"The best planning in the world can never pre-empt everything God brings into the mix; we must always be ready to shelve one plan if something better comes along. Our strategies are a starting point, not a straightjacket."
I don't think the Anglican church has figured that out yet... my reflections are we are stuck in the straightjacket of tradition and bordering on complete irrelevance when it comes to cultural engagement... particularly when it comes to engaging with youth or young adult culture.
I get the impression its been so long since some churches took a risk, or they so disliked the last big risk they took, that these churches have become completely risk averse. Nothing but over planning, over thinking happens. This leaves no room for intuative ministry.
I like having a strategy. I like thinking long and hard about what direction a ministry should take. But there comes a point where you can't think any more. Where you have to bite the bullet and take a risk and try something new. Then react quickly if it fails, can it, if it works, make it better. So often I think people can spend a year thinking about what they will do; then doing it; then realising after a month or two it doesn't work, but instead of canning it quickly, they spend another 12-18 months working out what to do instead. By that time people are so invested in the new strategy that it becomes very hard to ditch... So they keep it, to keep people happy and then add a new program ontop of an ineffective one. This kind of thing frustrates the life out of me!
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