O.k., I've read a some of the hot leadership/management books, been to the seminars, and followed the programs. In my rethinking church, etc., I've come to see how much of the current church culture has been influenced by non-biblical business forms (not necessarily anti-biblical, but certainly non-biblical). In some cases, it's fairly benign, in others it's dangerous. I'm finding, though, that I am tempted to go back and pick up one of those management concepts that has been adopted widely in the modern church . . . the mission statement.

I've resisted developing one for my new church start thus far because I fear that if I boil down my whole philosophy of ministry into one tidy sentence I'll somehow sterilize it, limit it, and neuter it. I mean, how could I possibly capture everything I've been through over the past couple of years in just a few words? Obviously I can't, and I do know that this isn't the point of having a mission statement. I'm just concerned about emphasizing one aspect of ministry vision to the neglect of other, possibly superior aspects - some of which I have yet to fully discover.

And yet, I keep finding myself in need of a mission statement, or at least something like it. I think this because every time I talk to someone about the transition into starting a new community of faith I say something different, and I usually do so pretty poorly. I'm not really all that eloquent in normal conversation, but when I start talking about the "new" thing, I seriously lack the ability to link a noun and a verb. I keep wishing I had a sentence or two to fall back on, just to make those conversations go a little smoother. The lack of having this kind of statement causes me to think, "Gee whiz dude, if you can't explain what the heck you're doing with your life, maybe you don't know what the heck you're doing with your life."

Part of me likes that I can't fully wrap my brain around this - it forces me to trust God, and be carried along by the Holy Spirit. Part of
thinks that I'll be irresponsible to just go out there and not have a clear cut, crystal clear vision in mind. Mostly, I'm just a head case anyway.