Recently
the pastor of a growing and healthy church reflected in a meeting that “Our
church has worked through a process of evaluating what we are good at and where
God has blessed us. We have prayed about this thought about where we feel God is
leading us to fulfill needs in our community. Now we need to implement that
strategy and we don’t see many examples of how to successfully accomplish that
task!”
There
is an old saying “When the Rubber Meets the Road.” This referred to the time
when you were ready to implement an idea or new product. The design and
planning had been accomplished. You were ready to embark on your journey or
change. Finally, after prayer and
discussion the decision is made to start the work. This time of implementation
is when the “rubber meets the road”, all the twists and challenges, bumps and
complaints, longing to return, and not everyone enthusiastic about the journey.
There are practical as well as spiritual elements involved in the change
journey. A roadmap needs to be developed and implemented.
Key
components of that roadmap:
·
Focus on compelling priorities
o
What excites you about the preferred
future state?
o
What are the three big accomplishments
that would make you feel successful living in to your preferred future state?
·
Reflect and build on ways you are already
living into the preferred future state/strategic plan implementation
o
What have you done previously that you
could do again move forward toward your future?
o
What smaller aspects of your preferred
state/vision could you experiment with now?
·
Take actions to incorporate elements of the
strategic plan into daily life
o
Who are your fellow travelers?
o
Who are people you trust and value who
have supported you in the past and will provide support?
o
What small actions that you seek in
the preferred future state that could be turned into new actions today?
Practical
elements of team building, communications, vision branding, prayer, scripture,
leadership development, project management, and accountability must join with
scriptural elements of faith, hope, and love to lead our following God in order
to implement our strategic plan …
Focus on compelling priorities - Practical and Spiritual Elements:
·
Establish
a clear brand for the future state
o
Short
and clear statement that can be consistently repeated
o
Focus
the future state on Jesus love and grace
o
Develop
an ‘elevator talk’ size articulation on the future state so all leaders use the
same language when describing the vision
o
Develop
and surround that brand with scripture and prayer
o
Develop
a process of celebrating success through stories
·
Establish
a clear hoped for timetable and outcomes for the future state
o
Suggested
time frames are next three months, next six months, next year, next three years
o
Articulate
the three big accomplishments in terms of the timeframe and hoped for outcomes
o
Establish
accountability
o
Affirm
a Holy Spirit driven openness to change the big accomplishments and plan along
the way
·
Develop
resources available and needed
o
Identify
leadership, talent, and resources needed to accomplish the three big
accomplishments
o
Establish
accountability
o
Rely
on God to provide what you need through faith in His provision
Reflect and build on ways you’re already
living into the preferred future state/strategic plan implementation - Practical and Spiritual Elements:
·
Integrate
your future state / vision team into the Leadership Structure
·
Identify
Leadership
o
Recommend
that initiative have three leaders – one a visionary, one a project
management/logistics gifted leader, and one a relationship builder /inviter
o
Technique
to identify those who should be on the implementation team: empty room + ask:
who are the six people who fill out the team + what empty chairs gift wise are
in the room?
·
Clearly
identify initiatives that are part of this implementation
o
Clear
articulation of the initiative steps AND their complimentary nature to current
church practices/work is important
Take actions to incorporate elements
of the strategic plan into daily life
- Practical and Spiritual Elements:
·
Surround
your work in prayer
·
Utilize
project management techniques to understand the timing and impact of one step
on future steps – build foundation
·
Integrate
the reporting of progress and plans into the traditional leadership and
organizational structure
·
Celebrate successes with stories inside the
implementation team and the church / community
Key
components of that roadmap:
·
Focus on compelling priorities
·
Reflect and build on ways you are
already living into the preferred future state/strategic plan implementation
·
Take actions to incorporate elements of the
strategic plan into daily life
