The Heart of Planning: Avoiding the Ditch of Godless Pragmatism and the Ditch of Lethargic Ministry

Abstract

Pastors understand the importance of planning for ministry, but do pastors always pay attention to where their heart is when they plan? Pastors can easily plan as if everything depended on themselves and as a result forget about God. On the other hand, pastors can easily sit back and do no planning whatsoever, while hiding behind all kinds of excuses. This thesis starts by explaining the importance of planning and looking at the literature that has an influence on planning. Following that, the biblical principles of planning are laid out as the basis for how pastors understand planning to the glory of God along with the common errors that pastors fall into. Finally, the constant struggle of balancing these biblical principles are explained.