When Mission is limited to strategy alone!

 

Strategy has recently found increased relevance and used to accelerate, accomplish, and achieve their desired goals. However, it is misused and misrepresented, misleading people. Being a strategist myself, developing Ministry Church blueprint and a roadmap, helping Churches and ministries in developing strategy documents for many Churches and Organisations, I noticed some assumed that their Church / ministries have not done well in the past because they either did not have a strategy or probably the present one is ineffective.

Using this word in the context of Church and Missions is good, but I don’t think it is all about strategy and activities alone. The Bible gives us so many patterns (good, bad and no pattern) of strategies and models. Unfortunately, some focus on one strategy and miss the true representation of God.  I have noticed some leaders judge my efficiency of my skill by wanting to know if I could show a strategy that worked. But what they fail to understand is that strategy by itself doesn’t work, the intention, motivation and conviction to the mission are some of the key factors that complement the process.

Let me place before you few incidents from the Bible which did right but failed. Probably you can say, they used the right strategy yet fell flat.

1.  Incident where the disciples couldn’t cast out the demon: In Matthew 17:14-20 When Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain to reveal His glory, a man brings his demon possessed son to the rest of the disciples. The disciples fail, so the man approaches Jesus and Jesus easily casts it out of the boy. After he heals the boy, the disciples privately ask Jesus why they could not cast out the demon (V 19-20). What do you think? These disciples who were with Jesus, by now so accustomed to how Jesus was doing yet failed to cast out the demon. It just shows that it was not just the skill but something more than that. Jesus responds that it was because of the little faith, and few other versions which has Verse 21 states this, “however, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”.  Prayer and fasting are not the result of a strategy but relationship and reliance on God. Today, sadly you will get to see today prayer has become a merchandise, a program, activity, and an event.

3.  Sons of Sceva (Acts 19:11-16): Here Luke records the many unusual miracles happening by the hands of Paul. In verse 12 it records, “so that even handkerchiefs of aprons were brought from his body to the sick and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them”. Probably many today assume it to be a strategy to be followed. Since it looks such a simple strategy probably the sons of Sceva wanted to replicate it. Yes, as a strategy it looked so simple to just use the name of Jesus, heal the people and cast the demons out. The sons of Sceva tried it, this is what it happened. (Verse 15 & 16) “And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”. This is so true of current times where people have a superficial relationship with Christ Jesus and yet use His name deceptively for spiritual ambience. Paul to the book of Timothy states about such people as “having a form of godliness but denying its power…” 2 Timothy 3:5.

3.  Demon possessed slave girl in Mission (Acts 16:16-18): An incident where a slave girl who was possessed by the spirit predicted the future for her owner and brought large profit encounters Paul and Silas was making this powerful mission statement. Acts 16:17 “…These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.”. Was she deviating from the gospel? Absolutely not! But Paul had to command the spirit to stop the annoyance and come out of her. And it left her right away. Acts 16:18. Many are using His name right, using Jesus’ model right, but still are not a voice that can impact transformation. They need to be transformed first to use the mission rightly. Even demons can preach gospel and say the right thing as seen here but God doesn’t recognize such people at all.

Many missions, Church ministries, and leaders are assuming that a better plan, best model and an effective tool is the solution for global mission. I think it is time to have a relook at the perspective. Our God is a holy God. Stop improvising models, strategies, activities and hoping it is going to bring revival by the way we do things. There are many things that needs to be addressed at the heart level to make a serious impact. Would you consider doing so?

 

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Surviving thin years-through a strategy built in fat years!

“Who is like a wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter?. .” Ecclesiastes 8:1

One can be considered extremely skillful to have an ability and wisdom to decipher and simplify the most complicated things, that can range anywhere from solving a mystery, creating a strategy, building a road map, creating an impact, etc. I like the way King Solomon poses this brilliant question here, “who is like a wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter?”.

One man stands out distinctively when it comes to understanding the times and building a strong action plan for the future - the man I am referring to is Joseph. He was a man of understanding and had a divine spirit to understand the dreams and interpret the same to an action plan. You may want to look at an earlier article I had penned down about Joseph building a strategy: Building a robust strategy

Build a strategy in the fat years to sustain thin years.

It is said in Proverbs 27:12 NLT “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers consequences.”. Joseph did not just stop with interpreting the vision to pharaoh but was able to go beyond, he was able to suggest a plan of action (Genesis 41: 34-37) and assign a person who is both ‘discerning and wise’ (Genesis 41:33). Joseph built a strategy during the seven years of great abundance in order to sustain the famine. An important lesson to learn, building a Right Strategy and choosing the Right person to carry out the plan of action is very very important. Jim Collins in his book 'Good to Great' talks about having the right person on the bus, and the right people in the right seats.

