Metro NY District
Annual Assembly 2012
Rev. Joan Van Becelaere
Central East Regional Group
(with adaptations of select material by
Revs. Sue Phillips & Terasa Cooley)
“There is no power equal to a
community discovering what it
cares about…It is always like this;
real change begins with the
simple act of people talking
about what they care about.”
Margaret Wheatley
Overview
 Difference between Problem, Developmental and
Frame-Bending/Strategic Planning
 Definitions of Strategic Process and Elements
 Benefits of a Strategic Process
 Outline the Basic Process and Flow
Sources
 Holy Conversations, Gil Rendle & Alice Mann, Alban
Institute, 2003.
 Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for
Church and Ministry Leaders, Aubrey Malphurs,
Baker Books, 2005
 Memories, Hopes & Conversations: Appreciative
Inquiry & Congregational Change, Mark Lau
Branson, Alban Institute, 2004.
Having a planning process is as important to the
congregation’s future as architectural plans are to
building a home
What we are not talking about!
 Dilbert
Planning: A Spiritual Discipline
 Not a “Business Plan”
 Not a Product, but a Process
 A form of discernment that parallels a process of




personal spiritual growth
Generative, not determinative
Not a tug of war between factions, but a trusting
in an emergence
Purposeful and meaningful conversation, dialogue,
about who we are & what we believe is important
to do
Holy Conversation!
Process of Discernment
Develop the capacity to see, to weigh, to listen, to
discover our highest aspirations and deepest values as
well as acknowledge our limits and understand our true
identity...
Different Kinds of Planning
Problem Planning
 Problem solving method to fix things
 Goal: to return things to the way there were before the
problem
 Timetable: immediate and short term
 Assumes that we have control over the situation
 Not helpful in changing conditions over which we have
limited control
Different Kinds of Planning
Developmental Planning
 Long range planning
 Asks: now that we have come this far, what’s next? What
do we do now?
 Goal: to determine the next steps, building on what is
presently being done.
 Timetable: 3-6 months, reviewed 1-2 years
 Assumes that things are good and what we are currently
doing is faithful and appropriate
Different Kinds of Planning
Frame Bending/Strategic Planning Process
 Strategic planning process, paradigm shifting
 Asks essential questions:
 Who are we?
 What are we called to do?
 Who is our neighbor?
 Goal: to back to the roots and examine our purpose and call
 Timetable: 12 to 18 months, ongoing review with major review
every 3 years
 Assumes that things are not working or things are changing
 When the very purpose and nature of our ministry needs to
be re-visioned
Definitions: Strategic Process
 A continuous and systemic process where people
make decisions about changing for intended future
outcomes, how outcomes are best accomplished,
and how success is measured and evaluated.
 An envisioning process employed on a regular basis to
design and redesign a specific ministry model that
accomplishes a congregation’s mission in its unique
ministry context.
 A structured conversation about what a group of
people believe they are called to be or to do.
Strategic Hatching Process!
 “It may be hard for an egg
 To turn into a bird.
 It would be a jolly sight harder
 for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.
 We are like eggs at present,
 and you cannot go on indefinitely
 being just an ordinary decent egg.
 We must be hatched or go bad.”
 --C.S. Lewis
For Consideration
Describe some changes you’ve noticed in your
neighborhood in the last 5 years. What are the
implications of these changes for the congregation?
Strategic planning as we conventionally
conceive of it has become irrelevant or
worse damaging. What is a good
strategic plan? There is none. But there
is a good strategic planning process.
“Thriving on Chaos” – Tom Peters
Essential Questions
 Who are we? - identity question, congregation’s DNA
 Who is our neighbor? - context question
 What are we called to do? Where are we going? -
purpose, mission/vision question
 How will we get there? - ministry strategy/planning
process question
Purpose of Strategic Process
 Develop community – conversation process more





important than “product”
Understand more deeply the identity of the
congregation
To open minds to new possibilities
Unleash the congregation’s full potential, building
on its strengths
Bring the future into being with thoughtfulness
Include all of the congregation in a spiritual
practice of organization-changing dialogue
Assumptions
 Strategic Process is not a detailed list of next





