vision

The Protecting Role of the Leader

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

Few leadership books address the protecting role of a leader. Yet, if you are a leader, you a responsibility to protect those who are following you from distractions that will stop them from following you or moving toward your vision. Business leaders, too, must ensure that they are aware of outside forces that might derail those under their leadership from pursuing their purpose and vision. This might happen in various ways, such as someone speaking negatively about you and the goal you are pursuing or the distractions of life that keep your team from being fully focused on the task at hand.

Church leaders – pastors and elders – need to understand their protective role too. Even as they are looking to help people grow in their knowledge of and love for God, they need to be aware of the influences that can undermine their leadership. Let’s consider a few influences that a church leader may need to protect their congregation from.

False teaching

Much of the church leader’s role teaching. The church needs to be taught about who God is, how to love and obey Him, and how to communicate with Him in prayer. Leaders use the Bible as their main teaching tool and the basis for all they believe.

False teaching is ideas and teachings that conflict with scripture. If a church is begins to follow false teachings, church leadership should steer them back to the truth of scripture. Church leaders need to recognize when someone within the church is misleading people and needs to be corrected or even removed.

False teaching can also creep in from the world. Our culture influences us all as we live in it. In the same way the early church lived within a culture that often opposed Jesus’ teachings, there are some things being taught and accepted in our culture that are in direct opposition to God and His Word. For example, it is not okay to end a pregnancy just because it is seen as an inconvenience. God is clear that all life is precious and He is the only one who can determine the end of someone’s life. Similarly, euthanasia is becoming common in Canada, where you can choose to end your life medically, for a number of reasons. Again, life is precious and only God can determine the end of someone’s life. Church leaders need to remind their church of what God teaches in the Bible so they can recognize when what they hear or see does not match up to God’s Word.

Attempts to derail the vision

The church exists to help people love God and love others. To do this, many churches have an agreed-upon vision that guides them. They have spent time praying and talking together and gaining an understanding of the needs of their community. As a result, they have come up with a vision that is their response to the needs around them. It is important for churches to adhere to this vision. For example, if you are a church that believes your main role is to reach out to the poor in your community, then protect your church from those who are pushing for you to do more to reach the professionals in your town. No matter what your vision is, there will be some who do not agree or fully buy in. There may also be some who deliberately try to derail that vision and cause confusion in your midst. You need to protect your congregation from that confusing voice. Questions and debate have their place, but you want to make sure that people have a clear understanding where you are going and why.

Busy people

Churches often fall into the habit of making people busy in the church with all kinds of activities. Church leadership needs to recognize when some of the good things going on need to be removed. Leadership needs to protect people from busyness that prevents them from being able to participate in pursuing the church’s vision.

There are times church leaders need to make some very difficult decisions about what ministries need to be cut so people have time to do what is more important.

Satan

Of course, the one who truly wants to mess with the church, with the followers of Jesus who make up that church, is the evil one – Satan. He has messed with people right from the time of Adam and Eve until now, trying to confuse us and doing all he can to make us wander away and deny God. Church leaders need to protect their people from Satan’s attacks. They need to regularly pray a covering over their church. They need to remind people that we do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of the unsee world. Even when people are doing wrong and causing disruption in the church, it is Satan who is behind their actions.

Church leaders, you have a role of protecting your people, even as you lead them. Be aware of what is going on and when you need to confront or speak up about where people are being misled. Ask God for wisdom and discernment in the process so you can recognize when danger arises and how to combat it.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

The Privilege of Dreaming

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

I like to help people to discover what God is asking of them and how they can do it. We have the privilege of dreaming today, maybe much more so than the average person a few centuries ago. Life has become so much easier for many of us and we don’t often consider how people used to work hard from dawn to dusk just to put food on the table and keep a roof over their family. Today, many of us have the privilege of time for entertainment, and time to get bored, but we also have time to dream. We have time and energy to dream about what we could do with our lives.

As someone who has put my faith in God, my starting point for dreaming is God and His desires for me.  While a bucket list of things we might like to do or see or experience is fun, I find it gives me greater purpose in my life to know that I am responsible to God and He knows best for my life. As a child of God, I can trust that my Father knows best.

What a privilege –  to dream about what could be.

When students graduate from high school, well-meaning parents and teachers tell them a lie. “You can be anything you want to be.” That is absolutely not true. Yes, you can dream big and pursue many different options, but we all have certain limitations. If you can’t carry a tune you will not be a backup singer for Taylor Swift. If you have poor eyesight, you will not be flying fighter jets. There are many things that limit our ability to choose to do anything we want. But if you are listening to God, you can do anything that God wants you to do. When we reorient ourselves to the will of God, He opens the doors to possibilities that we may not have imagined.

