Transforming Church

Based on the Great Commission in Matthew, chapter 28, words chosen to express your congregation’s mission statement are your statement of purpose. Conceivably any number of congregations could have the same mission statement, a brief and concise statement worded in today’s language to define that purpose until Christ comes again. A congregation’s vision, on the other hand, details in specific ministry how that mission is both currently and in the near future being lived out. See also “Understanding How Mission and Vision Are Different.”

Whose vision is it? Regarding it as “your” vision becomes proper only to express ownership, not authorship. If you are committed into Christ’s mission in the sense that you have completely “bought into” it, it becomes yours at the same time, but lest such claim confuse others regarding the source of the vision, it is better to leave the pronouns with the One who is author of both the mission and vision.

Not every leader or author today does this. Though at first it may be unclear whether they are using confusing language or are confused in their perception, far too much latitude is taken today that suggests shared authorship of vision between Christ and His disciples, or in some cases, even authored by the disciples themselves. To overtly or openly suggest that the pastor or some team has divine insight is not supportive of Christ’s mission, even if the ballpark has already been defined.

Discerning vision is the way to get there, but such discernment can be neither presumed nor assumed. Here are some insights into discerning vision. Certainly it is not a matter of listening for some audible voice in your head. Prior to starting there needs to be a similar spiritual foundation as is involved in interpreting God’s Word. Though the congregation’s key spiritual leader is not necessarily the only one capable of discernment, one would hope this leader is first of all clearly committed to the process. Just as that person must not put her/his own spin on God’s Word, so also must he/she not try to personally shape or influence the vision being shared by the Spirit.

Discernment is arrived at initially through serious prayer and meditation. Jesus did that. Taking another cue from Him, notice how He always engaged people where they lived out their lives. He never sat in a synagogue expecting people to come to Him. For us, engaging the full parish environment speaks huge to the discernment process. Attempting to look at things through the eyes of Jesus is yet another part. Recognize societal trends as opposed to fads, and continually scan the horizon to see things approaching from the future. And finally, we should not minimize God’s capacity to speak through His Word and through the lives of other disciples. Be open to absolutely any way that God might use to speak.

As one gets further into the discernment process, a continuum of vision comes into focus. Suddenly it is evident there are different parts to this vision, and they are at different stages in progress, all magnetically attaching themselves to the pathway mission takes into the future beyond what can be discerned. Vision just beginning to form in the distance is like looking through a mist.

This is not crystal ball gazing. As it was for the prophets of old, this is the process of discernment. As some parts of the vision are being realized and becoming a page in history, others are midway, and still others only beginning to come into focus. The more the vision is focused on the mission, core values and core beliefs, the less warning and correction become necessary.

Eventually, as the full vision for a particular time comes more into focus, two or more other trusted visionaries from within the parish might also be invited into the discernment process, even gathering occasionally as a team to discuss the vision. Not advocating one or the other, if others are invited into this process, care must be taken to maintain integrity of discernment and not to flirt with compromise by seeking consensus or taking a vote.

Whether or not you pursue the assistance of others depends basically on two things: do you even have two or more other trusted visionaries within the congregation, and, are you comfortable that inviting them in will enrich the discernment process rather than compromise it?

If you are considering involving others, realize that visionaries generally are not mainline; they come more from the edge. Great visionary support can even come from outside the congregation, but appreciate how easily that can prompt suspicion, warranted or not, from congregational members and challenge the trust level so important to moving forward. Whether you invite others into the process later or not, at the outset the key spiritual leader or the congregation should be responsible for the initial discernment of the vision. To bring others in too soon begs for consensus.

It is difficult to imagine the key spiritual leader being anyone other than the pastor or senior pastor of the congregation. Nevertheless, I have seen where such was the case, and quite frankly, I was at a loss how to coach such an arrangement. Unfortunately not all pastors are missional leaders and I have not yet learned how to proceed without one.

Vision does not come from consensus of leadership; instead vision brings leaders to consensus. Sadly, many well intending congregations have identified their own vision through a consensus of leaders and are now unknowingly pursuing a flawed vision. It is not at all difficult to imagine that leaders in those congregations would have difficulty accepting the premise of this article, but that does not diminish their responsibility to come to grips with the impact of the process they chose.

Another misappropriation of vision comes through the process of strategic planning. Wanting to map the future or identify long range strategies or goals for the congregation should NEVER be arrived at by strategic planning. Only once vision has been clarified and it has been clearly determined that strategic planning might be helpful to implement a particular part or piece of that vision, should strategic planning even be entertained. As a rule strategic planning takes leadership away from the Holy Spirit and tries, once again, to arrive at a vision shaped by consensus of personal opinion. Though desired in some settings, unfortunately it compromises the church.

And finally, just in case it still needs to be said, discernment is not a one-time task. It is ongoing. Because vision is very fluid and continually evolving, so also must be discernment. Most leaders in the congregation will be either visionary leaders or resource leaders. Pastors, however, need to do whatever they can to cultivate both capacities within their role as key spiritual coach. This impacts directly on their ability to effectively lead the congregation, and their role in discernment.

An image to leave you with: vision needs to transform my heart of hearts, not come from it. Future installments of “Help In Clarifying Vision for new visionaries” include:
Part One: Is This My Vision, Our Vision, or Something Else?
Part Two: What Is the Stuff Vision Is Made Of?
Part Three: How Do Pastors Live Out Their Role as ‘Keeper of the Vision?’
Part Four: How Does the Congregation See and Take Ownership of the Vision?
Part Five: Why Most Visioning Efforts Fail -by Gregg Burch