Mission statements are used by individuals, non-profits, companies, and even government. Mission statements are supposed to focus or clarify an organization’s purpose or outcome. 
It is easy for a mission statement to be confusing, too wordy, and just too long. Instead of mission statements empowering people, mission statements can be used as corporate propaganda to make investors feel like the company is working hard. Here are some examples of confusing mission statements:
“We have committed to synergistically fashion high-quality products so that we may collaboratively provide access to inexpensive leadership skills in order to solve business problems”
“It is our business to quickly maintain competitive sources while continuing to globally simplify virtual services.”
“We strive to globally provide access to multimedia based intellectual capital and efficiently simplify effective sources to stay competitive in tomorrow’s world.”
“Our mission is to collaboratively leverage existing high standards in content while promoting personal employee growth.”
What the heck does all that mean? Catch phases like globally, leverage, competitive… Katie Irons at Blogcritics.org offers some insight to mission statements:
The problem is that the mission statements it generates are so spot on, they’re not so much funny as depressing. Try to read them, and your mind just kind of slips off of them. They are so replete with meaningful meaningless, the mind cannot get purchase and instead decides to take early vacation. Particularly annoying to me are the mission statements which are totally generic, like the one for that poor mini-mart. Nothing identifies “Redefining the Culture of Customer Care” as belonging a mini mart or supermarket…
If you’re going to pick a group of them and label them a mission statement, then either you really like that group of words and want your staff to make them important too, or it’s just a bunch of words… If a company really expects their employees to “live” their mission then they need to make a mission statement their employees can actually DO. How is the acne-scarred teenage boy selling me my gum supposed to Redefine the Culture of Customer Care during that process? Do I want him to? Personally, I just want the gum.
I can’t understand the mission statement… (tear)
Some good points there. So much of this applies to churches. Replace the word “company” with church. Replace the word “employees” to “members”. Rick Warren tells churches that we must have purpose… so we create a mission statement. However, nothing happens. No real change comes. No focus. Why? Because the mission behind the mission statement is not there. People need to have clarity of why they are there, how they can be effective, and how to reach out to others in simple language.
Jesus proclaimed his mission statement in Luke 4 and he did it with a splash:
16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus rolled into his hometown and gave a mission statement that everyone would remember. They knew what Jesus’ mission was: bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight, prisoners go free, and to proclaim the year of the lord’s favor.” No competitive leveraged tactics there. No big words wrapped up in a meaningless phases. It is clear what Jesus came to do. His mission is for the poor, lowly, oppressed, the helpless, and those who need salvation.
This Sunday, First Baptist Church will unveil a tapestry of our mission statement that has been artfully rendered by Beverly Worth. The tapestry will hang in worship space as a reminder to all what the mission statement of the church is: We are a body of believers united in Christ to proclaim, live, and love according to God’s word. It is an easy mission statement to memorize. No big theological words… just simple language. Churches should learn from the failings of poor mission statements and should take a “twitter” approach to mission statements: no more than 140 characters.
This Sunday, as we walk through Jesus’ mission statement, we at First Baptist will walk through our mission statement in order to figure out how we can be united in Christ to proclaim, live and love according to God’s word. We will discover our “mission” behind the mission statement.
If you are in Ballston Spa this Sunday, I hope you will join us @ 10:15 a.m. for worship and a wonderful celebration of “Our Mission” tapestry dedication.
Epiphany 3c
5 Comments
And Jesus did not split infinitives either! Amazed that the mission statements you quoted are not grammatically correct.
You make great points in this piece, Alan. Congrats on getting enough consensus in your church to get that fairly narrow and specific statement, yet still leave some wiggle room for interpretation to change over the years.
Good stuff, Alan! Now…wanna come to my church and do this? Heh.
Gary, thanks. I wish I could take all the credit because it was the church who did the work.
Trip, thanks! Just fly me out there!