Leading somewhere, or in circles?

[adamkipp]

“What’s your vision?� is a question that causes me to roll my eyes and sigh. I’ve been in and around the modern business world, where the vision/mission statement model first gained prominence, long enough to see the drawbacks of this strategy. Most people involved in the day to day operation of a business hear the word vision and roll their eyes and sigh. The middle managers will tell you “The vision is always changing and adapting from one year to the next,� the practical engineers will tell you that no matter what your vision is you can’t plan with reliability more than a few years out, and many day to day workers will tell you that their business’s mission statement seems to mean a lot to the guys up stairs but it is just a slogan to them.

But still it seems like everyone is asking about a church’s vision today. If push came to shove, my vision for my church would be plain and simple: for our people to love God and love others in deeper and more meaningful ways. It is not a dynamic catch phrase or a five year growth strategy, rather I’d say that it’s scriptural, something that God has called all of us to do, not something that I need to tote as a vision or mission statement.

But in spite of my cynicism the opening paragraphs of today’s devotional laid heavy on my heart. Even if I don’t feel called to have a “vision statement� on where to go and what we’ll be doing in a modern cooperate sense. My flock still needs something more than to be encouraged to “Love God and love others.� They need someone leading them, someone modeling that for them, someone guiding the way. That’s part of what I’m called to do as a shepherd. And if I’m going to lead my church I need to know where we are going, and what we are doing, and what’s coming up. If a shepherd is going to lead his flock he needs to know where he is taking them, otherwise I’ll just end up leading them in circles.