Creating What Matters: Making Vision Happen
Creating What Matters can be offered as either a two-day course or a three-day course. It teaches principles and tools that can be utilized by organizations to achieve the results that they truly want. The facilitator shows the videos, leads the exercises, and fields any questions that the group may have regarding the material.
Visioning in a church is always a process of discernment. We seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in discerning the way forward, a vision for mission. Come work with others to learn skills that will propel you towards your vision. You will study your purpose, clarify your goals, assess current reality, and write an action plan.
Understanding how structural tension can be developed or changed is a powerful new source of energy for the individual or the organization. A clear, well thought out VISION is job one in the creative process. A vision is more than the normal mission statement. It will be a force that compels continuous action. The next step is to look for the truth, and nothing but the truth, about the factors that now exist as they relate to the desired result. We call this CURRENT REALITY. The difference between the result desired and the true status of current reality sets up a tension that can be systematically resolved by deliberate action steps.
The difference between my VISION and CURRENT REALITY sets up a strong tension. Tension seeks resolution. The key to the creative process is structural tension. Whenever we establish a tension, it strives for resolution. Structural tension is established through contrast: between our desired state (our goals, aspirations, desires) and our current reality in relationship to those goals. We can move toward resolving the tension by taking actions that bring our goals and reality closer together. The ultimate resolution happens when we accomplish our goals. Moving toward our goals sounds simple, but requires the development of many skills.
In establishing structural tension, it takes discipline to define the actual end result we want to create, and to define reality objectively outside the distortions of our assumptions, theories, and concepts. It takes discipline to confront moments that are filled with frustration, disappointment, and setbacks.
Many of the most demanding careers place extreme physical and mental pressures on people. Without a discipline for establishing and maintaining structural tension, it's very difficult to accomplish any great mastery. Every time the situation becomes uncomfortable---for example, when you face rejection-you will be prone to give up. By contrast, if you operate with a discipline based on what you genuinely want, you may still feel disappointment, but you won't give up. If anything, the disappointment tempers you and helps you keep moving forward.
Hear what Allison Ward, Youth Director at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Savannah, Ga., says about Creating What Matters:
When I came back from Creating What Matters, I reported to Council about the process and enthusiastically recommended that our conference look into bringing the course to the Savannah area. Pastor Paul, noting my enthusiasm, then asked me to lead the council in the vision process for our 2004 goals.
Well, I did lead the council in the process. I gave everyone homework and they did it! One of the council leaders is a teacher who is subjected to the "Program of the Month" process in the school system said that she was very skeptical. However, she found the process to be very helpful. She was going to recommend it to her teenage son to help him make some decisions that needed to be made.
We now probably have way too many goals to address...but we do have a timeline and a person responsible for each step!
Thanks for serving our Lord by sharing what you have learned. It is reaching many.