steps
Process needs leadership and structure
New vision emerges during the process
Not a way to “fix” the congregation
Essential for congregation to be intimately
involved but everyone does not have to agree
If done well disagreements will emerge and
choices will have to be made
When to Plan?
 Times of transition
 New building
 New programming
 Changing context
 Growth
 Lack of growth or congregational
decline
 Now
Foundation
Strategic Process has its foundation in who we are,
where we want to go, and how we will strive for our goals.
This is built on the bedrock of clear:
 Identity & Purpose
 Values
 Mission
 Vision
And the language we use shapes the
what we create together.
Identity and Purpose
Purpose and Identity
 Who are we?
 What is the nature of faith communities today?
 “Why MUST this congregation exist? Instead of – Why
does this church exist?”
 Questions for small groups…..”How do we differ from
ACLU, etc.”
 Handout: “Before Everything Else.”
Values
Values
Values
 The faith community’s core beliefs that guide the
mission and vision.
 Rarely articulated and often assumed.
 But in changing times, we can’t assume any longer.
 Handout – “Shared Core Values” exercise
 What do we believe?
 Intrinsic beliefs a congregation cherishes above all
others.
 Shapes the mission and vision.
 Values clarification exercise.
Mission
“If a sailor has no destination –
no clear idea of where to go – the
sailboat meanders or stays adrift. The
sailor needs a destination in order to
adjust the sails in relation to winds.
Communities are no different. Without
a destination (mission), their
responses are random, habitual, or
meaningless. Congregations with a
vision set their sails. Leaders are
sailors.” (Peter Steinke)
Mission
 Leaders are the guardians of the Mission, need clarity
to know what is & is not acceptable as part of the
congregation’s planning
 Implications for everything from budget to
programming to behavioral covenants.
 Helps leaders chart real goals, assess progress and
make effective program choices in strategic process
Mission
 It’s what we do.
 Statement articulates our response to calling, does not
create the call.
 Should be inspiring, brief and concise.
 Some say a single sentence – 9 words
 Understood by a 12 year old
 Recited by memory by members
Mission Example
Listen, Open, Serve
First Unitarian, Rochester NY
Creating connection by listening to our deepest selves,
opening to life's gifts and serving needs greater than our
own - every day!
Appreciative Inquiry Approach
Choose the positive as a focus for inquiry
Inquire into stories of life-giving forces
Identify themes that emerge from the stories
Create shared images for a preferred future
Find innovative ways to create that future
From Memories, Hopes and Conversations
Why Language Matters
 Language helps create our reality.
 Shapes attitudes and focuses energy.
 Vision of a positive future vs rehashing past
failures.
 If you focus on mission and vision, then you
know you can change lives.
 If you focus on what you don’t have, then you
won’t be able to do what you can.
 Organizations are heliotropic (follow the
energy.).
Focus on Strengths
When a congregation
focuses on strength, it
will look to the future
and increase the
potential for change or
renewal.
Focus on Strengths
A group focused on weakness and
what is wrong will fall into
hopelessness, pathology, blame and
deficits.
Focus on Strengths
A group that looks to its
strengths will build on them and
move forward through change
with grace.
For Consideration
Describe a time in your experience with the
congregation when you felt most engaged,
enlivened, and motivated...
What helped create that experience?
The Art of Asking
Powerful Questions
Generates energy and motivation to explore
 Stimulates reflective thinking
 Challenges or alters assumptions
 Evokes more questions

From “The Art of Powerful Questions” by Eric E. Vogt et al
Strategic Process Thinking
What if we
reach out in
new ways?
Who are we
and who do
we want to
be?
What do we
do well and
why?
41
For Consideration
Develop a powerful question for your
congregation to consider.
Thinking Strategically
About. . .
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Planning to accomplish our Mission & Vision.
43
Are We Ready For This?
Where is the congregation in its life cycle?
2. What is the level of trust?
3. What is the memory/experience of previous planning efforts?
4. Do we recognize a need to change?
5. Are we prepared for honest feedback even if it’s painful?
6. Are we willing to change the way we do business?
7. How much leadership and energy is available for planning?
8. Is the church willing to spend the funds necessary?
9. Will we really implement what we create? Do what we say?
10. Will we hire a consultant?
11. What commitment will we make to the process & its success?
12. Do we have the vision to lead our congregation into uncharted
waters?
1.
For Consideration
How would you answer these
questions...
‣ Where is the congregation in its
life cycle?
‣ What is the level of trust?
‣ What is memory or experience
of previous planning efforts?
‣ How much leadership and
energy is available for planning?
Strategic Leadership Team
Establish an Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) of staff
and lay leaders.
Board ownership necessary
Board names the team (size – 5-7?)
Senior minister participates, does not chair
Functional better than representational
Name skills before people
from Holy Conversations
Good Team Members
 Ability to be proactive not reactive
Open to new (or old) possibilities
 Distinguish between how and whether
 Willing to take the time needed
 Ability to function in the midst of disagreement

