Simply Strategic Stuff

This book was taken right out of the playbook from Granger Community Church. Granger has become a model for many churches across the country of what a healthy, growing and innovating church can become. 

In this book Simply Strategic Stuff: Help for Leaders Drowning in the Details of Running a Church, we are given "99 topics that church leaders need to know! Some say it's the little things that matter the most, but the little details are often what pastors dread the most. Easy-to-understand and humorous, Simply Strategic Stuff equips pastors to perform the administrative details of pastoring with ease, and enthusiasm. Pastors are encouraged to consider basic principles that will help them develop systems and structures for releasing growth, enabling churches to reach their communities and the world for Jesus Christ!" - Amazon Book Description

Below I have listed 3 of the key concepts from the Book that were important take aways for me when I read through it back in 2008. 

3 Key Concepts from the Book

The First Key Concept from the Book that I would like to highlight is, “We should continually be figuring out the best way to communicate the timeless message of the gospel (p.36).

This idea of being able to effectively communicate the gospel to the culture we are immersed in is extremely important to me. In the book, Simply Strategic Stuff, it is eloquently stated that, “People crave spiritual truth when it’s presented in a culturally relevant context. We’ve used movies, television, and current events to teach people about the hope and unconditional love found only in Jesus Christ. To minister effectively in today’s culture, you need to be a student of that culture.” 

Within our always-changing culture this concept is a wonderful reminder for all of us who are called to lead God's people, that we must always be alert to what is taking place within our culture. It is crucial for us to stay ahead of the culture and lead our people into it intelligently so that they will be equipped to dialogue with and minister to the culture. 

There are several ways to do this. The first is to actually get out into the marketplaces as Jesus did in the gospels (Mt. 9:9-13; Mk. 2:1-12; Lk. 19:1-10; Jn. 9) and His followers did in Acts (Acts 2:14-39; 3:1-26; 8:1, 4-8; 13:2-3, 17:16-34, etc.).

We can also find out what the pulse of our culture is by seeking counsel from other churches who are concerned with meeting the needs of the culture they are immersed in. In their book Simply Strategic Stuff, the authors write, “Tens of thousands of churches across the world are engaged in the same effort. Many of them have already figured out how to be effective in an area in which we are looking for answers.” (p.36)

As the culture and its medium for communication changes, we as ambassadors for Christ must be alert to how to integrate the gospel message into the medium of the people so that they can have the best possible chance to hear the clear and unchanging gospel of how God loves the world and proved it by sending His Son Jesus Christ to save it.

The Second Key Concept from the Book that I would like to highlight is the idea that “Perception Matters” (pp.66-67).

This concept reminds us of the importance of setting boundaries up to protect leaders from the perception of wrongdoing. The authors of the book write; “Our mission is too crucial and our message too important to let our ministry by sidelined for a week or a year by accusations based on perception” (p.66). 

Every Christian ministry on the planet should have protective boundaries in place to insure the health of its staff and church. Prohibiting staff from being caught with a person of the opposite sex in a room that is closed from view, riding in a car alone, meeting alone at a restaurant, at their home, or traveling alone anywhere with such a person, is simply asking for trouble and heading towards a great fall and a ruined life. 

The Bible tells us as leaders we must be above reproach (1 Tim. 3:2 NIV), and should have as J. Oswald Sanders puts it, “unchallengeable morality” (Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, p.41).

The Third Key Concept from the Book that that I would like to highlight is the concept of “Maintaining an Appropriate Span of Care” (p.38).

This concept really hit home for me as a leader. I really like how the authors of this book simplified the solution to this issue by explaining that there are certain indicators that I can use to inform me if I have too many people within my care. 

They are as follow: if I don’t have time to listen to, encourage, return their phone calls and emails, pray for them, know their kids’ and pets’ names, meet with each of them on a regular basis, talk about life, family, and hobbies because you’re always talking “business.” I don’t believe that this chart gives any servant of God the right to not invest in, make time for, and love on anyone within the kingdom of God at any given moment. However, this concept can help us make a diligent effort in recognizing the people God wants us to invest our lives into on a regular basis.  

Just as Jesus had 12 disciples, and 3 in whom He spent the most time with, we should be no different. This is how God designed authentic discipleship to take place. This is how He illustrated effective and lasting discipleship within the Scriptures. By making a conscious effort to not allow ourselves to be overtaken by the demands of ministry we will need to seriously take to heart this concept and apply it to our lives. 

I really appreciated the last paragraph in this section, which says, “Everyone in your span of care needs you to give T.I.M.E. to them. That is, you should Touch, Inspire, Motivate, and Encourage each person on your team often. Decide today to delegate authority so you can lead with strength and health.” 

These are powerful words that can mean the difference of a lifetime of effective ministry, and a short sprint followed by burn-out.

I highly recommend this book, as it is a practical ministry treasure chest that is filled with fruitful nuggets for all.