Scouting and Preparing

We're in the midst of March Madness, and a thought occurred to me that I thought I'd share. It's about scouting and preparing. Coaches like to say, "We take it one game at a time." That's coach speak for, "I'm not going to tell you if I think we can win this game and whether we can beat the next opponent after this game." Whether they do or don't is immaterial. What is important is the game at hand. The opponent that you're going to match up against, and whether you feel that you are inferior or superior, you scout and prepare anyway.

So why the update on Basketball strategy. It's because we are facing opponents called growth barriers. In the realm of "group dynamics" there are boundaries that form that seem to hold churches back from growing to another level. At SRC we value GROWTH. We believe that we have a responsibility to grow for a couple reasons. First, healthy things grow. It's as natural as that. When my daughter is healthy she grows. If she were malnourished or handicapped it would keep her from her normal growth. Churches are the same way. When Severn River Church is healthy in our approach to following Christ and His mission then we will naturally grow. The second reason is because of the character of God. John 15 gives us a glimpse into God's character that he is like a vine dresser, and branches that don't grow he gives some more time but eventually cuts off. We are therefore mandated to grow and we value it so much we track our growth. But we don't only look back, we also look ahead.

We are a church of about 40 now and we're growing into our plan for 50. Soon we will be (and in some ways we already are) implementing our plan for 100. Some might ask, "Why would we do that if we only had 36 people last Sunday? It's because of scouting and preparing.

B-ball teams don't wait until they are playing the game to plan for opportunities that might arise. They practice multiple things throughout the week that they might never implement during the game because it might occur and they want to be ready. Inbounding plays, half-court sets, and secondary fast breaks. These are basketball plays that you practice in case something happens during the game. You can't just make them happen, but you have to be prepared for when the opportunity arises. The fact is that many churches are not scouting and preparing. They don't ask the question, "What if God wanted our church to serve 100 more people?" If He did, would your church be ready to handle it? We wouldn't. That's why we're taking time to get prepared for it. We identify our next opponent in the growth game and we're scouting and preparing for the 100 opponent. And it won't be far beyond that that we're operating in a way to take on greater and greater growth.

I had lunch with a guy several weeks ago who told me that when he looks at SRC he sees about 50 people attending over the next 5 years. He also said that he knows when I look at SRC I see it growing much larger than that. And he said, "That's why you are in the position you are in leading us." I know that there are people who see things for what they are. I choose to see things for what they can and should be. The tension in those opposites is the health that will bring growth.

--Ben