I get a lot of questions about the relationship between a church's vision and the senior or lead pastor. Does the vision originate from the pastor or from the people? What happens to the vision when the pastor leaves? While many variables can complicate these question, there is at least one principle we can assert with clarity: Even though a senior leader may be the primary voice of the vision, any effective leader with a worthwhile vision will raise up a leadership community that carries it. The better the clarity and integration into the fabric of an organization, the more the vision will transcend any one person.
Many people express skepticism about this point. Why? Because we have so few models of culturally integrated vision that it is easy to rely on a charismatic leader as the substitute for real vision.
Therefore, it's a beautiful thing to behold when it is working right. One example is the recent pastoral transition at Mobberly Baptist Church in East Texas, an Auxano client from years ago. I talked recently with the new senior pastor, Glynn Stone. Glynn is a gifted leader who understood that the leaders did the hard work of discernment and articulation years before his arrival. His first ten weeks he preached two series: six weeks on the existing mission and four weeks on the existing strategy. Glynn recounts, "I noticed that the church had the vision. When it exists, and its biblical and its working, there's no need to change it. When I told this to the search committee, they began salivating, because they wanted a leader who recognized what God had already done." Read Glynn's Blog