Will Mancini

The American philosopher John Dewey said, “I should venture to assert that the most pervasive fallacy of philosophic thinking goes back to neglect of context.”

Could it also be said of church leaders today that our most pervasive fallacy of ministry thinking goes back to a neglect of context?  I think so, but you might expect that from a guy who sees most of our leadership sins through the lens of photocopied vision.

Remember when Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22 that we was willing to “become all things to all men in order to save some?” He was reminding us that your strategy for evangelism must be connected to your awareness of context.

The original meaning of context is “to weave together” and is often used in grammar. When words are taken “out of context” (like we often say about a bible verse) we are breaking the natural “weave” by removing elements before, after and around the words that add to a full and accurate sense of meaning.

With ministry we often bring strategies, ideas and plans for reaching or discipling people that neglect context. That is, we fail to weave our strategies together with realities of culture that live before, after and around what we do. The result is not a lack of “meaning” in the grammatical sense but a lack of effectiveness in connecting with people.

Think for a minute about why context should inform strategy:

1. Context carries localized assumptions about faith and God
2. Context creates localized nuances of and uses for language
3. Context encodes a history of heroes and enemies for your community
4. Context transmits a collective conscious of successes and failures
5. Context reflects and reinforces your community’s deepest hopes and fears
6. Context shapes and is reshaped by the real-time shared experiences of its people

Here are two action steps:

1) Consider what are you currently doing in ministry that was designed by someone else in a different context. Re-examine how your context might inform ways to tweak that ministry.

2) Before planning an new event, program or ministry initiative, spend some time thinking about context. And then let context inform strategy.

This is the second post related to a forthcoming ebook. The first post was titled the Tyranny of More, (6 Common Myths that Drive Churches to Do Too Much)  You can still comment there to ensure a free copy of the book.

My purpose is to provide a powerful question checklist to break pastors and staff out of the leadership fog of “just doing more.”

These questions allow you to plug one of two kinds of words in the blanks.

The second set of words are for ministries designed for develop spiritual practices and aspects of discipleship like:

Six SIMPLE Ministry Design Questions (or you can call them SILO STOPPERS):

It has been a joy to serve Oak Hills Church in San Antonio on two occasions. The first was during the transition year of Max Lucado stepping into a teaching minister role as the church found a new senior minister. Eventually the church brought Randy Frazee from Willow Creek. The second season was this last fall helping the core staff hone the articulation and sharpen the attunement of the vision.

I speak often of the Vision Frame but only illustrate it sporadically because I am amazed at how quickly people bypass process by photocopying product. Here is the Oak Hills Vision Frame.

Mission:

We are the body of Christ, called to be Jesus in every neighborhood in San Antonio and beyond

Values:

• Unity
• Inclusiveness
• GTF (Grace, Truth, & Faith)
• Prayer
• Every believer is a minister
• Family
• Neighborhood

Strategy:

1. Realize Each Environment (there are 4 environments)
2. Engage Where You Are (there are 3 levels of depth for each environment)

Measures:

• Belong 4 (4- environments: campus, area, neighborhood and community)
• Grow 30 (10- Think Like Jesus, 10- Act Like Jesus, 10- Be Like Jesus)
• Serve All/Everywhere

I have not detailed content for these Vision Frame “handles.” Essentially the beauty and uniqueness of the frame entails not going to another time and place at church but engaging a concentric circle  of community that exists automatically. In other words, each person already belongs to four “places.” You engage your campus weekly for worship, your “area community” quarterly, your neighborhood monthly and your family daily.

My favorite part of the vision is the emphasis on the monthly neighborhood gathering which is both missional and inclusive in its design.

The Mission Measure is a slight rewording of the 30 Core Competencies developed while Randy was at Pantego Bible Church and published as the Christian Life Profile. Be looking for the re-release of this content as the “30 Big Ideas”

Top 6 Pre-Vision Process Questions

1. What vision has preceded us in this church’s history?
2. What are our five-year trends?
3. What is our current state?
4. What is happening around us including other churches?
5. From what do our current members base their identity?
6. Why is imaginative discovery of vision rare today?

Top 6 Vision Process Questions

1. What are the functions of the various leadership levels and congregation in the process?
2. If we need a vision or planning group who will make-up the team?
3. Who will assess, ascertain, articulate the vision?
4. Will there be a formal process to affirm or approve the vision?
5. Who will facilitate the process?
6. What is our process model and related vision framework?

Top 6 Vision Questions

1. What can we do better than 10,000 other churches?
2. What are we ultimately supposed to be doing? (mission as missional mandate)
3. Why do we do what we do? (values as missional motives)
4. How do we do what we do? (strategy as missional map)
5. When are we successful? (measures as missional life-marks)
6. Where is God taking us? (vision proper as missional mountaintop + milestones)

Top 6 Vision Rollout Questions

1. How will be build internal awareness of the new vision?
2. How do we create understanding and appreciation of the new vision at every level?
3. What common questions will need to be answered when the new vision is communicated?
4. What tools and resources need to be in place when the new vision is communicated?
5. How do we create urgency when rolling out the new vision?
6. How will we remind people that this is God’s vision?

Top 6 Vision Integration Questions

1. Who is ultimately responsible for aligning and advancing the vision?
2. How will the vision be integrated into developing leadership?
3. How is the vision be integrated into intentional communication?
4. How will the vision be integrated into duplicatable processes?
5. How will the vision be integrated into compelling environments?
6. How will the vision be integrated into conscious culture?

Top 6 Questions for Individual Engagement with the Vision

1. What do you like best about the vision?
2. What does the vision mean to you?
3. What questions do you have about the implications of the vision?
4. Would you have any hesitation enthusiastically embracing the vision?
5. What ideas do you have toward the realization of the vision?
6. Will you give your yourself to the vision with us?

Does your church do an annual report?

Most churches I run into don’t use the language of “annual report.” Some who do, simply print a black and white sheet with a bunch of numbers. But consider for a moment how an annual report might be used to cast vision. In fact rather than talk about it first, let’s take a quick glance at one of the best church annual reports I have seen.

In October, I spent some time with Jamie Munson and his team, the lead pastor of Mars Hill Church, founded by Mark Driscoll. The guys were sharp, humble and gospel-centered in how they think and communicate. The leaders of Mars Hill do an excellent job of translating the clear a vision to their folks. One way they remind and refocus people is through an annual report. Here is the latest report they have made available online: It’s All About Jesus Annual Report.

Notice how they turned a potentially mundane church document into a vision casting power tool:

#1  Create Visual Appeal: This report uses great design not just to for eye candy, but to communicate vision visually.

#2  Saturate with Story: Notice how the report begins with quotes from people and snapshots of life-change.

#3  Reinforce  Vision Vocabulary: Phrases like, “It’s all about Jesus,” “Air war vs. Ground War,” “Reaching 50,000″ aren’t shared for the first time in a report, but are repeated for emphasis and stickiness.

#4  Report Facts while Sharing Goals: The year in review quickly becomes a cannon to communicate bold future dreams.

#5  Stoke Redemptive Passion: One unmistakable feature of this report is how it reflects a culture of mission and passion for the lost and both locally and globally.

#6 Induce Action: The reports ends with a motivational prayer plea.

At this stage it may be obvious, but I won’t let it go unstated. You can’t inspire your church with an annual report if you don’t have clear, compelling vision for the future. How would you create an annual report for 2010? What would be your bold vision for 2011?