Tell God Your Plans...

The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. Proverbs 16:9

You ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15

Strategic Plans are a useful tool...budgets are important to make and keep...policies and procedures help a church be clear about how business is done...but sometimes, all our planning can fool us into thinking we are ultimately in charge.

The Strategic Plan at St. Luke is just that; a plan. It's like picking the route for a road trip. Often, unexpected changes come...roadblocks, detours, construction...all of that can change the details of the route, but the anticipated destination remains the same.

St. Luke's current Strategic Plan was born in May of 2015, after many Town Hall meetings and much prayer. It represents the best of where we thought we were called to go from 2015-2020. If you have not read it recently, please follow this link and do so! These things only work if it is a shared vision, and everyone understands the direction the church is headed together.

BUT, the more organized we become as a congregation, the easier it is, I think, to get lost in the details and forget the final destination. The details change. The final destination is always God. All the plans, strategies and policies lead to one over-arching goal: that our church foster an environment where we are drawn into closer relationship with God, to become followers of Christ. That's it. Put simply, the world doesn't need more church members. The world needs more disciples of Jesus.

Today, I am proud of where our church has come. We are more organized and more focused. But as your pastor, I simply want to make sure that I, and all of you, don't ever put our ultimate trust in the plans, procedures, or people of St. Luke (no matter how great each of those pieces are!). Our ultimate hope rests in a God who takes us as we are; broken, imperfect, and messy...and dares to shine light to a dark world through our cracks.

So, let's never forget...our mistakes are forgiven by a God who often uses them to reveal his glory! We can make the plans, and plans are subject to change...but God will direct our steps. Let that be our solid foundation.

PRAYER:
Lord, guide our feet so that we will be in your will and do the goodness of your Spirit. Be our sure feet in this life so that we may rejoice with you in the next. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts