BHAG

Genesis 18:32

Then Abraham said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.

Luke 11:1

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

From Wikipedia:

A Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is a strategic business statement similar to a vision statement which is created to focus an organization on a single medium-long term organization-wide goal which is audacious, likely to be externally questionable, but not internally regarded as impossible.

Google's BHAG is: To organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Facebook's BHAG is: To make the world more open and connected.

It was audacity that saw Abraham asking God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if even 10 righteous souls could be found (having worked his way down from 50).

It was audacity that led the disciples to ask Jesus: Teach us to pray.

What part does Audacity play in our Missional strategies today?

In our medium - long term goals, is there a place for audacity?

The audacity that causes those who look on with suspicion to question our sanity?

The audacity that is possible because we trust in God who specialises in the impossible?

The audacity that dares the Kingdom of God to break out in the midst of a world where people are subjected to prejudice, violence, injustice and abuse of power, a world that breaks God's heart, 

BHAGs create a sense of unity in teams working together toward a common vision as well as offering a stretch beyond what is, perhaps, considered realistic.

The very audacity, however, motivates those involved to reach that bit further to achieve what others consider beyond reach.

Changing the mindset and culture of the church might well be a BHAG, one that might take more than a generation to achieve but the audacity must begin somewhere. 

In discovering ways to be church in our cultures today, we continue to practice audacity, sharing stories along the way that speak of breakthroughs and of set backs. We hold on for the long term, doing all that we can, always asking boldly for the force of God's Holy Spirit to show us the way, for the breath of God to breathe in us and for the life of God to flow through us, changing hearts, changing minds, starting from where we are.

That's a BHAG for sure!