From Vision to Plan
From Vision to Plan
“History is not already written. Yes, we know how it will all turn out, but we do not know what our own roles in the cosmic drama will be.” —Darrow Miller1
We have the ability to make choices that determine whether our destinies will unfold as God has intended. Do not sit around and wait for history to happen to you. Although we know the end of the story for the universe, we don’t know what our roles will be in it. do not live as if your actions have no impact. Be an actor, not a victim.
We must have more than a dream. We need to turn our grand vision into an actionable plan. We must have the discipline to turn foresight into strategies that we can execute and measure.
This is hard work, but we must do it.
“The future should not be a vague concept and strategy should not be a monstrous task in which we take pride in complexity. Strategy can be simple. Yes, it must be comprehensive, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.”2
“Strategic planning begins with strategic thinking.”
Strategic has to do with “developing insight about the present and foresight about the future.”3 This should be fun, an exercise in creativity.
What do you imagine God is saying to you about your future? How does this fit into your present reality? What’s going on in the world around you? What are the plethora of paths to seeing your God-inspired future actualize? A good strategic-thinking process studies the environment, educates and tests assumptions, tries to anticipate the future, and begins to articulate imagination.
Our church engaged in a six-month strategic-thinking process.
We facilitated several creative-thinking sessions with a cross section of church members who have expertise in thinking creatively and/or strategic planning. One session was led by an executive from a large media firm in the United States. She posed a question about how to accomplish our mission, and then for hours we creatively explored new and better ways for mission fulfillment.
We also held numerous focus groups and a lot of informal discussion. That was the fun part. I then took the data, the ideas, and the assumptions about the future that percolated to the surface over those six months and started to organize those thoughts into a strategic plan. That wasn’t much fun.
A strategic plan involves a statement of mission, vision, core values, prioritized strategic objectives, goals that are connected to a time line, and a plan to monitor and measure results. It is an actionable plan. It guides the actions that should be taken to achieve specific outcomes in the future.
We must not just talk about the future. We must imagine what it should look like in coming years.
What actions should we be taking this year to execute that plan? This month? This week? Today? A key to having purpose and meaning in our lives is to ensure that what we are doing today is connected to our dreams for the future.
Get intentional about your dreams. Become an expert on your future. Be creative.
Think.
Organize your thought. Make plans.
Take action.
Have you engaged in strategic planning? Drop a comment and share your experience.
1 Darrow Miller, Discipling Nations (Seattle: YWAM, 2001), 275
2 Robert W. Bradford and J. Peter Duncan with Brian Tarcy, Simplified Strategic Planning: A No-Nonsense Guide for Busy People Who Want Results Fast! (Worcester, MA: Chandler House, 2000), 4.
3 T. Irene Sanders, Strategic Thinking and the New Science (New York: Free Press, 1998), 52.
Adapted from Live Ten (Thomas Nelson) by Terry A. Smith. All rights reserved.
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