Oftentimes, the spiritual practices of discernment and listening to the Holy Spirit—which inherently carry risks of subjectivity—get evicted from the Christian planning process.
Often, our “Christian” plans are created by really smart people doing really smart things and thinking really smart thoughts. But are our organizations’ strategic plans and vision statements just secular work wrapped in Christian clothing? Add “by the grace of God” and do we have a preamble to a commanding and measurable future described in 150 words or less?
What is the role of prayer and spiritual discernment as we look to the future of our organizations? How does engagement with scripture inform not only our mission, but also our plans and strategies to achieve that mission?
Many Christian organizations have received helpful tools from the business world as ministries have grown more complex. In some ways, it’s a return of the favor, as the business world has learned much from the church about vision, mission, and how values can be lived out.
However, in this exchange of great practices, the processes tend to scrub out the subjective, the emotional, and other factors inherent to humans that can throw off good planning—the highest values being objectivity, strategic purpose, and growth.
Oftentimes, the spiritual practices of discernment and listening to the Holy Spirit—which inherently carry risks of subjectivity—get evicted from the Christian planning process.
Below I highlight a few ways that organizational leaders can insert a “pause for Jesus” moment into their planning cycles.
Learning to Make Room for the Spirit
I wish I could tell you that if you create space to listen to God, then your organization will meet more of its objectives and experience greater productivity—in essence, that spiritual discernment and dependency on God will solve your problems, …