Strategic Leadership Team
People NOT to invite...
‣ Indecisive people
‣ “People-pleasers”
‣ Opponents of leadership or
minister
‣ Move too quickly to
decisions
‣ Unwilling to change
themselves
‣ People with “an agenda”
People TO invite...
‣ Open to new ideas and
perspectives
‣ Comfortable discussing ideas
‣ Who have the respect of
many in the congregation
‣ Who can give time and
energy to the process
Time Commitment
 Initial process - 9-12 months
 meeting every 3-4 weeks
 suggested Friday night 6-9pm and Saturday 8am-12
noon.
 Implementation also takes time
 Congregation continues this process but on a less
regular basis.
Strategic Process
Learning
Thinking
Strategic
Process
Assessing
Planning
Doing
Movement of Planning Process
Leadership
assessment/discernment
lay out planning process
Congregation
share information
Small groups
listening circles
Small/interest groups
reflect on provocative proposals
Congregation
vote on plan
Leadership
accountability
holding the vision
Strategic Leadership Team
gather information
Strategic Leadership Team
identify threads
develop powerful questions
Strategic Leadership Team
develop provocative proposals
Strategic Leadership Team
hone proposals
develop strategic plan
Everyone
implement the vision
leadership
planning
team
small
groups
whole
congregation
manifest
plan
approve
plan
codify
strategic
plan
reflect on
provocative
proposals
develop
provocative
proposals
listening
circles
develop
powerful
questions
gather
info
assess
Discernment Map
Strategic Process Guiding Questions
1.Where are we now? What kind of church are we?
Church ministry analysis - tools to assess current ministry.
resources, capabilities and core competencies
 Demographics, surveys, other research materials
2.Where are we going?
 Powerful Questions -- If no changes are made, where will the
organization be in 5 years? Are the answers satisfactory? If not,
what specific actions must be taken to ensure change? Etc.
 Provocative Proposals – create vision
3.How will we get there?
 Deciding what things need to be done – goals/objectives.
 Implement those things that fulfill the congregation’s vision &
mission
 Change process takes 3-10 years. Patience.
4.How do we know we are succeeding?
 Assessment
5.What have we learned and how do we incorporate our learning?
 Feeding learning back into the congregation.

53
In the
box Of
Mediocrity?
Struggling
to become
better?
Vibrant?
Alive?
Faltering?
54
Where are we?
(Information Gathering)
 Internal and External audits
 Background information, congregational history
 Look at your financial history and resources
 What are your strengths? What has been working?
 List any significant issues present and future, internal
or external
 Local community situation
 PERCEPT for great demographics
Where are we?
(Information Gathering)
‣Needs
determine what data you seek
‣Don’t reinvent the wheel; gather what you have
For Consideration
What information is available to you
right now about the needs, concerns,
and interests of the congregation?
What information is available about
your community?
Where are
we going?
Discernment
 Take your time





