The moment has come. The wind has slowed to a slight gust to your back. You take your position on the line and stand with your back foot slightly forward and feet shoulder-width apart. You feel comfortable and balanced as you take your stance. With bow in hand, you gently nock the arrow in its rightful place. Proudly observe the fletching and note no noticeable imperfections.  

The arrow’s shaft is a perfectly weighted piece of cedar straight from nock to tip. With your bow arm straight, you raise the bow to the point that your arm is parallel to the ground while simultaneously drawing the string back to your anchor point with your shooting hand. There is something sweetly satisfying as you slowly pull back the string and hear the creak of the bow as it receives your influence of pressure.

Once you have the proper angle, you release the arrow and feel the rush of air as the line snaps back to its place of rest, sending the arrow rapidly through the air.  

The only thing missing from this experience was the satisfaction of impact with the target.  Without a proper target, the whole act of shooting an arrow, or anything for that matter, is a pointless exercise.  The target is the object of all of our efforts.  Without the target, we might as well be throwing the arrows blindfolded.

A target lets us know when we’re successful. For associations and denominations, our “target” is our “Measures.” Our measures let us know “when we are winning” at accomplishing the mission God has called us. It is too bad that many networks have plenty of forms and functions but not a clear target. Below are a few reasons networks and denominations continue to operate without them.

Maintaining the Status Quo is Essential

When a network understands what a clear win is in accomplishing its mission, then it can no longer remain silent about processes or programs that are no longer fulfilling its part of the mission. When a network or denomination becomes serious about measuring its success at the mission, the “stagnant quo” becomes fearful of its ability to survive since it is no longer making a meaningful impact.

Nickels and Noses Are Easy Metrics

One of the most significant challenges of a regional or local denominational network is to accept that worship attendees, baptisms, and budget increases are NOT genuine measures of success for the network. These are easy metrics, but they are quantitative measures for the local church and not qualitative measures of network progress toward the mission. You may feel good seeing the chart go up and to the right, but if the true transformation doesn’t happen, it won’t be long until the opposite occurs.

Vague Standards Allow You to Be Versatile

When the Leadership Team knows the targets to accomplish the mission, then the flexibility of the network is lessened. It’s easier to say “Yes” to something when you have no clear sense of direction. When an association knows the direction in which God is leading, the word “No.” becomes a bigger part of the vocabulary. This allows the network to progress in a single direction, rather than spinning around in circles trying to be everyone to everything.

Mediocrity is the Objective

It’s impossible to articulate a miss if there’s no target. Projects procrastinate for years, and no one expects anything different. However, when a denomination or network has a clear target for winning, it is easy to see whether the leaders are measuring up.

As part of our introduction to PRISM, we’re providing a webinar on July 28th to introduce teams to various aspects of our toolboxes. This webinar will focus on Identifying When a Network Wins. These indicators will give your network a greater sense of direction and accomplishment. These measures also help answer the question, “What does the association do?

For more details on Identifying When a Network Wins webinar, visit our Facebook Event Page.

Article Source: ChrisReinolds.com