A summer strategy

Summertime and the livin’ is easy! But what about Christian organizations? Is living any easier during the summer? Sure, there is a kind of “break”: vacations, time away from school, and the activities of church life reduced . . . but is summer really a time to break from intentional leadership behaviour?

Let me suggest to you that summertime is the best time for the boards of Christian organizations to do their most impactful work. Why? Because there is finally enough free time to think strategically about the future. But here is where a problem becomes noticeable. Many Christian organizations are implicitly convinced that managing the status quo is the same as thinking about the future. Case in point: I recently led a small conference and asked the 25 attendees if their Christian organization had an operational Strategic Plan. Only one person raised her hand (halfway, to indicate “sort of”)! Many of them would say their board meetings are cordial; they stay focussed on operations and Board members are passionate about the charity itself. Yet no strategy is in a place to create a path toward Godly growth.

In the summer of 2023, oddly enough, the 77-year-old International Standards Organization (with 174 participating countries) provided its first-ever standards on governance that named the need for a strategy!

The standards are a kind of recipe for good organizational behaviour across all systems (for-profit, non-profit, faith-based, or secular). Notice the top three ingredients: (see chart above).

So my question is “How does the end result of a healthy Christian organization happen when we so often neglect one of the main ingredients: strategy?” (This reminds me of the time someone in our family made bran muffins and forgot the bran! They were edible, but barely.)

Put it on the agenda!

In Canada, there are rare positive examples: many of the Christian schools under Edvance’s umbrella in Ontario have Strategic Planning built into their summer rhythms. That is a wise pattern to instill in every church and charity too.

So let’s conclude by doing two things: First, let’s get biblical. Jesus himself in his final words on the cross stated “It is finished.” The Greek word for that is τετέλεσται (tetelestai), whose root word is τέλεw (teleo). Teleo means to be paid up, filled up, expired, finished. All these words connote an accomplishment based on a measurement. In other words, a strategy that leads to visible outcomes. We know from the gospels that Jesus’ own ministry life was entirely intentional and on the cross he gives voice to the completion (teleos) of the strategy and work towards God’s measurable completions. How much more then shouldn’t we as God’s communities do likewise?

Second, let’s get practical. Everyone reading this column likely belongs to a Christian community of some sort. You’re a stakeholder. Are you able to bring to mind the strategy of that community to accomplish its goals? If not, it is likely that your Christian community has become content with being content. As a stakeholder, you could bring the desire for a strategy up to the leadership, staff, board or council. Put it on the agenda! Then, within the board or council, allow prayer and need to develop into pursuing a formulated strategy fit for your context.

Have a great summer!