I was honored to hear legendary NFL coach, Joe Gibbs, speak at our new home church, Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA. He described how he developed a game plan to meet the specific challenges of each opponent. While the Washington Redskins didn’t win every game, they established a winning program resulting in 3 Super Bowl victories. In his book, Game Plan for Life, Coach Gibbs stated that the same process is essential for a successful life. Many people do not have a game plan or even know where to find one or how to create it. Yet, we have a master game plan hidden in plain sight. It is vital for important things such:

• Healthy family relationships
• Moral compass
• Financial freedom
• Inner peace

In fact, this source contains all wisdom and knowledge required to live a successful life for you, your family, your career, and your legacy. All of this is contained in the Word of God—our master game plan. Coach Gibbs shared how the Bible provided comfort and direction through his triumphs and tragedies, including the premature death of his two sons. These same scriptures contain the principles and practices to establish a thriving, church congregation, such as:

• Caring for member families
• Spiritual maturity through teaching and discipleship
• Helping those in need in the community: outreach, evangelism
• Corporate prayer and worship

Progress within the local church is appropriately primarily measured by growth in membership, attendance, and giving. But is this the game plan for the Church collectively? Is it enough for each congregation to operate independently? The business world knows the importance of teamwork, economy of scale, cooperation, and sharing. These strategies and objectives are core to their game plan. Yet, the 300,000+ churches in the US largely operate in isolation—relatively weak and ineffective. Unless the Church is operating at its full potential, it cannot fulfill the purpose that Jesus designed it to be.

Fortunately, this master game plan—the Bible—also contains the original blueprint needed to restore the Church as a whole to its original purpose. But this game plan to unify the Church to become Kingdom-centered is not the same as becoming an effective local church. I have an idea! Perhaps the men’s group at Cornerstone Chapel could band together and develop such a plan? Not just holding a few joint meetings, but developing meaningful partnerships. In addition to the scriptures, we could draw from our vocational experience, much like David did while confronting Goliath (killing the lion and the bear). Recently, the business world has undergone significant transformational change that could be applied to solving this immense challenge.

I’d like to have a conversation with you and other church leaders to explore this opportunity. Let me know if you are interested.