Every church leader must walk the same high wire: create a strategic plan while leaving lots of room for the Spirit of God to work. We must develop plans to use our resources and people in the best ways possible. We rely on God to give us wisdom in the development of this plan. We create teams to help us and we seek the advice of others. We get input from as many people as possible and we lay out measurable goals that will help our followers grow. Then we implement our plans, hanging on to them with loose fingers because we don’t know where God is going to lead. Our ears must be soft enough to hear from God and our hearts focused on him in case he drops our plans and leads another direction. Check your ego at the door, God’s plans supersede ours.
The balancing act for me requires me to develop a plan and sell it to my staff knowing that at any time I may have to stand before them and say “forget that; we’re now going another direction.” For me it’s about obedience over embarrassment.
