Work the process...

Few people like to do it - make decisions about vision, values, direction and goals for a congregation (or whatever organization) and then put plain steps together in a plan that people and groups can follow and know that they are moving toward the positive goals, etc. Many people like to speak in generalities and in 'glowing terms' toward a misty vision of how the church or organization ought to be & how it will work if only we'll all get behind it and work at it. Many times those things/goals fail and the organization finds itself switching horses mid-stream and eventually finds fewer people willing to make the switch over and again.

How do you think that process ought to work? How clear must the goals of a church or of a ministry, etc be before a group actually sets out with the desire to 'try it out'? How clear should the goals be? How vague should they be left so that a group has 'wiggle room' to reinterpret the results later?

AND NOW...flip it over!

What are the times when you've seen things work really well 'at church' and a vision was cast and people followed and it all seemed to click together like a puzzle? What do you think made it go so well? How was it communicated? How was dissent or apathy dealt with?

AND THEN, through it all...

How was God's Kingdom and God Himself shown through either of the above circumstances? How did people in the church refer to God's work or His presence through the process?