Let me make a comment here, at least in this case, the advent of the national level crisis was predicted much in advance and Joseph with a divine anointing had an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming crisis. It may not be so in every case, you may be taken unaware and there may not be a definite period that will be shown to you in advance as to how long the crisis is going to last. Nonetheless, whatever the case maybe, it is crucial to work out a plan, a strategy that will sustain you or your ministry during the difficult period.

Usually we all like to plan for good days a time of abundance and when it arrives, we just want to take a long breath and relax and want to enjoy the days of prosperity. Let me give you an example in my case during my good days I was able to create few insurance policies hoping that will help me during my retirement. Amazingly it served the purpose in my current situation when I am compelled to help the mission and Churches to integrate the Holism (Restoring the early Church model) and to manage all ends meet with limited or no resources. 

What I planned for future sustainability was serving the purpose for the current. God helped me to learn this powerful lesson about purpose and I penned down this way, “Find the purpose of God for your life and be prepared to spend, may be all your resources if needed to accomplish the purpose. Do not use purpose as an advantage to gather resources hoping to ensure your security. It will miserably fail you.”.  Even Jesus demanded the same when He said, “Whoever tries to make his life secure will lose it and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Luke 17: 33. Losing your life, your everything for building the kingdom of God draws His attention towards you. May God help you and your Church to align your vision/mission to a strategy that will create an impact

Blessings.

Popular yet flawed Opinion- Why disturb the present when it looks good?

Emphasis on Solomon's Temple strategy

Generally, we all desire to reach a point where our livelihood is non-threatening and at the same time assuring safety and comfort. The popular yet flawed belief system that says, why disturb the present which is comfortable and venture to the unknown zone of uncertainty? 

Somewhere we fail to understand that the state and the essence of a product or a group can lose its shape and deteriorate if we are not willing to add value and colors constantly to raise the standard, in order to keep it vibrant and center of attraction. Let me give an example of a product life cycle model which will give a good perspective on what I am desiring to express.

Just as people go through infancy, childhood, adulthood and old age, so do products and brands. And just as we swing from being needy, to being overall contributors to our families or to society, and then back to being needy again over the course of our lives, so – in effect – does our products.

You can use this model to understand the Organization or a Church life cycle. After its inception and rapid growth, the leader or a pastor can get comfortable when it reaches the maturity stage and maintain status quo. The leader/Pastor can fail to realize that it has a decline stage too. If you are not constantly pushing your limits to build and take it to another level, then for sure your organization or church is heading to disaster. 

Your income and resource may keep flowing and needs met but the overall ministry will be affected severely.  Let me remind you the incident where David was demanded 100 foreskins of the Philistines in order to become Saul’s son-in-law, He killed 200 Philistines and brought their foreskin. (1 Samuel 18:27 CSB) David learned to push his limits and always exceeded the expectation.

In order to use your maximum potential and create impact, you need to have a clear strategy thought through prayerfully and well documented. To get this across I would like to use Solomon's Temple model for better understanding.

The Temple Plan

We all know that God did not want David to build the temple, (I Chronicles 28:6) though he already had a strong desire to do so, but he did not stop there, for he had already conceived a full plan in his mind (1 Chronicles 28:12) and therefore instructed Solomon to follow the same. David plan was not just thoughts and some plan in ambiguity but also ensured it is documented with all specificity. It is said, “David concluded, “By the Lord’s hand on me, he enabled me to understand everything in writing, all the details of the plan.” 1 Chronicles 28: 19.

 Understanding the vision of David to build the temple

1.Vision: To build a place of abode for God, A house for God. (1 Chronicles 17:1-2)

2. Formation of organizing structure

Army captain (who manages the war strategy) (18:15)

Historian (who can document the events) (18:15)

Priests (2 priest to manage the spiritual requirements) (18:16)

Court Secretary (To manage the court matters, areas related to justice) (18:17)

Communication and safety (Benaiah was over Cherethites and Pelethites who were couriers and part of king’s bodyguard) 1Chronicles 18:17

Chief Officials: To oversee with the kind and on behalf of the king 1Chronicles 18:17

3.  Communicating the vision to his leadership team (Chronicles 28:1)

4.  Assigned the leader (king Solomon) and delegated the responsibility. 1Chronicles 28:6)

5.  David presented the temple plan as a written document with clear details (1 Chronicles 

     28:19)

6.  Resource management: (1 Chronicles 29 2 As a model David first volunteered to give costly  

    stones from his treasures)

8.  Then challenged people for their support (1 Chronicles 29:5) 

9.  People convinced with the plan offered their resources. (29:9)

10.Requested people for their undivided support to Solomon for this cause (29:19) which people 

     did.

