Casting a vision and leading people are not easy to do. Here are a few pointers when it comes to creating vision in the local church.
Don’t micromanage. Create a program or system for management then simply allow others to do their job. You may consider employing another person to do the managing. This would be someone who is close to you and knows how to follow your orders. Let them do the follow up, you cast the vision.
Admit mistakes. Being the leader does not mean you are going to be right 100% of the time. There are going to be times you make mistakes. Admit them quickly and cast a new vision. Allowing yourself to make mistakes will show your congregation that you are human and will enable them to feel that you are approachable.
Lead without fear. Fear will cripple your potential. “We have not the spirit of fear.” Seek your churches direction from the Lord. While it is good to get other people’s opinion and counsel regarding the direction the church should be moving, God alone can give you Divine direction. Seek God’s face for His will. Once he gives you direction, move forward into it without fear of defeat or what others may think.
Gather allies. Surround yourself with others who think like you do. Especially if they compliment your vision. As you begin to share your passion and burden with them, they will want to get on board. After training and equipping them, get them on board with you ASAP.
Think what could be – not what has been. History does not always repeat itself and it should not. While history can teach us many things, it should not cause us to be fearful of moving forward. For instance, the average church that desires a Small Group ministry usually fails 3 times in starting that particular ministry before it is successfully launched.
Courage is attractive. Courage also establishes leadership. Without a leader who acts with courage, a congregation will lack the trust needed to follow him into God’s promises. David was willing to do battle with a giant whom other more seasoned men feared and as a result he won the hearts of the nation. No Pastor would ever need to fear another taking his church if he is a Pastor who leads with courage.
Courage establishes leadership. A leader must have the courage to create needed change. The parable of the men with the talents tells us what becomes the person who would simply manage our Lords resources. Investing people takes courage. Investing in the lives of those who take pleasure in comfort takes courage to push them to places of the extreme. Should Moses have stopped at the obstacle that was the Red Sea, all would have been lost. However, he was willing to take people from a place of relative safety to a place of extreme promise. Do or die, all would be lost or all would be saved by his visionary genius and willingness to believe God for the impossible.
Believe God! Visionaries too often lose their hunger for growth and change when the congregations constant fear, doubt and resistance diminish the leaders own zeal. Are we so afraid of people that we would tell God “no”? Would we abstain from the zeal within our own hearts to sooth trepidation of the naysayers? Would our own passion be disquieted by those who would doubt God’s promises?
