Going for the BHAG
John 13:31-35
As many of you know, we have been in the process the last several months gearing up an update to our Vision, Mission and Values. The ones we presently have were created through an extensive two-year process we undertook in 2003. They have served us well but it is time to look at them again and see if there are things that need to be changed, added or modified. We began the congregation’s initial input into this process through a time of intentional discernment during Lent with five host home gatherings where we asked people to reflect around three questions. Those questions are:
Who are we?
What has God called us to do/be?
Who is our neighbor?
The responses to these questions from all the groups have been combined and posted in Ackerman Hall for you to review. Each of you will be given nine stickers (3 for each question) that you can place next to the items you believe are the essential ideas that best reflect the answers to these questions. Don’t vote until you read the whole list.
I’m just curious. If I were to ask you what the vision of All God’s Children is, would you be able to tell me? Here is our present Vision Statement. All God’s Children is called by Christ to be a radically inclusive community of faith, healed by God’s unrelenting grace, sent in love to share our gifts with the world.
As we think about who we want to be in the future – what we think God might be calling us to next and who should be our neighbor – I want us to consider finding our next BHAG. This was a term coined by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their book, “Built to Last” and it refers to a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal.” Collins and Porras say when planning for the future goals should be compelling, clear and unifying for the group or organization. They should have a clear finish line that is not a sure bet but which will stretch the organization to meet. When we started our Blessed and Blessing Others campaign three years ago we had a BHAG that helped us raise money to fund the Would Jesus Discriminate outreach and to replace our heating and ventilation system. It was a big hairy audacious goal but at the end of May we will be finishing our three year campaign with a successful Would Jesus Discriminate campaign, a new roof on the sanctuary, a new four-zone heating and ventilation system and the reduction of our mortgage debt to a manageable level. In the process we raised over $300,000 outside of our regular budget process. That is impressive! BHAGs make us think outside the box with creative energy and insight that produce transformational results.
We see this in businesses all the time. Amazon’s BHAG for their new Kendle reader is “Every book ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.” Some companies have a problem living up to their goals. The BHAG for Enron, for example, was “Respect, integrity, communication and excellence.” I’m thinking there was a disconnect there somewhere.
The Bible doesn’t give us a clear outline for developing a strategic plan. But it does give us insight into human behavior, if we pay attention, and how we can discern the presence of God in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Our gospel reading today, for example, is set between two betrayals. It begins with Jesus identifying Judas as the one who will betray him to the Roman authorities. After our story Peter tries to feign loyalty and Jesus tells him that he will deny him before the rooster crows in the morning. So between betrayal and denial Jesus tells us to love one another as he has loved them. It is interesting that the story notes that it was in the middle of betrayal that the process of glorification begins. As soon as Judas leaves the room Jesus turns to the others and says, “Now the Chosen One has been glorified.” In the coming days when the scope of the betrayal and denial become more evident the disciples will experience why loving each other was their only chance of surviving their crisis.
Glorification is a churchy word that we don’t normally use in other contexts. In everyday vernacular to say something is glorified is usually a backhanded compliment. “A Lexus is just a glorified Hyundai.” In Christian theology, glorification is the process where the human Jesus transforms into the resurrected Christ. Glorification simply means to give honor or exalt. When we sing, “Let there be glory, honor and praises” we’re using three words that describe the same thing.
So how do we bring honor and praise to bear on God’s purpose in our midst? When MCC first started our BHAG was to be a church where gay people were welcomed and valued. That was an audacious claim in 1968 – and still is for lots of people. But what about for 2010? Is God still in the hairy audacious business? How do we decide what our next BHAG should be and is it different from the past? I could give you my answer to those questions. But I’m not going to… yet. Glorification for Jesus began between an experience of betrayal and denial – in the messiness of life. That is the hint we are given of where to look to find our purpose.
This past weekend your pastors and most of the Board of Directors were in Kansas City along with 12 other MCC congregations at a church growth summit. From that summit we received some observations and an assessment of our growth and health as a congregation. There was nothing in the assessment that we haven’t already known. But having someone from outside the congregation give you this feedback makes it have greater impact. We recognize that we are stuck as a congregation. We know we have challenges. And we know we have to provide ways for people to develop a deeper spiritual life. This will require a cultural shift in the way we are church. It will require a shift in how resource the church, how we staff it, how we think about ourselves and what our purpose is. Who and what do we want to be in 5 years? What got us to where we are will not take us to where we need to go. The Board and leadership will be grappling with these issues developing a plan. We will need your input and prayer.
I can tell you that our next BHAG won’t be easy, it won’t be without cost and it will cause us to grapple with what it means to be faithful in 21st century Minnesota facing the challenges our world presents.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com The Maundatum Mission, April, 2010.