     [Solomon as king takes the first divine assignment.]

11. Solomon by networking with King Hiram got the finest workers in all fields (2 Chronicles 2: 

     1-16)

12. Built proper working structure and a workforce (2 Chronicles 2:17-18)

13. Completion of the divine assignment. (2 Chronicles 5:1)

14. Glory of the Lord filled the temple (2 Chronicles 5: 14).

Does it make sense? Could you as individuals, organization use this model to build the assignments or task you have in your heart?

You may click this link to read  Church Management Strategy published in my last article.

Blessings.

Church Management Strategy!

Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain Exodus 25:40.

It is very important to have the vision clarified and specified to micro-level. You cannot have a volatile plan. Our God is the God of specification. Few definition of the Vision statement is as follows:

 >      A vision can be defined as statement about the future, an imagining of something specific that does not exist today.

 > A vision statement provides direction and a target for the church/organization or even individuals.  It is a tool to help the organization fulfill what God has called it to do.  It is the bullseye!1

>       A vision provides focus for the ministry and will enable the leader to keep his followers moving in one direction towards their ultimate goal.

>     An effective leader is able to articulate that vision in such a way that everyone understands it and wants to participate in it.

Let me start by posing few questions!

Do you have your vision defined?

How well your people understand your vision and are ready to support

What is the intended outcome? What you want to accomplish?

What are the indicators and milestones?

Do you have volunteers and workers supporting you?

Let me take you through a very crucial analysis of building the vision and making to a reality. God has given each one a specific ministry and a responsibility to deliver may it be to the leader or a common individual. The theme verse talks about the building of Tabernacle which primarily includes the ark, table and lamp stand. I am trying to break this in stages and help us to draw a similar pattern for our specific ministry.  Moses spent forty days and forty nights with God in the mountain where the ten commandments and many other instructions and laws were given. God gives all the specification in terms of building the tabernacle. Here I want to give a little synopsis of what a tabernacle is? The tabernacle of Moses was the temporary place of worship that the Israelites built according to God’s specifications, while wandering in the desert. The word tabernacle is a translation of the Hebrew mishkan, which means “dwelling-place.”  The purpose of the tabernacle of Moses was to provide a place where the people could properly worship God.

Moses Tabernacle and Church vision

A call to build Tabernacle	Response	Church/organization vision
A clear vision with specification of the tabernacle was given to Moses		It is mandatory that a church should have a clear vision for all they want to do  and have specification as to how they will accomplish.
Moses was shown a pattern as to how a tabernacle should look like. (Moses saw the big picture)	Moses shared the vision with the people	The leader/individuals should be able to envision the project/work (to know how it will look like) and build a strategic blue print easy for the viewers to understand
Moses gave a call to bring necessary resources for building the tabernacle (35:5-9)	(35: 21-26) The people started bringing the resource in abundance (35:26 The leaders bought costly stones like Onyx, gemstone and other items)	The Vision should be presented to the people, and then a call to support through resources Note: If the vision is from God and your work is approved people will be stirred to give pour out their resources whatever the condition may be)
Moses gave a call to the skilled worker  (35:10)	(31:1-6 ) God had already prepared skilled workers for this purpose (35:25-26) skilled women came forward.  (35: 30, 32,35 Skilled anointed people with wisdom came forward	Call to raise volunteer and skilled worker. (NOTE if the vision is from God you will find readily available people to support the cause and stand with you)
Moses plan to appoint core leader’s/ skill workers who is able to teach others	(35:34) Bezalel and Oholiab ready to teach others	Appoint and delegate Core leaders who will be in leadership position to manage and ability to teach
The resource management was entrusted	(36:3-4) The skilled workers and leaders found the resource was enough.	Entrust people for resource management. (Set up a core group who can manage this)
	(36:6-7) A call to stop to contributing because they received already over and above.	Stop getting contribution if you reached the goal. (Note: An important principle to learn)
Moses inspected the tabernacle	(39:32) It was perfect they did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses	Set up indicators, Milestones and process for Monitoring & Evaluation
Moses final accomplishment	(35:43 Moses found exact and he blessed them)	Do a final analysis and appreciate the people
The Tabernacle was set up	(40:17) It was set	Set the desired project fully functional
God’s glory revealed	(30:34) “..The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle)	Celebrate the achievement with the people

May the Lord help you to strengthen the Church and built a strong community for Christ.

