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Critiquing plans
by Justin D. Long
In the past issues of the Monday Morning Reality Check, we've dealt with many of the quantifiable barriers to world evangelization. Less obvious are the so-called "intangibles": things that cannot be quantified, and yet lead us down the road to disaster. One of these is the reluctance on the part of both lay Christians and missions leaders to critique each other's plans.
When we look at many existing global plans today, all have noble goals--yet most are falling far short of those goals. A plan that states its misssion is to "Reach the world for Christ" has taken on an awesome responsibility and made a great promise to the world. An old proverb says that "Promises are debts unpaid." If we are going to seriously make such a promise, we need to be constantly examining ourselves to see if we are going to fulfill it. This is where the process of critique comes in.
The necessary questions are, of course, is "Are we doing our job? Could we be doing it better? Are we serving those God has called us to serve? Could we serve more? What good are we doing?" Three keys to successfully critiquing a plan are truth, humility and love.
1. TRUTH. We must have a full understanding of the situation, of the goals of the mission, of the business they are conducting and the impact they are making, before we begin to critique their progress. Otherwise, we're speaking from conjecture, uncertainty, from rumor, from false assumptions, and from a possibly prejudiced outsider's viewpoint.
2. HUMILITY. We must be approaching the critique from the point of those the plan should be reaching, and not from the view of our ministry or our agenda. (This is one reason critique often comes better from supporters of the plan, rather than from other plans.) We cannot use critique to highlight the reasons our ministry is better than another. Building our plan up on the shattered remains of another's ministry can only lead to an unsteady cathedral. Present the ministry God has called you to in the light of its own good points and bad points - in the light of God's truth - and never by contrasting it with another agency. Is a foot better than an arm? Or merely different?
3. LOVE. We must approach the critique from the standpoint of someone who WANTS to see the global plan succeed. We should remember that God has a purpose in each of our lives, and we should labor to help each other accomplish that purpose.
When you see something you feel to be wrong, inefficient, wasteful, or otherwise blocking world evangelization, don't hesitate to send a critique. However, you should always follow the Scriptural principles. Don't blast the plan in public - approach them instead in private. Here are some ideas on how to give a critique to the person best able to break the barrier.
Source: Highlights, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan
In summary, we certainly ought to be aware of the global missions community around us, and keep an eye on fellow plans. We ought to write them a brief note every once and a while, encouraging them in their progress. We also ought to write them when we notice something that, if changed, could lead to a greater strengthening of their impact. By holding out a helping hand to each other, we not only improve ourselves and become more effective, but we also show the world our love for each other. In such a way, the world will know we are Christ's disciples.