One of the
Christian resources I read daily struck home to me with a retelling of the OT Abraham
& Sarah story. God had promised Abraham when he went to the land of Canaan
that he would make of him a great nation. However, both Abraham and Sarah were
elderly. The description of Sarah was that she was barren, unable to have
children. Yet the promise had been made. Years later they received visitors,
messengers of God, who reminded them of the old forgotten promise of God. Sarah
actually laughed thinking this was absurd. They
have seen their time. They were people of the past and not of the future. Not
so, says God. Not in the least.
This is a similar discussion to what we hear about many
congregations that are struggling with numbers, leaders and finances…. Old.
Outdated. Barren. It has seen its day. Let it go. Not so, says God! I'm not
done with you yet. I still have grace to give, Mission to be lived out in your
midst. Make room. There are children coming. People will respond too
numerous to count. Listen for the promise! Listen to the messengers!
Do not yearn for times that are past, but recognize that
you have been given a foundation of faithful service, even as you build a
foundation for what is yet to be.
—Doctrine and Covenants162:2b
In my new role, I am challenged to be one the messengers in
the life of your congregation. Let us see with new eyes the glass half full perspective
of promise in our midst.
In my previous business experience, outside of my typical marketing/sales
management roles, I found the most effective place to grow sales was on the
front lines of customer interaction, mentoring reps and engaging directly with
customers that evidenced potential and promise. The primary reason we became
successfully engaged with many healthcare clinics directly was to accelerate their
sales of our own company’s products. I discovered numerous clinics were weak in
their ability to envision the specifics of change and what those outcomes would
look like and the operational and marketing mechanics required. It seemed, the
ability to arrive at workable change was too difficult to contemplate or
undertake even when the potential was apparent. Helping the owners create an
envisioned perceptible outcome of their
clinic in a detailed narrative-like story allowed us to break down the
processes and personalize the steps/needs/skills/budget to actualize that
reality. Our mentoring, hands-on coaching and resource tools facilitated the
process onward to stellar sales results.
What does this mean for your congregation? I believe envisionment models are the
catalyst to motivation. Let’s start with this “what if” portrayal of your
congregation below……
"Now, this is the one year outcome story of our
people, members and friends of the (insert name) congregation; of our faith and
life changing community covenant to engage in and fulfill the vision we created
to be a congregation in mission.
For the
glass half full view, our first
step was to create our congregational narrative envisionment story depicting
our congregation with optimal growth 1 year from today. If we were to view our
congregation from a glass half full perspective what would we see, being as realistically positive as possible. This narrative provides our congregation with a template
to start from. This vision feeds the hopes of our congregants acting as a
catalyst for change. So, once our story is created, pondered, dwelt upon, felt,
experienced in our collective mind's eye and very soul, it is time for us to
proceed. Our congregational
leaders/members were encouraged to personalize their participation in the congregational
envisionment by scripting their lives and their ministries into the story of
our congregation through their own personal writings. We incorporated this
collection of our desires into a Vision binder as our expectations for our 1
Year anniversary; to be read and reread and remind us of the journey and
mission we were fulfilling in our individual and collective lives. We can say
together “This is my life and my mission coupled with yours in sacred community,
inspired and empowered by the Spirit which goes before us. By our outcome
envisionment we are truly a “prophetic people”. Is not a prophetic people those
who envision a potential missional future and strive to fulfill that in their
midst?"
This is not farfetched, I promise you. Let's talk about the possibilities. Let's
talk about the ideas, (they exist) resources, (they exist) the technology, (it exists) the mentors, (they exist) the programs (they exist) to fulfill
these promises God has for your congregation. If this direction appeals to you let's
start the conversation. You can text, email, phone, Skype or knock on our door.
Kerry Richards
kerry@communityofchrist.ca
416-917-9377
ker.richards (Skype)
Kerry you are an excellent writer! Your passion for the forward movement of the church shines through. Thanks so much.
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