I suggest that there are two contributors, as there always have been A clear theological understanding A listening to the cultural changes and opportunities of our time The propose of this paper is to offer some guideposts to the development of a strategy for the post-modern church. It may be helpful to begin by borrowing the tools of contemporary management theory to define our task. For the Church of God, the foundations of policy remain unchanged - the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, celebrated, proclaimed, demonstrated and taught. The Gospel provides the ground of our being. Strategy and tactics reflect the methods by which the ground of the being of the Church gains life, structure and definition in the world.
Policy is primary - strategy and tactics are secondary.
Policy is fixed - strategy and tactics need to be shaped by and respond to context. Strategy and tactics are, in the end, the servants of policy and are never an end in themselves. A tendency to give too much weight to structure over against policy leaves today's Church struggling to adapt in a world of rapid change, openness and unpredictability. The Trinity provides the foundation I suggest the Trinity is the most fruitful place to begin our journey. In the Christendom era, the doctrine of the Trinity was largely ignored when theologians spoke of the mission of the Church.