August 19th, 2009

Change has Changed: Your Vision is Outdated Part 3

A pastor left a message on my 800 line yesterday and on my cell phone today (he was referred from a friend who used Auxano). Interestingly, he used a long string of different terms to describe what he is looking for in his two different voice messages:

"I was interested in talking to you about…"
  • developing a long range plan
  • a strategic planning process 
  • visioning  
  • strategizing  
  • helping us think through the future 
  • defining our DNA   

Its noteworthy that there are many ways of trying to articulate the very process at arriving at vision today. The way we think about vision is
being challenged, pushed and stretched to adapt to new sets of problems and
opportunities. 

Of course this is nothing new.  As with many things in the church today, we stand on a giant threshold of change. Never has the rate of change so rapidly increased that change itself is changing. You name the subject- community, technology, justice, preaching- change is relentless.

Change also pushes divergence in how churches express their identity.  In the last century, divergence was experienced slowly and primarily through denomination and theology.  Now, divergence is driven more by context and geography. This divergence leads to a new lexicon that explodes with words like microchurch, gigachurch, church online, organic church, mult-site, and so on.

What does this mean about your vision?  It is probably outdated. Consider the fact that:
  • Conferences (event-based inspiration) have become the primary tool for thinking about the future
  • Church growth methodology that peaked in the 70's and 80's was based on cultural assumptions that have changed 
  • Traditional strategic planning (and the resulting notebook from the process) is more of a hindrance than a help in energizing a church's future.

What's the bottom line? We need new words, new tools, and new processes today to help us with vision. (This need is the holy discontent behind the book Church Unique.) Until we regain an adequate model for visioning in this context of rapid change, the effectiveness of every other decision in the church will decrease. 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 7:30 am and is filed under AUXANO, Clarity, Communication, Culture, Leadership.
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