Have you noticed that ministry requires a constant stream of planning? We plan budgets for the stewardship of resources. We plan calendars for the strategic use of time. We plan initiatives for the discipleship of our churches. We plan major events to reach out to our communities. We plan and we plan and we plan…
Leadership requires planning. As we plan, let’s remember that our ministries are not just meant to be strategic, but spiritual.
Read these words carefully from Henry Blackaby in his classic work, Experiencing God:
“Planning is a good thing to do if it is motivated and guided by God. But often our plans reflect our own priorities and understanding. We can trust more in our plans and in our reasoning abilities than in God. We may be able to achieve all our goals and yet be far from God’s will. Planning is a tool God may lead you to use, but it must never become a substitute for trusting Him. Your relationship with God is far more important to Him than any planning you will do. The biggest problem with planning is that we too often plan and carry out things in our own wisdom that only God has a right to determine. We cannot know the when, where, or how of God’s will until He tells us. Just because we accomplished our plans does not mean we are pleasing to God.”
For spiritual leaders, planning is not just the summation of personal wisdom, best practices, and the counsel of others. We must seek the leadership of the Spirit of God as we design and execute ministry plans. If we are not seeking God during the planning process, we cannot hope to see God show up in the things we have planned. We must be prayerful, attentively listening to God’s leadership as we walk through planning. As the writer of Proverbs put it:
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” - Proverbs 19:21
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