Eight Word Mission Statements

A recent Harvard Business Blog suggested a mission statement be only eight words --Verb,Target, Outcome "Save endangered species from extinction". Peter Drucker said a good mission statement should fit on the back of a T-shirt.

A good mission statement should be clear and concise and inspire people.I am planning to work on the PRC's mission statement -shorten it, make it clear and concise so people know our purpose. (The mission of the PRC is to strengthen congregations of all religious faiths by helping them train, coach, and equip their members- lay and clergy – for service and leadership) Suggestions?

Is your mission statement eight words, could it fit on the back of a T-shirt? Is it clear, concise and does it inspire?

Is your church relevant?

I recently came across several Internet articles/resources about ‘relevance’ in the church. One was a video about worship and the conflict that can occur between being relevant and worship being reverent. (I must confess that I lost the link to this video and 'google' did not help. It featured Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Research-- Note to self : always 'bookmark' !!)

A book review of "Hipster Christianity" by Brett McCracken quoted the author's criticism of churches trying to be ‘hip’ and not ‘real’. http://bit.ly/aHhscS

A CNN Belief blog quoted Michael Spencer of the Christian Science Monitor, ‘that one of the reasons that churches are on the decline is the church’s rabid pursuit of “relevance” and “pragmatism” that has produced in many churches a shallow vacuity.’ http://bit.ly/9gTVA1

How do we best communicate the message of faith in a changing culture and at times a world indifferent to the church? A message that is not relevant will have difficulty connecting with people. Paul knew his gospel had to be communicated in a relevant way with the Greek world of his day. But he also knew that what he preached would be foolishness to some. At the same time we need to be relevant, we need to be faithful to what is the core, DNA, of the kingdom message.

Is there anything that is keeping your church from being relevant and faithful?