{"id":374,"date":"2008-03-06T01:01:37","date_gmt":"2008-03-06T01:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/planning-and-goals-is-there-room-for-the-holy-spirit-an-introduction.html"},"modified":"2008-03-06T01:01:37","modified_gmt":"2008-03-06T01:01:37","slug":"planning-and-goals-is-there-room-for-the-holy-spirit-an-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/planning-and-goals-is-there-room-for-the-holy-spirit-an-introduction.html","title":{"rendered":"Planning and Goals: Is There Room for the Holy Spirit? An Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can we make plans and formulate goals and still leave room for the Holy Spirit?
\nShould churches and other Christian organizations have formalized processes for clarifying vision and setting goals?
\nCan the Spirit of God speak to us in the midst of a goal-setting process? If so, how?
\nWhat can we do to let God guide our strategic planning processes?
\nI’ve been wrestling with these questions recently because I’m in the middle of a strategic planning and goal setting process with the organization in which I serve. Laity Lodge<\/a>, where I am Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence, is part of the H.E. Butt Foundation<\/a>, a Christian ministry that includes a wide variety of ministries. In additional to Laity Lodge, an adult retreat center, the Foundation sponsors Laity Lodge Youth Camp, the Foundation Free Camps<\/a>, Laity Lodge Family Camp<\/a>, The High Calling of our Daily Work<\/a>, and the Leadership Forum. The Foundation, including leaders from all our ministries, is working to define with greater clarity our plans and goals for the next five years.
\nRecently, I was asked to present some theological reflections at one of our strategic planning meetings. I thought I’d share some of my ideas on the questions with which I began this post. My basic question was: Is there room for the Holy Spirit in a planning and goal-setting process? When I finished those reflections, I thought it might be worth putting them up on my website. So here they are.
\nBefore I share my reflections, I must confess from the outset that I’m rather skittish about strategic planning and goal setting in Christian organizations. I haven’t always been allergic to big goals, however. In fact, I was making goals for my life when most of my friends were busy watching Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch. When I was in seventh grade, for example, I ran for class treasurer. I wasn’t particularly interested in managing our measly resources, but I did see school politics as a way of enriching my resum\u00e9 so that I might someday be able to get a scholarship to college. While most kids ran for positions in student government because they wanted to enhance their popularity, I was executing my six-year plan to get into and afford a good college. (For the record, I lost the election for seventh-grade treasurer.)
\nMy hesitation about goal setting comes from two different experiences. On the one hand, I have watched churches and Christian organizations get sidetracked by their goals. Sometimes they set goals that seem all too human and not very godly (like “grow to 1,000 members by 2006”). At other times churches can be so constricted by their established goals that their unable to value the new things God is doing among them.
\nOn the other hand, I have seen how God’s plans for my life have overturned my own. My youthful plans for getting a scholarship to college did work out, after all. But, since then, God has been surprising me with his unexpected agenda for my life. While in grad school in New England, I planned to remain there as a professor, never imagining that I would be a pastor in California. While serving on the staff of Hollywood Presbyterian Church, I never planned to become the senior pastor of a suburban church, and had zero interest in going to Orange County. And the last time I made plans for my life, they included remaining as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Orange County at least until 2014, if not until my retirement somewhere around 2028.
\n\"irvineYou can see why I’m not immediately enthusiastic about long-range planning. But, I must add that I have seen careful planning and goal-setting as a context in which the Holy Spirit has been active. There were times in my tenure at Irvine Presbyterian Church when planning was essential to God’s guidance of our church, especially when it came to major building projects or developments in our worship and outreach ministries. (Photo: The Administration Building of Irvine Presbyterian Church under construction in 2004, representing three years of planning.)
\nSo, if we allow that the Spirit of God can guide us through strategic planning and goal setting, when we surely want to know how we can allow this to happen. What can we do to foster an environment in which our goals are truly God’s goals for us? How can we pay attention to the Holy Spirit as we go about the business of strategic planning?
\nBeginning with my next post, I will suggest nine things that can help us attend to the Holy Spirit in the midst of our planning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can we make plans and formulate goals and still leave room for the Holy Spirit? Should churches and other Christian organizations have formalized processes for clarifying vision and setting goals? Can the Spirit of God speak to us in the midst of a goal-setting process? If so, how? What can we do to let God…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-planning-goals-the-spirit"],"yoast_head":"\nPlanning and Goals: Is There Room for the Holy Spirit? An Introduction - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/planning-and-goals-is-there-room-for-the-holy-spirit-an-introduction.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planning and Goals: Is There Room for the Holy Spirit? An Introduction - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can we make plans and formulate goals and still leave room for the Holy Spirit? Should churches and other Christian organizations have formalized processes for clarifying vision and setting goals? Can the Spirit of God speak to us in the midst of a goal-setting process? If so, how? 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}