The Rev. Dr. Lyle E. Schaller is one of the premier church consultants in America. I know he has written somewhere around 40 books and a number of articles. He is a man I have admired from afar for decades.
In one of his books he says that the crucial first step in planning is to admit that something needs to be done, and to be willing to do it . . . that people must recognize that past programs may not be adequate for future needs.
That is a remarkable statement for how it conceptualizes the truth in so few words. The church I serve in one of the Villages of Houston is in the process of examining this very issue—our past, our present, and where God is leading us for the future.
Our beliefs have pretty much been set in stone for centuries. By that I mean, there is no question that we believe in articles like:
• One God in three Persons
• That Christ was both fully human and fully divine
• The Resurrection of Christ
• The sufficiency of Holy Scriptures for salvation
• Original Sin
• Sacraments, etc.
Going beyond beliefs, though, we have finally hammered out a set of values by which we will make the journey in the days ahead as we self-assess and lean into God’s inspiration. Those values are:
• Prayer
• Worship
• Servant Leadership
• Proactive Response to Change
• Christian Education
• Outreach
We are now working on a Mission Statement. We’ll be able to put it on the front of a T-Shirt. We are making it 9 words or less. Stay tuned.
