Growing Edge
July 1, 2000
Advanced Strategic Planning by Aubrey Malphurs (Baker, 1999)
One Size Doesn't Fit All by Gary L. McIntosh (Revell, 1999)
If you want to grow a garden where I live in Arizona, you're in for a major construction project. Preparing the soil here means creating it. Enter the jackhammer, soil conditioner, and planned plant mortality rates.
Aubrey Malphurs and Gary McIntosh each offer helpful works for those aiming at green ministry in dry and misinformed times.
Many, when asked "So did you think you could just wow 'em with your personality, throw some seed at the ground, and raise a bumper crop?" would have to answer "Yup!" It doesn't work that way.
Malphurs and McIntosh call us to that aspect of ministry most difficult for lovers of spiritual beauty: planning. Those wanting the "buy-plant-enjoy" church model should give each of these a read, especially if current efforts appear wilted or brown.
The authors share common convictions regarding what's needed to grow ministry: an indigenous plan and an intimate knowledge of the soil in which you're digging. They ask, in effect, So what's your plan? And what's your soil? Your ability to clearly answer these questions will likely determine your effectiveness in your corner of God's garden.
In the midst of megachange, Malphurs argues against the current trend toward less strategic planning. Without a good planning process, the average pastor will find it difficult to do anything but drift. For Malphurs, strategic planning is the vital, on-going process of thinking and acting. It is not inflexible, incremental planning that assumes tomorrow is just an extension of today. It recognizes that what grew then may not grow now, and what grows in your yard may not grow in mine. But good things happen ...
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