This weeks post is about something that every Christian and every Christian ministry needs to think about - vision. Vision is something that you want to get done before you get too far down the road. If you are starting a new ministry, or just trying to get a old ministry going again, you have to have a vision to get things going. To have real vision you must include the ministries members / workers in the visioning process as they are vital to the success of the process. With all that said however, it seems that vision almost always starts with one or two people, and then others add to it.
As you look at the Bible, God seems to generally follow this pattern when He reveals His vision to His people. Look at Moses and the Israelites (several times), David and the nation of Israel, Jacob, Abraham, Paul and the Gentiles, etc. it seems that God does not speak to groups generally. He reveals Himself to groups, and many times He even leads them, but it seems that the core of the vision, or the key you might say, is revealed to one leader that then surrounds themselves with group of followers that will latch onto the vision and prosper it.
Now I am not saying that ministries or churches should be run by one person, and that their vision or ideas are the final word, that is just bad anytime you get humans involved. Personal ego, arrogance, and lack of focus will all eventually lead to such ministries, movements and activities failing. No, what I am saying is that the direction and vision from God, the big picture, the forest picture of the ministry you might say, usually comes from one or two people. Then those few, along with a few like minded followers, grow it into a real thing that the majority of followers then latch on to.
The followers are more vital then the visionaries. The followers are the ones that make it happen. They put feet and hands on the dream. Without the followers you have a leader with a vision and no ability to accomplish it. So, I am not relegating followers to a lesser value, they are just not "the vision guy".
If you are a leader and you are putting together a visioning packet/series stress lots of individual prayer, Bible study and time alone with God. You want your vision to include the individual visions of your members. The job of the leader is to mold those individual gifts and abilities via God’s direction into an effective group or ministry.
In the end however, the vision/direction of the class/group/ministry will come from God telling the leader where He wants that ministry to go. The leader then must apply the individual visions and gifts of that group to that direction. That is not to say that the members / workers will not have a say, they most certainly will and should, and it should be the desire of a Godly leader to always listen to the ideas of other Godly people, but when push comes to shove the high ground that a ministry is led to will be the ground that God leads a ministries leader to take. The followers provide the ideas and means to get the ministry to that ground.
This note is not meant to be an ego trip for leaders, far from it actually. It is simply meant to encourage you to lead out with your vision for the ministries that God leads you to. God gives leaders visions, and it is their job to point their followers to the ground the Lord wants them to take. The followers are vital and they add the ability, skill and means to the vision, but they do not function without a vision to lead them. That is not to say that others will not help with vision, and direction, but in the end ministries will only go where their God appointed leaders take them.
Most of you all know this, and this is not meant to be an additional burden on your shoulders. It is simply Team Swap sharing with you what God keeps showing us over and over that "THE BIG VISION" comes to one that then points the rest where to go.
Many times we are leaders in one ministry and followers in another and that is fine. God can simultaneously give us vision to lead one group, and the heart to serve in another. Yet, where we are called to lead, we must lead. That is our encouragement to you today, lead and know that God will surround you with people that will follow, support, encourage, check, and hopefully help you along the way. It is not the easy call God placed on leaders, but it is the most noble and eternally important one. Do not let the fear of dissension in the followers keep you from the vision that God calls you to.
Along the lines of leaders getting and keeping a vision, God keeps showing us another thing about Godly vision’s/directions - they are HUGE. We have all heard sayings along the lines of - “You know it is a vision from God when it is bigger then you can accomplish on your own or with your own capacities.” We think that is true.God’s visions for us, both individually and corporately for us as His church, are always going to be bigger then we can accomplish on our own. If they were not then we would not need God. It is not a difficult thing to raise $10 for missions, but if God gave us a vision to raise $10 million for a world wide outreach center then that is a challenge.
You can always tell it is a vision from God if a few characteristics are met. First of all, the majority of the people around you will tell you that you are crazy, it is too big, etc. Secondly if there is no plan in the vision for anyone to get acclaim other then God. Third that it will require personal sacrifice for it to be reached, it is not much of a vision if it only requires the work of others to accomplish it. There may be a few more that fit, but those three are requirements to knowing that it is a vision from God.
With that said, where does it leave us. It leaves us saying what we have said in the past - “Lord give us a vision” “God give us a plan”. The following is a scripture and some commentary that may help you understand the importance of vision -
Proverbs 29: 18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Obedience to revelation/vision. A group or class depends on obedience to it’s divine revelation. This verse refers to two forms of divine revelation, vision and law. The first line is worded negatively--if there is "no revelation" (or "vision";), the people "throw off restraint" "Vision" refers to divine communication to prophets. The prophetic ministry was usually in response to the calamitous periods, calling the people back to God. If revelation/vision is absent, people can expect spiritual and political anarchy. The second line provides the positive wording: there is a blessing for the one who keeps the law.
You may know the scripture well, and the comments that followed may not have been new or challanging to you, but the key is this - follow the vision. Whatever it is, follow it. The people that follow you have to have a leader that is pursuing a vision. We are not telling you this to say that you have lacked vision in the past. You may have, you may not have, we just want to encourage you to continue to push that vision envelope.
A great vision from God comes with a warning like those on a roller coaster - tighten your belt(be sure of your commitment), secure all loose articles (sinful habits), keep your hands and feet (personal motives / selfish intent) inside the ride, sit back (trust God) and prepare to have your breath taken away (the exploding works of God).Stay strong and be courageous as the ride is just beginning. Just let God give you the vision for your life and your ministries, then point your followers in the right direction, keep them on track, and be sure to continue to expand the vision where it is always bigger then your own capacities and the capacities of your followers.
