Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches

by Peter Greer

“It’s the exception that an organization stays true to its mission,” said Chris Crane, president and CEO of Edify. “The natural course—the unfortunate natural evolution of many originally Christ-centered missions—is to drift,” he said.7

Pawn shops evolved from a tool designed to care for the needy to an instrument often preying on families in distress. Something intended for good drifted from its mission.

Mission Drift is the natural course for organizations, and it takes focused attention to safeguard against it.

We had no way of formally assessing whether board members joining the organization bought into the full mission.

In its simplest form, Mission True organizations know why they exist and protect their core at all costs. They remain faithful to what they believe God has entrusted them to do. They define what is immutable: their values and purposes, their DNA, their heart and soul.

growth and professionalism are subordinate values. To remain Mission True is to adapt and grow, so long as that adaptation and growth does not alter the core identity.

cooling is inevitable unless leaders regularly infuse heat and energy into fueling and safeguarding their missions.

In writing this book, we changed our hypothesis. Initially, we saw Mission Drift as an organizational issue. But as organizations are made up of individuals foiled by pride and sin and allured by success, we concluded that this unspoken crisis isn’t an organizational problem. It’s a human one. We found Mission Drift wouldn’t be a problem if humans weren’t involved. But alas all organizations—every last one of them—have humans at the helm.

we begin with a call to the Christian church—an appeal to remember that we are not just world-class humanitarians, but Christians. We must do good, but we must not forget we have Good News to share.

we wrote this book specifically and directly for and to leaders of evangelical faith-based nonprofit organizations.

The Gospel is not cursory within Mission True organizations. It is more than just a motivation. It is central. Everything else hinges around it.

Apathy or inactivity results in less clarity and less intentionality, and organizations awaken to the reality that they have drifted to the bottom left of the Mission Drift grid.

When Christians forget that all we do flows out of our response to the undeserved grace we’ve experienced, we lack motivation and endurance.

“The key to managing ‘pain avoidance’ begins with a clear and compelling vision of the future and follows with awareness that difficult choices get harder with time,”

The path to leading a Mission True organization is paved with hard decisions. The sooner leaders make those hard decisions, the higher the likelihood they will succeed and the less pain the organization will experience in the long haul.

Seek clarity first.

Acknowledge that the pressure to drift is a constant.

Realize there’s a point of no return.

Make hard decisions to correct drift.

Once a year, the trustees gather to observe a rather particular tradition written in The Crowell Trust’s charter: First, they begin in prayer. Next, they read—aloud—the mission and vision Henry Crowell himself wrote. They read his words and meditate on the vision God gave him before starting official foundation business.

strong convictions, in themselves, mean little if they stand in sharp contrast to the beliefs of the founders who created the hundreds of millions of dollars Rimel and the current trustees give away.

The Gospel is what our world most needs us to protect.

Remain mindful of cultural trends. Henry Crowell recognized the cultural shift away from orthodoxy that would only be amplified with time. His foresight led to the Crowell Trust remaining true. Sensitive to the cultural climate, Mission True organizations have the wisdom to build guardrails. Don’t assume successors will inherit the founder’s vision. Unlike Crowell, Howard Pew believed his successors would defend his values, which led to drift. Mission True organizations intentionally train and educate the next generation, a subject we cover more extensively in chapter 9. Attend to the details in constructing safeguards. Crowell advocated for simple practices that now outlive him. Clearly defining his intent in writing, as well as having the board read the charter aloud each year, helped enable Crowell’s vision to flourish today.

Leaders often first ask what, then move to how, and finally transition to why. That’s a natural progression. But great innovators, according to Simon Sinek, a globally renowned consultant and author, start with why.12 This leads to how and, finally, what. The ordering really matters.

Everything flows from why. Not only does it motivate others to join you, it also guides what you do—and often more important—what you don’t do.

Not all change is drift.

knowing why you exist creates the right filter for change. Knowing this allows you to define your immutables. All the tactical “what” decisions flow out of that.

Wells Fargo & Co.—outlasted the rest. It stayed afloat by refocusing on its ability to connect people, money, and goods. Wells

“Study after study has shown that religions that grow are the ones that are hard-core in some way. They have something that differs sharply from the culture in which they operate,”

remaining Mission True will demand you change to continue to fulfill your mission.

the founding mission was the driver behind the name change.

Know why they exist: They are students of their organizational history and can clearly articulate the organization’s reason for existing. Differentiate means from mission: They understand what is immutable and what is not. They know where they are willing to budge and where they won’t. Change to reinforce their core mission: They are not stagnant. They do not avoid change; instead they pursue change when it will help them become more true to their values and purpose.

“Be stubborn about the vision. Be flexible with your plan. Strategies and timelines are always up for grabs.”

Mission True organizations start with a clear definition of their purpose. Nurturing, clarifying, and defending this purpose is the chief responsibility of those in the board room. It is their most sacred task.

“But most boards don’t realize it is their fiduciary duty to remain loyal to the mission of their organizations. . . . This is the law.”

financial prosperity can create hosts of new problems—alcoholism, materialism, and isolation.

Recruit carefully and prayerfully: In appendix 1, we have included a simple board member nomination form to help you recruit engaged and humble leaders. Hold the chief executive responsible for the mission: They are unafraid of making hard decisions and do not bend on areas core to the mission. Follow standard board practices: The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability outlines a number of simple practices to avoid the fate of organizations like the Central Asia Institute.20 Create policies and safeguards: Tie the hands of your successors by clarifying and specifying the importance of your organization’s Christian distinctiveness. In appendix 2, we have included the board resolution created by Edify International. Remember the mission: They keep the core values, history, and purpose of the organization central to their meetings and model these values in their own lives.

read aloud the charter written by Henry Crowell at their annual board meetings.

If you believe you are immune, then you are most vulnerable.

Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”5 Jesus didn’t say we can do little separate from Him. He said nothing.

everything we do is downstream from who we are.

Leaders always acted in accordance with their beliefs, even when it caused financial loss or hardship.

The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham by Harold Myra and Marshall Shelley.

Admit vulnerability: They never forget their own sinfulness. Because of the magnitude of their mission, they know the stakes are too high to place faith in their own strength. Invite others in: They invite close friends and family to speak honestly and candidly into their lives. They welcome and cherish challenges and accountability from their circle of trusted friends. Create safeguards against impropriety: They build guardrails like Billy Graham did to help ward off moral failure. Remain in the vine: They know their fruitfulness and success depends entirely on the One who sustains. They prioritize their faith and practice spiritual disciplines with regularity.21

Big Idea went bankrupt. Internal strife hurt their sales. They just didn’t have a leadership team all rowing in the same direction.

Wow! I didn’t know about this until reading this. Veggie tales was huge for so many of us for years. This is sad.

the founder’s passion rarely translates to subsequent generations of leadership.

Too often, the passions of the first generation become the preferences of the second generation and are irrelevant to the third generation.

Chick-Fil-A’s leadership in this area, we have adopted their three C’s in our hiring process: character, competence, and chemistry.

Hire slow and fire fast: Even if it causes pain in the organization, they wait for the right people who can carry the mission forward. If you have a staff member undermining the values and mission of your organization, the problem will not go away on its own. Act quickly. Clearly define your approach to hiring based on faith: Be prayerful and intentional in hiring staff, recognizing staff cannot share what they do not have. Be consistent with your hiring policy: The quickest way to a hiring discrimination lawsuit is using incoherent or inconsistent hiring standards. Inculcate staff in your values and history: Hiring is just the beginning. Take the intentionality with which you screen candidates and embed it in your orientation and training practices.

Few people have changed higher education more than Andrew Carnegie.