As a result of some preparation for a speaking engagement I did, I worked with the idea of mission. Most organizations have some kind of mission statement. Even sports teams have mission statements. I am not sure everyone is clear about the purpose of a mission statement. And I also pretty sure most people in an organization have no clue what the mission statement says, which means they are not directly working to fulfill that mission. Part of my argument in the presentation was to encourage everyone in the room, who theoretically were leaders, to make sure folks in their organization knew, believed in and worked for their mission.
It sounds simple, but it happens less than you might think. For example, you might consider how many organizations you are part of. Each one likely has a mission statement. If I think of myself, I am part of a university, a church, etc. I am sure each has a mission statement, but I would be shaky to tell you what each one says. Again, I suggest it is the responsibility of leadership to make sure this missional knowing happens. Otherwise, what good is a mission statement?
I am part of a church-related university and part of a faith community. So I expect mission statements to reflect their faith or spiritual identity and focus. Since I have now done my homework and do know the mission statements, I can say the missions do reflect what I expect. And since the group to whom I was talking were clergy, I know their leadership roles were with church congregations. I became more specific with them.
I assume correctly they all hope people in their town or city would want to join or be part of their faith community. To the point, if they are Methodists, they hope that many folks will be attracted to the Methodist community and so on. The mission statements often express this intention and hope. Put crassly, the mission statement of a Methodist church would hope to make more Methodists----for the kingdom of God, of course. I say it this way to be affirming, not in a pejorative manner.
But as many of us know, the climate for folks joining churches is not as good as it once was. Adults and young adults are not attracted to faith communities like they once were. Of course, many things have changed in the American culture in my lifetime. The change is fact; whether we like it or not is opinion. If I am a church leader, I have to deal with things as they really are.
I know this sounds perhaps too much like business talk to be applied to spirituality, but I am intrigued by the competition churches face. Once upon a time, we made jokes about the guys who would play golf on Sunday morning instead of go to church. As we survey the situation now, there is way more than golf that competes with the churches’ hope to have people come into their community to find meaning and purpose in a personal faith. So I chose to look at some missional competition.
Because Starbucks has been in the news lately, I turned my attention there. I know many people who well prefer an hour or two in a coffee shop than in a church pew. Instead of the Bible, they will read the newspaper or listen to a podcast or something like that. Instead of communion, they will have a latte and croissant! When you think about it, that is stiff competition.
I thought it might be easy to guess what the mission of Starbucks would be. But when I actually did a little research, I was surprised. Their mission statement is succinct and memorable. I don’t know whether Starbucks’ workers know it, but it would be easy to know, believe and work to realize.
Starbucks puts it this way: “Our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” The first half of that statement could easily have been found in a church mission statement. “To inspire and nurture the human spirit.” Churches cannot be arrogant and assume they are the only places where nurture and inspiration happen. Starbucks does it well; the church needs to be effective to compete. A place like a Starbucks’ coffee shop offers significant missional competition for the local church.
We who still claim the faith community is important and declare there is no competition cannot change the situation simply by declaring there is no competition. There is competition when folks have a choice where they go to find their inspiration and nurture. Apparently, faith communities are not the only places that can use words like inspiration and nurture. We don’t get to dictate the rules of the game.
I come away with a great deal of respect for Starbucks’ clarity of mission and for how they see the work they are doing. The intentionality is deeper than simply selling coffee and making a profit. Cleverly, the have a mission that, if they can pull off, literally guarantees they will sell a lot of coffee and make a great deal of profit. Churches need to be as clear, as intentional and as effective for the faith in which they deeply believe.
I have respect for Starbucks and appreciate the challenge of getting better in my own right.
It sounds simple, but it happens less than you might think. For example, you might consider how many organizations you are part of. Each one likely has a mission statement. If I think of myself, I am part of a university, a church, etc. I am sure each has a mission statement, but I would be shaky to tell you what each one says. Again, I suggest it is the responsibility of leadership to make sure this missional knowing happens. Otherwise, what good is a mission statement?
I am part of a church-related university and part of a faith community. So I expect mission statements to reflect their faith or spiritual identity and focus. Since I have now done my homework and do know the mission statements, I can say the missions do reflect what I expect. And since the group to whom I was talking were clergy, I know their leadership roles were with church congregations. I became more specific with them.
I assume correctly they all hope people in their town or city would want to join or be part of their faith community. To the point, if they are Methodists, they hope that many folks will be attracted to the Methodist community and so on. The mission statements often express this intention and hope. Put crassly, the mission statement of a Methodist church would hope to make more Methodists----for the kingdom of God, of course. I say it this way to be affirming, not in a pejorative manner.
But as many of us know, the climate for folks joining churches is not as good as it once was. Adults and young adults are not attracted to faith communities like they once were. Of course, many things have changed in the American culture in my lifetime. The change is fact; whether we like it or not is opinion. If I am a church leader, I have to deal with things as they really are.
I know this sounds perhaps too much like business talk to be applied to spirituality, but I am intrigued by the competition churches face. Once upon a time, we made jokes about the guys who would play golf on Sunday morning instead of go to church. As we survey the situation now, there is way more than golf that competes with the churches’ hope to have people come into their community to find meaning and purpose in a personal faith. So I chose to look at some missional competition.
Because Starbucks has been in the news lately, I turned my attention there. I know many people who well prefer an hour or two in a coffee shop than in a church pew. Instead of the Bible, they will read the newspaper or listen to a podcast or something like that. Instead of communion, they will have a latte and croissant! When you think about it, that is stiff competition.
I thought it might be easy to guess what the mission of Starbucks would be. But when I actually did a little research, I was surprised. Their mission statement is succinct and memorable. I don’t know whether Starbucks’ workers know it, but it would be easy to know, believe and work to realize.
Starbucks puts it this way: “Our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” The first half of that statement could easily have been found in a church mission statement. “To inspire and nurture the human spirit.” Churches cannot be arrogant and assume they are the only places where nurture and inspiration happen. Starbucks does it well; the church needs to be effective to compete. A place like a Starbucks’ coffee shop offers significant missional competition for the local church.
We who still claim the faith community is important and declare there is no competition cannot change the situation simply by declaring there is no competition. There is competition when folks have a choice where they go to find their inspiration and nurture. Apparently, faith communities are not the only places that can use words like inspiration and nurture. We don’t get to dictate the rules of the game.
I come away with a great deal of respect for Starbucks’ clarity of mission and for how they see the work they are doing. The intentionality is deeper than simply selling coffee and making a profit. Cleverly, the have a mission that, if they can pull off, literally guarantees they will sell a lot of coffee and make a great deal of profit. Churches need to be as clear, as intentional and as effective for the faith in which they deeply believe.
I have respect for Starbucks and appreciate the challenge of getting better in my own right.
Comments
Post a Comment