George Bullard's Journey

Ministry Strategy Before Structure

Strategy before structure has been a mantra of many people in the organization world for at least decades--if not centuries. In recent decades it was popularized by management guru and dedicated Christian churchman Peter Drucker. In my four decades of working on spiritual and strategic issues with leaders, congregations, and denominations I have often used this phrase in personal conversation and group presentations. In Christian ministry settings I would prefer, however, to state it as ministry strategy before structure.

What is the importance and application of the concept of ministry strategy before structure to congregations?

Ministry strategy before structure is important for congregations because structure actions often . . .

• commit long-term personnel resources that cannot easily be refocused because the people in those positions and the congregation who loves them want to affirm their ministry.
• require large financial obligations that must be met and may dominate the life of a congregation for years because of the commitment to meet these financial obligations.
• frame the programs, ministries, and activities emphases of a congregation, so they must be the right ones for the next steps of the congregation and not a reaction to an emotionally felt need.
• focus the long-term energies of the congregation in areas that may be effective today, but ineffective tomorrow.
• are not as open as they should be to the future congregation that is emerging and more affirm the congregation that is today or was yesterday.
• represent a no-exit commitment to a certain course of action that cannot easily be undone if it turns out to be the wrong next step or direction.
• focus on correcting yesterday or catching up with today, rather than affirming tomorrow.
• fail to empower congregation to reach their full kingdom potential.

Ministry strategy before structure applies when congregations are considering . . .

• restructuring their staff for greater effectiveness.
• renovating their facilities for better space utilization.
• expanding their facilities through new construction.
• engaging in a capital stewardship/fundraising campaign.
• rewriting their guiding and/or management documents, including their constitution and bylaws.
• beginning a long-term congregational transformation effort.
• beginning a major new ministry initiative.
• relocating to a new location.
• merging with another congregation.
• starting a satellite location for the congregation.
• planting a new congregation focused on reaching a similar target group of people currently being reached by their congregation.

What should a congregation do to be empowered by the concept of ministry strategy before structure?

First are some variables such as . . .

• How much time does a congregation have to commit to discerning, discovering, and developing ministry strategy before structure? Weeks? Months? Up to a year?
• Where is the congregation in their own spiritual and strategic planning processes? Does it already have an actively pursued and deeply owned strategy in place? Does it really not know next steps, but knows it must do something? If it substantially knows where God is leading it and feels it is fairly well aligned with that, does it simply need an assessment from outside the congregation to be sure the structural actions it is getting ready to take affirm their current direction?
• Does the congregation have a particular product or deliverable it must complete in the near future? For example, does it need a sharp spiritual and strategic case statement for a capital stewardship/fundraising campaign? Does it need a future ministry framework to provide to an architect? Does it need a future ministry framework statement for dialogue around a major new ministry initiative or future congregational partner?

Second, here are some possible approaches.

1. Engage in a Congregational Assessment and Learning Experience [CALE]. This is a four-day [usually Friday to Monday] experience where a Strategic Leadership Coach works on-site with a congregation to discern the alignment of ministry strategy with future projected structure actions. This is for a congregation who substantially knows where it is headed and needs an assessment from outside the congregation to reaffirm their proposed direction, suggest actions for greater effectiveness, or recommend consideration of a change in direction or focus. Following this weekend a written report is produced within three weeks. Also, follow-up teleconference dialogue is available. This process can be completed in less than 30 days from the beginning of the CALE.
2. Engage in a CALE followed up in 30 to 45 days by an Enduring Visionary Leadership Community Learning Experience. This involves a CALE followed by bringing together an identified leadership community from the congregation to dialogue around the assessment of the Strategic Leadership Coach and develop specific recommendations of affirmation, modification, or change in proposed directions and actions. This learning experience is generally from late Friday afternoon through mid Saturday afternoon. Also, follow-up teleconference dialogue is available. This process can be completed in less than 45 days from the beginning of the CALE.
3. Engage in a full Spiritual Strategic Journey process that can take nine to twelve months. This begins with a CALE. This is for congregations who have plenty of time and want to build commitment to a new or refocused direction for their congregation. This involves three to four weekend experiences with a Strategic Leadership Coach over the course of nine to twelve months and the development of a full future story for the congregation and a plan for living into that story.

Third, make sure the Strategic Leadership Coach has the opportunity to assist the congregation in dialogue with other service providers to the congregation such as an architect, capital stewardship/fundraising consultant, attorney, accountant, and any other persons relevant to the work requested of the Strategic Leadership Coach.

Interested? Is this for you? If so, contact George Bullard at GBullard@TheColumbiaPartnership.org or 803.622.0923.

One resource with which you might want to connect is George’s book Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation. Purchase it Bullard Journal Book Store.

Living Into The Future Story of Your Congregation

In the Spiritual Strategic Journey process that is outlined in Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation, a high experience for a congregation is crafting their future story of ministry. That is the most visible and significant product or deliverable of this process.

However, the story is not the thing. Living into the story is the thing. Being the best possible congregation in your context with a clear vision of your full Kingdom potential is the thing. Making obvious progress toward your current and ever-clearer vision of your full Kingdom potential is the thing.

Everything that has happened to this point in your congregation's Spiritual Strategic Journey is a prelude, an introduction, an overture, a prologue, and a preamble. In rural parlance, everything to this point is "fixin' to get ready to commence to begin to start to do something, maybe." Now it is essential to move beyond the narrative story development to decisive action.

Actions involves living into your congregation's story, celebrating the fulfillment of your congregation's future story, regularly updating your congregation's future story, sustaining your congregation's spiritual strategic journey, and perfecting your congregation's spiritual strategic journey.

Are you ready for action, transition, change and transformation? Or, did you just want to talk about it?

How is the Situation of Denominations Like the March of Dimes?

Here is an illustration of why I believe we are in a denominational transformation era rather than a post-denominational era. What makes it seem like a post-denominational era is that denominational organizations, much like Old Age stage congregations, are in deep denial that they must transform or die, may refuse to believe how deep the changes and transitions must be, and keep making accommodations in policies and structure to give buy a little more life.

The March of Dimes organization was started to combat polio. Once polio was substantially eliminated from North America, it might seem the purpose and focus of the March of Dimes had been eliminated. Perhaps the Mother’s March was no longer needed. Not so. What happened to the March of Dimes is that they realized they had misunderstood their mission. Their mission was not to fight polio. Their mission was to fight birth defects. Polio was simply their first major cause or project.

Denominations must realize their real mission is to expand and extend the kingdom of God through the basic building block of various congregational forms and movements. It is no longer to do for congregations what congregations cannot do for themselves. It is to increase the capacity of congregations to reach their full kingdom potential. It is no longer to represent the cosmic Church to congregations because networked movements allow this to be a direct connection. World denominational forms are connecting directly with congregations now. As such this calls for a major rethinking of institutional expression of denominations, and what is in the box versus what is outside the box in the overall congregational movement that needs networking.

In a certain sense it fits the motif of a continual spiritual strategic journey. Denominational organizations are on a journey. They can now see beyond their original horizon. In fact, they have been discovering new horizons every generation or two. However, their response has not been nimble or agile. So, they have fallen several horizons behind. Now the gap between the expectations and capacities of leading edge congregations and their denomination is painfully big. Therefore, incremental transition and change in no longer enough. Transformation is essential. What are your thoughts?