The Myth that all Christian Leaders have a Game Plan.

Setting clear goals and direction.

Should Christian Leaders have a game plan, should they have clear goals and direction? Sadly this is not always the case, yet it still amazes me how many people think that Christian leaders should have these things. It may be true that they all have a plan and that they all have goals and direction but it doesn't always mean that they are leaders and can successfully see their game plan through to the end. If Christian leaders struggle to set clear goals and give precise direction then they will struggle to lead.

The football (soccer to my US friends) world cup has recently finished and France was declared winners. One of the things that struck me and reinforced my dislike of the game was the way that some of the teams played. For example one South American team when losing resorted to such theatrics when tackled (sometimes they were never touched) that people, commentators and the print media were appalled at the antics and the players themselves were ridiculed. Yet after the matches when the captains were interviewed they talked about their game plan and how it had or hadn't worked for them.

In other words the game plan set out by the leadership team, - coach and captain, was to act deceitfully, slow the pace of the game, feign injury, cheat whenever necessary and to try and con the officials into believing that the other player was the villain. Now that's what I call a dumb game plan. However, in all fairness, it is the way this particular professional sport is played.

We all set ourselves goals, even if it is just getting out of bed and getting dressed in the morning. We all have given ourselves instruction and direction. Yet just doing this doesn't make us leaders.  Goal setting and game planning is a complex thing.

Christian Leaders are no exception, but the difference between being mediocre and a highly successful Christian leader is being able to ensure that goals and direction are in fact shared goals and direction. Christian Leaders who stand up and give a 30 minute vision talk and then expect their ministry and department leaders to act on and implement their ideas are living in cloud cuckoo land. Volunteers and church teams succeed when they are involved in the team strategy and game plan from the outset. Successful Christian Leaders have the knack of making others feel that the goal and direction needed has come from their involvement, when all along it was part of the leader's strategy.

Two things need to be remembered when setting a game plan:

Remember to answer the why question. When planning, the what, who, where and when questions are often discussed at length. After these have been cleared up the How question is asked. How will you implement your goal and how will you achieve your outcomes. But don't forget the why question. When church volunteers and teams have a clear understanding of the why question they will buy into the rest. In the case of all things church related it should be about Jesus and winning the lost for Christ.

Secondly, what are you prepared to sacrifice? This is a question both you the Christian Leader and the team must ask yourselves. Are you prepared to get it wrong for the sake of the why question.

Getting the balance right between these two is imperative otherwise we may end up being likened to a certain South American football team.