A Case for Integral Strategy

You may be asking, “What is integral strategy anyway and why do I need it?” At Strategy for the People, I focus on integral strategy because I’ve found that many Christian organizations don’t know how to integrate their faith into the planning process. In fact, poverty alleviation organizations often create a dichotomy between strategic planning and faith, as though strategy is a purely secular discipline, leaving the Holy Spirit to act “in the moment” after the strategy is done. This dichotomy weakens our strategies and creates unending opportunities to go off strategy and “blame” it on God. It’s a bad habit based on bad theology. Instead, our faith should be seen as a strategic advantage in the fight against poverty. Throughout scripture, from the strategy of Joseph to the practices of the early church, we see God active in good planning (sometimes extremely wild plans) and in the moment. I believe God loves to join us in a creative, collaborative strategy process to plan our way and set priorities for the future. He will also help us discern when it’s time to change course and follow Him in a new direction.

For reference, I’m using the term “integral” because it is commonly used by NGOs and ministries worldwide to describe a seamless integration of our whole lives and mission - body and soul. Integral mission is based on Jesus’ incarnational mission as He lived among us and proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God in “word and deed.” To learn more about integral mission visit the Lausanne Movement. Integral strategy takes these same concepts and applies them within the planning process as we turn mission into execution.

Strategic leadership and spiritual leadership go hand-in-hand. For the Christian leader, these two aspects of leadership must be inseparable and fully integrated. It won’t do for leaders to proclaim a message of faith from the stage and then revert to purely business tactics in the boardroom when things get tough. Indeed, it is exactly when things get tough and resources seem limited that Christian leaders should draw on their disciplines of faith and integrate them with rigorous practices for strategic planning and prioritization. For example, with several teams I’ve included a “discernment” step in the planning process, a 30-day period designed for seeking God’s will and influence over the strategic planning process. I’ve also seen friends at International Justice Mission and Living Water practice spiritual disciplines to guide their daily work and major decisions. Leadership should emanate from a place of deep dependence on God. That means our strategic planning process is full of best practices from business and spiritual formation. And when our strategy is complete, we won’t know which parts came from a business book and which elements were taken from the story of Nehemiah because all of it was an act of faith. We will simply say, “Our work has been worship.”

What do you think? Where have you seen strategic planning done well from a position of faith?