Vision has been defined as a picture of the future that produces passion in us, a picture of a future that could be and should be.

A person with a vision is (as Andy Stanley says) consumed with the tension between what is and what could be.  There is a feeling that things are not as they should be, that there has to be a better way, that this is not what God had in mind, that things must change!

“There is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.”

When Nehemiah heard about how things were in Jerusalem, that there was “great trouble and disgrace” and that the walls had been torn down and the gates had been burned, he wept.  It hit him hard, it drove him to his knees and he sought God for an answer to this deep feeling and hurt he carried.

The Result?  A VISION, a vision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  If you read through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah you will see a man who was a butler for a King become an amazing leader driven by a conviction that those walls must be rebuilt!  And when he showed up to do it many people got behind him and those that liked things the way they were opposed him.  Not everyone will see value in our vision.  Sometimes it is because they like the Status Quo and sometimes it is simply that they don’t understand the vision.

For the leader vision comes naturally, there is a passion, a drive, a conviction about how things could be and should be.  The problem is many leaders, myself included, forget that no one else sees the vision as clearly as we do.  We make assumptions about the people we lead.  We assume that they get it.  That the feel it as strongly as we do.  That they can see the picture that we see.  That they buy in just because we announced that we have a vision.

The reality is, we (MYSELF INCLUDED) need to do a better job painting the picture for those we lead.  Help them see & feel what we see and feel.  Give them a chance to buy into what we are trying to do.  Give them a chance to digest.  Give God a chance to water the seed we have planted.

God give the vision to the leader, the leader cast the vision to the people, and the people bring the vision to fruition.  God wants the vision to come to fruition, the leader want s the vision to come to fruition, I believe the people want that too, so were is the breakdown?  I believe it is in the in the hand off from the leader to the people.

I know I need to do a way better job casting the vision God has given me to the people I lead.  It needs to be cast clearly and repeated often.

My vision is to lead people to “Love God, Love each other, and love this world, to create an irresistible church environment where people gather, grow, and give to be a church that connects with culture, cares for the community, and clear communicates the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that lives are changed for eternity!”

That is the dream God has given me, are you in?