Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is not about seeing a need and addressing it. It is about focusing on a purpose and pursuing it single-mindedly.

Learn to set priorities and have the courage to take reasonable risks.

Church leaders know how to think reactively. They know how to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and identify their opportunities and threats. They react to any number of emerging situations. What they don't do is think ahead to sustain effective ministries.They know how to plan strategically. They know how to choose new curricula, tap new sources of funding, recruit committees, and manage time.

Church leaders often do not know how to think strategically, looking around and ahead to keep pace with society. Five year plans become irrelevant after five weeks. Strategies generated from leadership retreats collect dust in closets.

In Strategic Thinking, Tom Bandy provides step-by-step plans to guide church leaders to set boundaries, align resources to visions, and hold church leaders and members accountable for integrity and purpose. In this book, you will learn how to reliably and regularly research the community surrounding your church, discern divine presence, and assess effectiveness. You'll find tools to help you set priorities and have the courage to take reasonable risks.

It is possible for church leaders to think strategically. Do not unnecessarily throw up your hands in despair, react to whatever happens next, or surrender to some authority (individual or institutional) that will tell you what to do. The methods in this book provide a way to make good decisions and timely adjustments to get measurable results.