Baptist General Convention of Missouri

The Word is “INTENTIONALNESS” 

 

Stephen Colbert is known for, among other things, coining words that sound almost like real words and that have meanings almost like they sound.  His best known such word is “truthiness.”

My contribution today to that invented word trend is “intentionalness,” and I use the non-word to refer to the importance of churches being intentional about their futures.  Can you imagine a coach, at almost any level of competition, going into a game without a game plan?  Football coaches have extensive game plans with intricate plays and options to deal with changing defenses and game situations.  Baseball managers file batting orders that are carefully arranged to get the leadoff hitters on base and the cleanup hitters to the plate to bring them home.  They have plans to shuttle players in and out of the game for offensive and defensive purposes.

Does your church have a game plan?  If not, you are doing the most important work in the world without a sense of direction.  Your lack of “intentionalness” leaves you at the mercy of whatever problems, crises and setbacks come your way. 

The term strategic planning is not as popular these days, mostly because some approaches to strategic planning have proven to be laborious, non-creative and never implemented.  But, there are many, many possible approaches to thinking strategically, and many of them are fun, interesting and practical.  By whatever name it is called, every church needs to have a “game plan,” and every church needs to be intentional about its future.

One of the terms I like for future planning is “vision casting.”  We come together as church leaders and members to cast a vision – to dream a dream of what we believe God wants the church to become.  

Another coined word I came up with several years ago for the title of a book I wrote is “futuropting.”  This word is rich in implications.   It reminds us that our lives and our church have many possible futures, and that we have options about which future will become reality.  You “opt” for the future of your church by the decisions and actions you take right now.  Sometimes, seemingly unimportant decisions can have far-reaching and high-impact implications for the future. 

The Congregational Health Team of the BGCM is ready to assist your church in finding the best possible ways to cast a vision, opt for a desirable future, and develop a game plan for your church.  You don’t have to be the victim of circumstances, even if your circumstances pose some difficulties and challenges.

The biblical term that applies to any such process is “discernment.”  We seek the Spirit of God through prayer, meditation and thinking and talking together.  Out of that holy process, using the minds God gave us, the intuitive skills that some have, the creativity gifts within the Body, we find the shared vision that will energize and guide our march into the future.  What we intentionalize and envision today becomes the church of tomorrow.  May the dream be worthy of our great God.