what’s the plan???
if the [living] room were a business…well…we’d probably be out of business within 6 months. why do I say that? because, the [living] room doesn’t have much of a detailed plan for success and without a good plan…most businesses fail. in fact, most “successful churches” (or so they are called) are run just like businesses where detailed business plans are strategically created to insure “success.” in these churches, attendance numbers and other measures are studied as closely as a fortune 500 company’s stock price. but at the [living] room…these “measures” aren’t even recorded and as far as a detailed plan for the future goes…well, it’s hard to make one when you are constantly changing! …and i believe that’s ok.
the difference is the meaning behind the word “success”.
as i just finished “red moon rising” (a book about 24-7 prayer rooms), author pete greig wraps up his story by describing a conversation he had with a young businessman named andy:
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i was sitting in a large leather sofa sipping my usual double-shot latte talking to a young entrepreneur andy about 24-7. I wanted help from his business brain on how to get organized without turning into an organization. that was the question. but the businessman first wanted some kind of a road map for our future…
“where do you want to be in five years’ time?” he asked.
“five years from now,” i stammered, “i guess we want to be friends. still friends. and we want to be dreaming together. still dreaming.”
he was young and trendy in a disheveled sort of way, already on his fifth business venture, with a razor sharp mind hiding under a nondescript baseball cap. “yeah, but where do you want to be?” he repeated. “what do you want to have achieved? what are your goals? what’s your strategy for success?”
I repeated my answer. “that’s got to be the ultimate achievement, right? still friends? still dreaming? i guess some of the stuff we dream up will work. some won’t. but failure’s more useful to God than success anyway! maybe in five year’s time we’ll be a bigger bunch of friends doing even more stuff. that would be nice. but along the way every person who joins the movement will also change the movement. they will bring their own dreams and skills to the mix, which could in time change our entire direction. so it’s hard to say what the future holds.”
i sipped my double-shot latte and wondered if i was making any sense at all. a man at the next table lit a cigarette.
“the thing is,” i continued, “if we were a business, we could cook you up a five-year plan no trouble. might even have a powerpoint to show you. but 24-7’s an accident; it’s like an adventure into the unknown. success might mean that we don’t even exist as a movement in five years’ time, and if 24-7 stops, we’ve all got other things to do with our lives…”
under the baseball cap, i thought i could detect a glimmer of amusement in andy’s eyes. maybe he was “getting it,” or maybe he just thought i was hopelessly naive. another sip of coffee, try another approach:
“most organizations define themselves around a fixed goal; a set of pre-defined corporate ambitions. that goal can be turned into a five-year plan, broken down into monthly steps, and then you celebrate once you’ve ticked all the boxes and hit your targets,” andy was nodding as if he recognized the scenario. “along the way,” i continued, “i guess you hire and fire, wheel and deal, to get to that all-important goal. but what happens if you’re not sure where you’re going, only who you’re going with and how? what happens if your in it for the ride rather than the results. what happens if friendship is more important than function?
“i guess it’s impossible to say where we’ll be in five years’ time. 24-7 might not exist. but we do want to remain friends, still loving each other, loving God and loving His ideas into being. that would be success.”
andy was shaking his head with a bemused grin of recognition, his brain doing some kind of gymnastics routine worthy of the olympics. “okay,” he said, “count me in!” andy stehrenberger, a brilliant young entrepreneur, has worked for us ever since. and, of course, when he joined, we changed just a little bit more.
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for me, there are many parallels between pete’s thoughts on 24-7 and my thoughts on the [living] room. i truly don’t know what we will look like in 6 months…or 6 years…and i really don’t care as long as it puts a smile on God’s face! we have already been successful and continue to be successful every time we pray together, sing together, work together and celebrate together. our future could have us being the connecting point to Christ for people who are disenfranchised with traditional church…or hosting columbus’ first 24-7-365 prayer room…or being the hub for connecting Christ within our neighborhood…or being an arts cafe’ to get young people off the street and into expressing their creativity…or ????.
so…what’s the plan? i don’t know but it has something to do with making Christ smile…working hard for Him…making life-lasting friendships…and helping people find that straight (and narrow!) road.
-kwin
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