August 1st, 2011
6 Signs that You Are Coasting on Original Vision
I was recently dialoguing with a very successful pastor about the ten-year vision horizon of the large church he pastors.
He made a striking comment.
“I don’t want to coast on original vision.”
It made me wonder, how do you know if you might be coasting on a vision that “used to be?”
- You use adjectives that position the vision as historical: original, founding, previous, last season, former chapter, etc.
- You have increasing realization of how far you God has taken your ministry in the last five or ten years.
- You actually feel less excited about a the ideals, aspirations, or pictures of the future you used to have.
- People around you express ask more questions about the future and show increasing curiosity for things like clarity.
- You don’t hear younger generations say anything that resembles the vision as it was previously expressed.
- You have updated your campus or changed your key players once or twice without revisiting the vision.
Great thoughts on revisiting vision. I especially love #6, it makes me wonder what other indicators there are to prompt a fresh look at the vision.
Many pastors I speak with feel that they’ve been given a “vision from God” and that it should never change. There is always then the tension between that “founding vision” and what God is placing in the hearts of the congregation today.
I agree that fresh vision is critical. I don’t think fresh needs to be different, but current.
Here’s my question: can you share any examples of vision statements that include God as the grammatical subject, rather than the direct or indirect object?
Grammar might not be a pertinent factor in effective vision casting, but it strikes me that many visions depict people as the main actors, and God as a passive third party in the life of the church.
Joel, I love your question. I build this God-centric nature of vision into the Vision Frame which is the centerpiece of all I do. Basically the four sides of the frame have “us” as the subject. What do we do, why do we do it, etc. But the middle and main part of the Vision Frame, what I call “vision proper” answers the question, “Where is God taking us?” All vision is God breathed. All our dreams where dreams God had first. My book Church Unique does lay some contextual foundation on God as subject. Great question and great pushback.
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