Thelemic Planning

by Walt Brock

For every house is built by some man; but he that built all things is God (Hebrews 3:4).

Seeing tomorrow in the “mind’s eye” has always been a challenge to finite man. We do not have the godly perspective of omniscience; and in spite of the fact that we, as believers, have God’s written Word and His indwelling Holy Spirit, determining the future of a ministry remains a continuing challenge for all of us in ministry.

Master-planning, as we are defining it here, deals primarily with plans related to facility development and use. Some managers labor in this realm of planning, thinking that a great facility will lead to success and growth in their ministry; but we all know that while a great facility may attract some new people, it certainly will not keep them all by itself. Master-planning a facility based on growth projections we would like to see is not strategic planning. Rather, the facility planning must be in alignment with a total ministry strategic plan. A master plan should focus on a facility that aids the ministry’s programs, eliminates distractions from the message, and is consistent with the comfort levels of the intended users.

We can find a number of practical helps on this quest; but, in the end, finding God’s specific will remains for us, as God’s servants, a physical and mental challenge that demands a spiritual solution. That spiritual solution, in determining the future of a ministry, must include an understanding of God’s Word, a discernment of His will, a conviction of His call to serve Him through a particular ministry, an involvement with Him in seasons of fasting and prayer, the filling with the Spirit for spiritual understanding, and a dogged determination to obey Him no matter the cost.

From Acts 26 we see that Jesus gave Paul a purpose to fulfill upon this earth and that Paul later referred to this purpose as a “heavenly vision.” We can see that this vision was broad yet detailed enough to give Paul direction and a sense of purpose for the rest of his life. As he in later years looked back on his life, he claimed that he was not disobedient to that vision—the details of his training years in Arabia, his time in Jerusalem, his years in hometown Tarsus, the years of mentoring by Barnabas, the ministry in Antioch, the call from the Holy Spirit to venture into the years of foreign travel on the three missionary journeys, and now this time of imprisonment. God’s will was not outlined for him in detail, but when we look at what Jesus actually said to him, everything fit. And that is our goal: to have a master plan that is balanced between direction and destination so that in the years ahead we can look back and see how it all fit together into what we call God’s “thelemic” will for our ministries.

And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the    Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance (Acts 26:14–20).

Practical Principles
▪ The principle of three-fold creation—in our dreams, or in our mind; on paper; on the land, in reality.

▪ The principle of prudence in planning—unrealistic time deadlines, unrealistic goals (sized beyond our constituency, facility luxury quotient—too high or too low), dangerous leveraging of our plan without God’s endorsement, and improper sharing of our vision that generates more discouragement than encouragement (Neh 1:9; 2:12, 17-18; 4:6; Jeremiah 27) are not prudent.

– What we share—look at the mountain top, but focus your team on the next step
– How we share—boasting, demanding vs. challenging
– To whom we share—right folks first
– Timing of information—discouragement with too many details too soon

▪ The principle of total planning—we must plan for all the basic parts of our ministry, not just property. We must have a strong sense of our philosophical foundation, must develop a program strategy to implement it, must recruit and train people to do the work of the ministry, and then we must develop a master plan that will provide a facility in alignment with all of the above.

▪ The principle of the life call and longevity of ministry—master plans will sometimes take years, decades, and even generations to complete the layout of long-range plans—five years to more than thirty years

– Phases—three to five-year phases.
– Sequences (what comes next)—“look at the top of the mountain; focus on the next step.”
– Continuity of ministry, value of gift for eternity.

Master plans will occasionally need adjustment due to the following:

– Context (both internal contexts and external contexts) changes.
– Alignment—bringing what we are doing back into line with our mission.
– Additions or subtractions to the mission statement.
– Strategy adjustments.
– Ministry cycle or stage—where are we?
– Evaluations of purpose accomplishment—are we or aren’t we?
– Constituent survey and evaluations—what do they think?
– History respected, promises made, and today’s reality.

What God had put in Nehemiah’s heart to do was transferred to the mind of the people. Not only must we be convinced of the plan, but our followers must be convinced as well! Compare the following two verses:

– And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem (Neh 2:12).
– So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work (Neh 4:6).

▪ The principle of a spiritual solution to a temporal challenge—reasons we don’t grow include lack of diligence (Rom 12:8), temptation too strong (1 Cor 10:13), weak stewardship (1 Cor 4:2), poor treatment of team (1 Tim 5:18), failure to be faithful with what we already have (Luke 16:10-12), and failure to ask the source (John 16:24). Faith should be applied in ordinary areas of obedience—are we living by faith? Also, what part does pride play in all our dreams and plans?

▪ The principle of ebb and flow.

– Identify the basic zones needed for your ministry (recreation and playgrounds; classrooms; parking lots; visitors and deliver- ies; kitchen, fellowship times, and fellowship areas; preaching and services; maintenance; administration and offices).
– Figure out the frequency of daily use and sequence of use for each zone.
– Identify use issues and constraints for each zone.
– Picture in your mind and record on paper how people will flow from zone to zone or the impact on a zone as people move through it several times a day. Make adjustments on paper as you discern problems.

▪ The principle of people first—service is our privilege.

– Our priorities should be people, then program, and finally property.
– One-step-backism—we live in a changing society. What adoptions are necessary in our facility because of those changes?
– Will people repeat (come back again), rave (get really excited about our ministry), and remit (give to help it grow)?

▪ The teamwork principle of planning—planning is the job of one or of a very few. Allow and encourage your leadership team to question your plan in the following ways.

– Context—assumptions regarding internal and external contexts (constituents, colleagues, competition, community). Are they correct?
– Content of plan—does it make sense?
– Completeness of plan—are there holes in it?
– Conclusions of team should result in a consensus—is there agreement?

▪ The principle of balanced quality—if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth doing and you can’t do it first class right away, it is worth pioneering! We must learn to balance our plans, being neither complacent nor covetous, but rather we must be content with God’s will and timing.

▪ The principle of the properly defined method—the local church, the individual, and the family all have intrinsic value; facilities and methods do not. We must know what the method is, what it does, why it is considered effective, and how it will be used to accomplish God’s purpose and serve that which is eternal.

For the last thirty years, we have used these principles extensively in developing and fulfilling—with God’s power and provision—the Ironwood master plan. Remember, there is no way to plan your way out of challenges and difficulties, but a good plan will keep you going in the right direction while you are dealing with them (read Nehemiah 4–6).