Saturday, May 27, 2006

Asking the right questions before SWOTing around

Some time last year, I attended the Eagles Leadership Conference in Singapore. My group had Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary address us on the topic "Kindgom Partnerships: Serving Together in God's World"

Dr Mouw made several very profound points. One of the things that really stuck in my mind was the conversation he related which he had with a member of the Lilly Foundation. This person commented that seminaries which came to foundation asking for money really need to be asking themselves three questions:

1. What is God doing in the world?

2. What does the church need to do to align itself with what God is doing in the world?

3. What does the theological institution need to do to help the church align itself with what God is doing in the world?


Instead of doing a SWOT analysis too quickly, I wonder if we should ask these questions first before we do any form of institutional assessment?