Redefining Strategic Prioritizing
Wittenberg Church Consultants address the major shortcomings in parish planning today by taking a fresh and Scriptural approach to the major terms used by other church consultants. The starting point is replacing the contemporary focus on vision and mission with a look at the duties of the church. C. F. W. Walther, founder of the LCMS, generations ago, discovered in Scripture the six duties of the church. Duty is a radically different thing than mission or vision. Using the duties of the church as a starting point for strategic planning instead of a sociological or missional definition of the church drawn from non-Lutheran consultants makes all the difference in the world. Here's how it changes everything.
One's "duties" typically come from outside oneself. Walther's duties of the church come from God in his Word. A sense of "purpose" or "mission" is usually something that comes from within or from a spirit of creative courage. We often recommend courageous steps for a congregation. But, a courageous purpose is not the starting point - instead, we start with the duties of the church as drawn from Scripture and then look for both courageous and even mundane strategies for accomplishing those duties.
Wittenberg uses C. F. W. Walther's definition of the duties of the church as the core identity for what a church should be doing. Those six duties are:
1) Dwell richly in the word (the means of grace duty)
2) Uphold pure doctrine and practice church discipline (the witness duty)
3) Care for church workers and members in need (the mercy duty)
4) Do all things in good order (the good order duty)
5) Unite in common work with other orthodox parishes (the synodical duty)
6) Advance the kingdom of God (the publicity and preaching duty)
Starting with a Scriptural and confessional definition of the church's duties leads to a Scriptural and confessional set of strategic priorities.
Strategic priorities are not necessary for the church, however, fulfilling the six duties are necessary for the church to be God-pleasing. Strategic prioritizing does however, help a congregation be more intentional about fulfilling these duties.
Once those duties are identified and taught, Wittenberg uses a redefined set of traditional planning terms/tools and the stage is set for a confessional and Scriptural strategic planning session.
Here are the redefined planning terms/tools:
Vision - The parish vision is the over-arching goal of the church. For Wittenberg it is being a fully functioning church that is effectively fulfilling all six of Walther's duties. If the life of the parish is considered to be a journey the vision is the last mountain to be climbed on the journey on the way to eternity. It is the driving force behind all the work of the parish.
Mission - The congregational mission is the most pressing goal or set of goals for the parish to accomplish. Continuing the journey metaphor, the mission is the nearest mountain to climb on the long journey to accomplishing the vision. Examples of parish missions include calling an additinoal pastor, starting a day school, building a new sanctuary, etc.
Goals and Strategies - The plans for each of the six duties and any over-arching plans are cast in the form of SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-sensitive). The strateties are the various tactics chosen to achieve each goal.
Here is how an over-arching plan/goal might look in a narrative form.
St. Paul Lutheran Church has realized that God has given it the vision and duties of
Gospel proclamation, church discipline, doing things in good order, caring for staff and
members in need, joining with other like-minded congregations and advancing the kingdom.
The parish decided that the most pressing thing to do to fulfill these duties,
their new-found mission, was to build a new sanctuary. They then established
the strategy of developing a building committee to accomplish this mission and
developed timely goals from that strategy.
Click here to see the basic outline of a Wittenberg Planning Seminar
Wittenberg Church Consultants address the major shortcomings in parish planning today by taking a fresh and Scriptural approach to the major terms used by other church consultants. The starting point is replacing the contemporary focus on vision and mission with a look at the duties of the church. C. F. W. Walther, founder of the LCMS, generations ago, discovered in Scripture the six duties of the church. Duty is a radically different thing than mission or vision. Using the duties of the church as a starting point for strategic planning instead of a sociological or missional definition of the church drawn from non-Lutheran consultants makes all the difference in the world. Here's how it changes everything.
One's "duties" typically come from outside oneself. Walther's duties of the church come from God in his Word. A sense of "purpose" or "mission" is usually something that comes from within or from a spirit of creative courage. We often recommend courageous steps for a congregation. But, a courageous purpose is not the starting point - instead, we start with the duties of the church as drawn from Scripture and then look for both courageous and even mundane strategies for accomplishing those duties.
Wittenberg uses C. F. W. Walther's definition of the duties of the church as the core identity for what a church should be doing. Those six duties are:
1) Dwell richly in the word (the means of grace duty)
2) Uphold pure doctrine and practice church discipline (the witness duty)
3) Care for church workers and members in need (the mercy duty)
4) Do all things in good order (the good order duty)
5) Unite in common work with other orthodox parishes (the synodical duty)
6) Advance the kingdom of God (the publicity and preaching duty)
Starting with a Scriptural and confessional definition of the church's duties leads to a Scriptural and confessional set of strategic priorities.
Strategic priorities are not necessary for the church, however, fulfilling the six duties are necessary for the church to be God-pleasing. Strategic prioritizing does however, help a congregation be more intentional about fulfilling these duties.
Once those duties are identified and taught, Wittenberg uses a redefined set of traditional planning terms/tools and the stage is set for a confessional and Scriptural strategic planning session.
Here are the redefined planning terms/tools:
Vision - The parish vision is the over-arching goal of the church. For Wittenberg it is being a fully functioning church that is effectively fulfilling all six of Walther's duties. If the life of the parish is considered to be a journey the vision is the last mountain to be climbed on the journey on the way to eternity. It is the driving force behind all the work of the parish.
Mission - The congregational mission is the most pressing goal or set of goals for the parish to accomplish. Continuing the journey metaphor, the mission is the nearest mountain to climb on the long journey to accomplishing the vision. Examples of parish missions include calling an additinoal pastor, starting a day school, building a new sanctuary, etc.
Goals and Strategies - The plans for each of the six duties and any over-arching plans are cast in the form of SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-sensitive). The strateties are the various tactics chosen to achieve each goal.
Here is how an over-arching plan/goal might look in a narrative form.
St. Paul Lutheran Church has realized that God has given it the vision and duties of
Gospel proclamation, church discipline, doing things in good order, caring for staff and
members in need, joining with other like-minded congregations and advancing the kingdom.
The parish decided that the most pressing thing to do to fulfill these duties,
their new-found mission, was to build a new sanctuary. They then established
the strategy of developing a building committee to accomplish this mission and
developed timely goals from that strategy.
Click here to see the basic outline of a Wittenberg Planning Seminar
