What Can We Do to Make Room for the Holy Spirit in Strategic Planning and Goal Setting

Mark D. Roberts @ www.markroberts.com is continuing his series entitled ">Planning and Goals: Is There Room for the Holy Spirit? In considering the question: "What can we do to make room for the Holy Spirit in strategic planning and goal setting?" So far he has suggested three actions or attitudes:

1. Acknowledge the sovereignty of God.

2. Listen for the “bass note” of biblical theology.

3. Respect the ways God has led in the past.

Today he continues:

4. Recognize that God’s new wine requires new wineskins.

To the question "So how can we know when new wineskins are required? For one thing, we need to distinguish between the wine (the essential) and the skins (the inessential). For example, if we want to communicate the good news of Christ effectively, we need to use the language of the world in which we live, a world that is always changing and is doing so more and more rapidly. At the same time, we mustn’t give up the fundamental good news. These days, the Christian gospel is controversial because of it’s unpopular notion of Christ as the only Savior. But if Christians give up this notion, they have essentially given up Christian faith. We need to find effective ways to explain to people what it means for Jesus to be the Savior. But heaven help us if we no longer believe that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world".

(Photo: A church in Bodie, California)

In his conclusion: "It’s risky to be open to change. It can feel scary and uncertain. But it’s also risky for an organization to resist change. Too often beloved old wineskins end up being used as a burial shroud".