Pastoral Ponderings—For!
For! No, I’m not playing golf—though if you’re a golfer who would like to help me get started, let’s talk! “For” is the shortened title of the book “Know What You’re For: A Growth Strategy for Work, An Even Better Strategy for Life,” by Jeff Henderson, that we’ll be using to help clarify our congregations’ vision this fall.
Henderson writes from his experience with half a career working at Chik-Fil-A, and half a career working at a church that had successfully cracked the nut on how to connect with those outside the walls. He writes “‘What do we WANT to be known for?’ is our vision”… (but) “‘What ARE we known for?’” is what those we’d like to connect with actually know about us. He describes the difference between what we WANT to be known for, and what we’re actually known for (if we are actually known at all) not as a problem, but as our target for progress. And likewise, “Within these two questions is the secret to growth”—as when the answers to the two match, “growth happens,” and those around us who know whom we are truly FOR, become our “sales force.”
So how would you as church members answer that question, “What do we want to be known for?” Or, put another way, do you, do we as a congregation, know what (or whom) we’re for? Can you answer that in a simple sentence or two, and would the person sitting in the next pew come up with an answer that sounds like the same thing? If what we are known for can be exciting to those outside our church walls, we might be able to make a difference in our communities and grow.
But what happens if what we’re for as a congregation, is really more about what we want, like, “I want my church to take care of my needs,” even if that’s not what our community is looking for, even when our community is lost, lonely, and “looking for a reason” as the song goes? Isn’t that what the Jesus we talk about is for?
Looks like I’ve got more questions than answers this time, but questions are key to help us clarify the vision God has called us to in each of our communities, and key to helping us be clear in knowing what we’re for. Please be thinking and praying about these questions, and better yet, order this book and be a part of our conversation! Do you know what you’re for? Exploring together—Pastor Jim