The original call audio can be accessed here.
In introducing Dan Reiland and the topic of the call, Warren Schuh observed that while churches need to have a clear sense of vision or at least a statement about their vision, nothing seems to happen until everything they are doing becomes focused around that and aligned to it. A lot of churches never get there – the vision just stays a statement and that’s all. So how do you get ministries and staff aligned and going in the same direction? And use the Ministry Action Plan or MAP in the process?
Dan Reiland
Warren, your introduction was perfect. I want to open our time with a question, “Which is easier as a pastor – dreaming up vision or developing strategy?”
I have worked with lot of leaders for a long time but rarely are both skills packaged together. Dreaming vision is more about idea, direction, and future. Developing strategy is more about plan, steps and now. These are are sequentially matched – idea vs plan, direction vs steps and future vs now.
I can’t tell you which one is more difficult but I can tell you that by far the most common reason for failure in a local church is lack of strategy. Churches are pretty good at doing the dream part but if we are willing to set aside the skill level and quality of the leader (that’s a big aside!) and be academic and observational for a moment, I have three observations.
Pastors don’t have a problem coming up with a dream but typically they have a problem coming up with a strategy that makes the dream come true. Second, when they do have a plan, they often do not stick to it. Third, often when they do have a plan, they do not break it down into simple, clear, concise, and measurable bite size pieces. We used the language of goals in the 80’s, initiatives in the 90’s and now in the 2000‘s we call it stuff or pieces. I call it “stuff to get done.”
This is where the MAP comes in…the Ministry Action Plan is what really helps things become reality.
Now, I don’t actually believe that 12 Stone can become all it can be because we have reached our goals. Let me explain that statement a little bit. A MAP is not “one more thing for staff to do.” We really believe the staff will become better leaders, better people and better Christians by practicing new skills or practicing known skills at a new level while going after goals. The real secret of a MAP is development. This process helps them gets better. It is a developmental process and not a managerial process.
Warren Schuh: Dan, I appreciate the way you think and operate in developing people around you and that is different mindset for most churches. We tend to think about getting things done – you are always thinking about developing people who get things done.
Dan Reiland
Let me give you the three areas of the MAP – it’s framework – and then the three critical questions that a MAP answers.
The three components we use are Core Responsibilities, New Territory Goals and Leadership Development Focus. All three work together in concert with each other.
The key question for Core Responsibilities is “Are you doing the right things?” Our core responsibilities are the equivalent of many people’s job descriptions. I have never liked the big fat narratives in a job description because no one pays any attention to them. Our core responsibilities look like a series of six or seven or eight or nine bullets with maybe three headings and they are very clear and concise.
New Territory goals are what we are going after in a specific season of the year. The key question is “Does it advance the organization?” Is your church a better church? Is the church advancing, moving toward the mission or the vi
