Unconventional Planning

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22)

Background

Jesus had between 3 and 4 years to establish his ministry; set the course for history; and prepare his team for unprecedented individual challenges after his death. There has never been a bigger assignment.  So what would today’s “savvy” leader do if saddled with that type of assignment?  Probably, something along these lines:  1. Assemble the strongest team of high potential type A leaders you could find, real movers and shakers; 2.  Develop a version of a SWOT (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats) business analysis and lay-out a strong strategic plan…plan the work and work the plan; 3. Ensure that massive amounts of time was spent in front of as many people as possible, make sure that high profile public interactions were absolutely maximized.  4. Work around the clock, there wasn’t much time.

If I’m honest, versions of the above have framed some of my own thinking on how to best expand the kingdom in my world. Applying the collective wisdom of today’s business world to maximize the kingdom must be a good thing right?

And yet…Jesus plan was different. It defied conventional wisdom.

Jesus assembled a rag-tag bunch of young guys with no classical training. He built in massive amounts of alone time with God…and his disciples.  He occasionally asked the recipients of the healings to keep it quiet.  He spoke indirectly in parables.  His formula was so different than what culture would offer as a wise approach to us today.  It frequently is.

Reflections

Using wise practices and applying them to expand Kingdom assignments isn’t necessarily a bad thing. These practices can be additive and helpful.

But…our world emphasizes self-sufficiency. Linear thought.  Getting it right ourselves.  It becomes very easy in our pursuit of kingdom assignment success to place a disproportionate amount of focus on our efforts. Our talents.  Our work. Our leadership. And in it all we can subtly delegate God’s engagement to an after-thought.

God many times appears to find great joy in executing a plan…in the most unusual ways.

Involving God through prayer needs to frame our priorities. We need to listen closely to His whispers…because maybe He once again has a non-conventional plan that will cause awe.  In the unusual.

Lord, you know my training and history. I spend an inordinate amount of time on the plan.  The conventional one.  Help me to seek your whispers directing to the unusual…and to listen. Help me to then have courage and faith to obediently take the path.  Amen.

What if we better balanced application of conventional wisdom with openness to non-conventional whispers?  Would some of our pursuits yield more fruit?

What if as a church we spent more time pursuing and prioritizing prayer and listening to His voice as we do with pursuing current popular management techniques such as leadership development?