Blessings.

When your project isn't very successful!

“The river fell, river rose, and the winds blew, and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.”. Matthew 7:25

Organization, Churches and institution holding special projects for the underprivileged children, widows, senior citizens, schools for the marginal sector or it can be any social project sometimes achieve greater result creating positive impact in the community. But there are also cases where we see the project just exists for its own reason and does not make significant progress at all. I wish to enumerate the common causes for you to check and realign your projects if necessary for a greater impact. It is important the project should be well stabilized and be able to pass any test yet stay strong like the house whose foundation was on the rock.

At the outset it is crucial that a Project is closely aligned with Organization/Church goals for making it a success. “When setting up the project vision, mission, goals, and objectives, the leadership should start with the organization's vision, mission, goals, and objectives and ensure that all is aligned.”. The Organization/Church and Institution may have a vibrant team but if they are still lagging behind, then probably there is a dire need to check if it is an alignment issue or probably if it is something do with the causes mentioned below.

Lack of consistency in the project workflows: A successful project should be having consistent tools and processes in place and ensuring teams know and follow them. Having too rigid and volatile processes can also have a negative impact. It is therefore important to find the right balance between consistent processes and the flexibility necessary for your team to actually get the work done.

Having outdated processes and procedures: Ensure that the process is regularly checked to see if it matches the workflow and supports the objective of the Project. Also, it is important that the processes and procedures are well documented for reference.

Poor Accountability: This is one crucial area where things get messed up, it is important to set up accountability at different levels and not channeled through one person alone, especially if your institution is big enough. Sometimes vertical alignment is just not enough, it is essential for a project management program to also connect horizontally.

Poor Communication: Often communication breakdown can be a point of failure. Projects will come in from a variety of sources, and if internal and client expectations aren't clearly defined, it's a recipe for failure. Communications that are also ambiguous and goes based on the emotions alone can cater to breakdown.

Unclear objective: The project should have been created with specific, measurable goals and with clear set of objectives, if it is not the case then you will notice that people are trying to solve undefined problems.

Poor scope management: If you fail to articulate specifically what the project objectives are how do you know it’s a success? The impacts of poor scope management are far reaching and can result in cost overruns, delays, poor quality, and not meeting the customer needs.

Lack of visibility: Nearly 40% of surveyed companies report that a lack of visibility prevents projects from being completed on time. Are you able to see the progress and are you achieving the defined milestones?

May God help you in setting up right management system for a greater impact.

Blessings

Building a Robust Strategy

The word strategy is becoming more and more conversant in every field of human life. All field of science have started using it to build their organizational plan around it. The Wikipedia defines strategy this way; “it is a high-level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty. Strategy generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions.”

We notice in the Bible how Joseph translates Pharaoh's dream into a robust strategy. Gen 41:34-46. Joseph with a divine spirit had an astounding encounter with Pharaoh and used his gift to interpret his dream. A point to be noted, interpretation of dreams was not a recent gift Joseph developed, God has gifted him that ability from a very young age. God revealed to Joseph about the future happenings and developed him for a greater purpose. Joseph learnt to exercise personal management and professional management at a very high standard. Irrespective of several hardships lashing at him consecutively, Joseph remained consistent in every area of his life and exhibited spiritual maturity.

Pharaoh met Joseph in a completely disoriented mental status because of the recent disturbing dreams he had. Little did the king realize that the dreams were from God and it was about the future status of the nation. His leadership team unfortunately had no clue and were absolutely unprepared  to even fathom the implications of his dream. Joseph becomes the spokesperson for God. He not only interpreted the entire dream but also drew up a watertight strategy to save lives and build the nation.  The basic stages of building a strategy from the dream is typo graphed in the following figure:

I am sure each Church was started with a vision/mission as revealed by God. It will do a world of good if Churches ask themselves the question if our vision/mission is strategically deciphered and disseminated so that the impact of what we are investing today becomes meaningful and measurable in the future. Habakkuk 2:2 says “…Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”. The verse is demanding that our vision is documented and translated into action plan, so that the reader is motivated to run with the mission.

The leaders and the core team (may it be from church, or organization, or small groups) to ponder on these questions and reconsider if it is not very active;

1.      Where have we been? (this will help the leader reminisce on the early days and recognize            successes along the way).

2.      Where are we today? (give status on the current state of church, organization, institution)

3.   Where we hope to be in the next 3, 5, or 10 years?

May our dreams and vision be translated and become strategic and Holistic in nature and be a blessing to our community.

Blessings