve always done it) we need to prepare for the future. God has already done the planning for us. Jeremiah 29:11. We may not know what is coming in the future but there are things we can do to be prepared for ministry in this “present future.” Reggie suggested and commented on the following five (5) characteristics of preparation.
Vision–The ability to see what the next chapter looks like. Vision should rise from the congregation (not from the preacher/minister/elders). It’s keeping our eyes open so we can observe what’s happening around us in our culture and in so doing be effective in ministry.
Values–These are the behaviors that support the vision. It’s not enough to say that values are “what we believe.” How we act/what we do is really what we believe.
Results/Scorecarding–This is how we measure how we’re doing. Preparation takes a new method of “keeping score.” Those who are preparing for the future realize that how many come to the building for services, Bible classes, church activities, how much money is given, etc. are not really an accurate way to measure kingdom growth. Maybe we should look more at how many people are involved in community service, how many people were helped this week, how many folks were encouraged in the name of Jesus, etc. to assess how we’re doing.
Strengths–What we bring to the table. So often planning begins around our weaknesses. Where did we mess up and how can we fix it. Why not look at where we are strong and how we can use those strengths to benefit the kingdom?
Learnings–There will always be things we don’t know how to do that are needed to expand the Kingdom. We need to find out the thing or things that our community most needs and then dedicate time and resources to equip ourselves in how to do those things. Each of these characteristics of a preparation modality are focused on partnering with God to expand His kingdom. Since God already knows the plans he has for us, shouldn’t we be prepared to take advantage of those plans when the opportunities arrive?