Have you ever had what you thought was a great idea for your church, only to see it deflated by a board or committee? I just stumbled across an article by a former senior pastor, Jerry Ousley, giving advice on how to approach these idea presentations.

Ousley's four suggestions are, in short:

1. Bring in research that backs up your idea–stats, charts, etc.
2. Bring in a person who can share from experience the value of your idea.
3. Show the board how your proposal lines up with their priorities.
4. Be open to suggested revisions.

As Ousley observes, the latter two strategies will help your audience develop their own sense of ownership for your proposal. That's when things will really start moving. But that sense of ownership is also a safeguard for the (unlikely) circumstance in which your idea isn't actually very good. Then you don't have to worry about an apathetic approval process letting your not-so-good idea slide through unscathed.

The mindset in the end, then, isn't so much How can I get this OK'd? ...