Break the learnings into useful “chunks”
Notice the threads running through it
Develop your powerful questions
Take the questions to the people
Gather the feedback
Listening to the People
‣ Structured listening
circles, NOT debates
‣ Frame the powerful
questions
‣ Engage imaginations
‣ Take feedback, but don’t
fear disagreement
Provocative Proposals
‣ State them in the affirmative, as if they are already
happening
‣ Point to real desired possibilities (vision)
‣ Create new relationships in them (including
intergenerational)
‣ Bridge the best of “what is” toward “what may be
‣ Necessitate new learning
‣ Challenge the structural and institutional status quo
from Memories, Hopes and Conversations
A vision is a dream of hope for the
future - captures imagination,
mobilizes energy, connects people.
Vision
Healthy congregations are motivated by
the creative tension between vision
(goals, future) and reality (present).
Vision
Unhealthy congregations
don’t deal with the tension
and lower the vision to
match the current reality
and live in the past.
How will we get there?
Break It Down
 Develop the “chunks” of the plan (goals)
 Make them spiritually engaging and compelling
 They should be doable, but also challenging,
stretching
 Clear and short
 Don’t make them too specific
 Focus on action that gives life to
the mission & vision.
 Share them with each
applicable interest group and
discuss again, create ownership
SMART Goals
 Specific
 Measurable
 Attainable
 Realistic
 Time Bound
Threads & Mission
‣ Look at what keeps emerging as common themes
‣ Hone it to 1-3 major points
‣ This is your operating MISSION.
‣ This should coincide with your
mission statement.
‣ If not, then review and revise
your mission statement.
Final Approval
‣ Present the full plan to the congregation
‣ Offer several discussion opportunities
‣ Solicit buy-in of influential congregants (past
presidents, etc.)
‣ Bring it to the congregation for a vote
‣ Vote on the spirit, not the letter
Implementation
 Where the rubber meets the road
 Who does what, when it will be completed, and how
the church knows it is happening
 Supportive budgeting
 Failure of strategic plans – Announced with great
fanfare and then sit on a shelf.
 Undermines the entire process.
 Leadership must encourage & coach
& nudge for implementation.
Implementation –
Give It Back to the People
Ask each interest group in church to engage with the
plan and develop their own Action Steps
‣ Institute accountability - “How are you as a group
going to help make this happen for the
congregation?”
‣ What steps will you take to make this happen?
‣ How will the rest of the church know about this?
How do we know when we
succeed?
 Assessment of congregation’s
ministry
 Ongoing review. What is our
impact on internal and
external community?
 Feedback used to update and
revise implementation steps
and goals
 Celebrate successes!
Assessment
Develop report-back process for groups to share
stories of manifesting the plan and mission...
What have we learned & how
do we use it?
 Develop a procedure for comparing outcomes to the
original plans.
 Use assessment information to improve and tweak the
original priorities and
plans.
 Communicate learnings,
changes and revisions.
 Create a continuous
learning process.
Constant Themes
 Communication should increase as process





becomes more detailed
Always engage with the powerful questions
Don’t be afraid of conflict
Work toward emerging consensus, but don’t let
agreement hold you hostage
Make sure minister and staff are on board
Speak your own truth; don’t speak for the
congregation
Movement of Planning Process
Leadership
assessment/discernment
lay out planning process
Congregation
share information
Small groups
listening circles
Small/interest groups
reflect on provocative proposals
Congregation
vote on plan
Leadership
accountability
holding the vision
Strategic Leadership Team
gather information
Strategic Leadership Team
identify threads
develop powerful questions
Strategic Leadership Team
develop provocative proposals
Strategic Leadership Team
hone proposals
develop strategic plan
Everyone
implement the vision
Strategic Process
Learning
Thinking
Strategic
Process
Assessing
Planning
Doing
Finding the Balance
Be who you are; find the
deepest and greatest
potential
 Acknowledge your
limitations; live fully
within your gifts
 Dream boldly; make it
real

Thank You For Coming!!!!!!
Comparison of Conventional and
Visionary Strategic Process
Strategic
Conventional Strategic
Strategic
Elements
Planning
Process
1. Learning
Learns from past
sources. Tends to
preserve and rearrange
established categories.
Visionary
Learns from all
sources. Creates
new categories.
2. Thinking
Analysis - breaks goals
down into steps.
Synthesis - uses
intuition and
creativity. It’s very
“messy.”
3. Questions
What was or what is?
What could be?
Comparison of Conventional and
Visionary Strategic Process
Strategic
Conventional Strategic
Strategic
Elements
Planning
Process
4. Time
Past orientation. It
orientation.
works forward from
the past. It is longterm
& brings the
past forward with it.
Visionary
Future
It works backward.
More short-term, tend
to break with the past.
5. Change
Assumes little
change will take
place.
Assumes much
change will take place.
6. Future
More of the same - we
can anticipate the
Little of the same- we
can create the future.
Comparison of Conventional and
Visionary Strategic Process
Strategic
Conventional Strategic
Strategic
Elements
Planning
Process
7. Relationship
May impede visionary
strategic planning
elements
8. Control
add
9. Team
Centralized - stick
Visionary
May include some
conventional
Decentralized -
to the plan.
to & adjust the plan
Less team
involvement.
More team
involvement.
10. Decision Making
Compromise
Consensus
Problem Planning
vs. Strategic Process
Problem
Doing Things Right.
Planning:
Strategic
Doing the Right Things
Process:
83
Video on Mission
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh6S9-j1URk