Traits – Leads with a Focused Vision
This week I focus on an important but sometimes difficult trait of a leader – vision. What makes this difficult is not so much its definition but its formation. I’ve read a lot of definitions, but the one I like best is from Aubrey Malphurs: “A vision is a clear, compelling picture of God’s future for your church as you believe it can and must be.” While mission answers, “What are we to do?” Vision answers, “Where are we going?“ Vision is visual, it is a picture of a preferred future. Leaders should work to form a clear idea of what the future should be for their organization. It begins with a prayerful dependence on the Lord to give clarity and wisdom to see what can and must be. In includes having a solid conviction of our mission – the Great Commission, a good grasp of the culture and capacity of our congregation, and a firm contextual understanding of our community. Based on these three areas of understanding, a leader can begin to form a plan for the future and describe what it should look like when you arrive there. Constructed on the bedrock of reality it launches us into the future of great potential. Ultimately our future is in the hands of a sovereign God (Prov. 16:9), but as we look to examples such as Abraham, Moses, David, Nehemiah and many others, we see that the Lord inspires his leaders with vision. Planning is not prohibited by the Lord, but a proactive stewardship of what he has given us as leaders. Therefore, we must prayerfully, humbly, and actively seek the Lord’s vision for our congregation’s future and boldly lead them there. – Dr. Gary Mathes