The work trip to New Orleans after Christmas was an amazing experience; to reflect on it in worship through music, images, scripture, and poetry, and to present our tears, our questions, our hope, and our small acts of faith as an offering to God was beautiful and moving. I am humbled by the wisdom of our youth, and their passion and creativity fills me with hope.
Adaptive change
Holy Conversations is a good resource for strategic planning. It's very flexible, i.e. adaptable for specific needs, as well as simple. I read through it once, and am now reading it with a small group of leaders. We'll discuss the basic concepts and determine the scope (and length) of the planning process. Part of the discussion will be funding and use of an outside facilitator.
I'm also reading Good to Great by Jim Collins. It is based on research with for-profit corporations, but the findings can easily be transferred to organizations in general: it all boils down to identity, context, purpose, and relationships.