Keys for Ministry Stability and Progress (Part 1)
We seem to live in an age of turmoil and even crisis within large ministry organizations or institutions—whatever major denomination that you observe. And yet we want stability in our own ministries. We want to optimistically move forward successfully fulfilling the mission God has given to us. How can we do so?
Ministry stability and progress require unity in vision, mission, philosophy, and doctrine. The vision relates to what inspires people to join together to accomplish something; it is the overarching focus that directs the heart of everything that is done. While the vision encapsulates what needs to be done, the mission carries that vision out purposefully according to strategies and goals that are informed by one’s philosophy on how to get it accomplished. And that philosophy is the practical outworking of one’s doctrinal commitments (the teachings of Scripture harmonized).
Doctrine –> Philosophy –> Mission –> Vision
Ministries need unity in vision, mission, philosophy, and doctrine for the work of the ministry to flourish without being impeded by the turmoil that comes from a mixed multitude of people who fundamentally disagree on any one of these four categories. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll focus our attention on the local church. But many of these principles also apply to broader Christian ministry and broader Christian living.
Vision
What is the focus that directs the heart of everything that is done?
First, leaders must communicate clearly, succinctly, and transparently what should be rallying people together for the common cause of a specific ministry. What truly is the driving force that motivates what’s being done and why it’s being done? Why wouldn’t leaders communicate this clearly, succinctly, and transparently? Maybe there is a lack of leadership or a lack of clear direction at a leadership level. Or perhaps the leadership is trying to change things while not being transparent about it for any number of pragmatic or nefarious or fear-driven reasons. This is a shame because God’s people need clear-headed, honest, bold leadership that will stand for truth and righteousness regardless of the fallout. Yes, it takes prudent wisdom to communicate it, but shrewd dishonesty cannot be excused.
Second, when such a vision is communicated, the vision may be broad in scope, but it must be more specifically understood than a meaningless platitude. The vision must actually direct people toward one ultimate end through a means to that end in contrast to faulty ends and means to that end. Too often, leaders will use a minimalistic abstract platitude to assure people that we’re all on the same page and in this together when nothing could be further from the truth. “We all just need to love each other and serve Jesus.” Great. What does that even mean or look like? The differences amongst people often get down into the details that challenge one’s claims of the platitude.
Here’s an example:
A vision for a local church could be: to glorify God by uniting together as an assembly that worships the Lord Jesus Christ, witnesses to the lost in need of reconciliation, and watches over the souls of believers.
A vision like this is good, but it still needs to be unpacked. And that unpacking will better orient people as well as reveal whether people are truly envisioning the same thing that’s driving them in a common cause.
For example, is there a common understanding of what it actually means to glorify God? Is there a common recognition of what qualifies as God-honoring worship that’s worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is there a common evangelistic and discipleship approach that underlies this vision?
Too often, a vision is enunciated in such a vague, abstract, generalized way (perhaps purposefully) to provide a minimalistic standard of unity. The leader’s goal is to gloss over differences in order to pep people up to stay together in an organization because they all agree with the abstraction. But sooner or later the organization will fray because people know that they aren’t actually pulling together but are pulling against each other because their vision isn’t truly the same.
In order for the vision to be meaningful and truly uniting, leaders need to lead a united group of people who take ownership of a common mission, philosophy, and doctrine that undergirds the vision. A vision is necessary, but it is not sufficient to guide and direct the specific work of the ministry.
Mission
The mission is what carries out the vision in a purposeful way. It seeks to accomplish the vision. Few matters can be as important to hammer out for the local church than rightly answering this question: ”What is the mission of the church?”
The answer should be clear and obvious based on biblical revelation: The Great Commission.
However, many would add a social gospel (social justice) thrust to this mission or cram into the Great Commission (by how they redefine it) cultural renewal. They confuse the human mission given to all people (the Creation Mandate) as a part of the mission of the church—often because they confuse the church with the kingdom. But the kingdom and the mission of human beings in general are far more expansive than the church and its mission. Certainly, the church can and should equip people to live righteously in all the spheres and dimensions of life. People need to know how to live in light of redemption in all they do in all of life. But the task given to the church is not to redeem the culture but to redeem people to live as lights in a culture that will wax worse and worse until Christ returns to redeem the culture after His great judgment that must purge and purify the whole world (doctrinal presuppositions inform this mission—see the fourth category below).
When people diverge on the mission of the church (and on the believers’ mission in the church age), there can be no true unity in how they seek to accomplish the vision.
Thus, the local church will accomplish its mission by staying on task: preaching the Word, administering the ordinances, executing church discipline, cultivating Christian fellowship and care—all that entails worship, discipleship, and evangelism.
In the next post we’ll look at how the church is directed to carry out its mission (philosophy) as well as the doctrinal foundations that undergird the philosophy, mission, and vision.
Kevin Collins has served as a junior high youth leader in Michigan, a missionary in Singapore, a Christian School teacher in Utah, and a Bible writer for the BJU Press. He currently works for American Church Group of South Carolina.
Photo by Carl Cerstrand on Unsplash