I have seen God give me opportunities that I never expected. He has opened doors I would never have tried to open. As Ephesians 3:20 says, I have experienced God doing more than I can ask or imagine. For example, I have gone on trips that I would never have thought possible, and serve rural churches and pastors beyond my local church.

We have the privilege of asking God for His dreams, so when we dream, our imagination is guided and informed by God Himself. Now our dreams flow from a heart surrendered to Him rather than focused on us and what we can do or experience.

In the Bible, the letter from James warns about dreaming and planning for tomorrow. In James 4:15 we are cautioned, “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live or do this or that.’” Our dreams should be God-given dreams where we listen for the Lord’s will and then work toward fulfilling it.

I believe that we need to look forward with hope and excitement. We need to see that God has put opportunities in our path. He has called us to certain responsibilities and wants to help us do our best with them.

Right now, God has called me to serve as a Transition Pastor, serving different churches for about a year or so, helping them to be as healthy as possible as they prepare to welcome their next full-time lead pastor. I believe God gave me this dream even before I knew exactly what it looked like. I believed I was to help churches, so I started taking some courses and reading books on coaching and consulting with churches. As I was doing that, God opened doors for my first Transitional Pastor position. As God gave me a dream, He opened doors to fulfill that dream.

Rather than focusing on our own hopes and desires, I believe that we need to ask God to direct our dreams and give each of us a vision for the future. We need to pray and ask God to speak to us and help us to hear clearly as we choose what to focus our life on.

In my experience, dreaming God-given dreams is not static, but ongoing as I continually come back to what God wants. Over the years He has adjusted the dreams for me and redirected me to other opportunities that I had not anticipated.

Keep on dreaming. Keep on listening to the voice of God. Keep on obeying and pursuing His dreams for you.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

3 Ideas to Renew Your Passion

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

A while back I realized that my passion for my job was fading. When I started the job, I was excited and could see new opportunities. I loved the vision and purpose of the group I was leading. I loved working with these people because of their heart for the church and their desire to grow in their relationship with Jesus.

There are times in my life as a pastor that I have had to renew and restore my passion for my role. I always want to give my best and be excited about what I am working on, but I realized that initial excitement had faded. So I decided I needed to work on renewing my passion for that role, and here is what I did.

Add Variety

One reason I tend to lose passion is because I get bored with routine. I long for some creativity and variety.

I add variety in my preaching. This is an area that I have control over, so may be one of the first places I can work at renewing my passion. For example, I might use a video or story to help people connect with the sermon. I might use an object lesson and provide those items to each person when they arrive at church. Beyond Sunday sermons, I might identify a project that I could initiate with others to help us work toward our vision.

Celebrate something.

Sometimes the boring monotony can be awakened to new passion when I take a moment to reflect on the exciting things happening. Good things are happening. God is at work. People are being changed. Programs are reaching people. People are responding to sermons and applying what they learn. When I get stuck in feelings of boredom, I can identify reasons to celebrate. I might celebrate by myself, or with my family, or my coworkers or church. It’s amazing what praising and thanking God can do in lift my spirits and reawakening that passion for my role.

Talk to God about it.

There are times I have taken a mini-retreat – maybe even just an afternoon away from my office – where I can stop everything and talk with God. I talk with Him about what is going on and how my passion is fading. I ask him to show me where I need to focus. I ask Him to give direction. Often this time with God reaffirms my calling, renews excitement in me about what God is doing and inviting me into. Sometimes I come away with new ideas, other times it is a re-enforcing of what I already knew I was to do. But the time with God reminds me of my role and what I need to be doing.

There is often an ebb and flow in the intensity of our passion for the work we are doing. Don’t let it fade too long. Choose to renew your passion again and again so that you will enjoy your role and will continue to contribute well to the vision you and your team or church are pursuing.

What are some ways you have renewed your passion? Let me know.

Keep looking up,

Andy

Confronting Carefully

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

Like most leaders, I am in a position in which I must occasionally have conversations with people that I would much rather avoid. I had to confront someone recently. I had to address a problem that had come up. This is never an easy conversation to have and one that could easily go wrong. A conversation like this should not be rushed into quickly, but prepared for carefully.

Here are a few things I have learned over the years about how to confront carefully.

Engage the Person Respectfully.

No matter what the issue is, or how terribly they may have messed up, when you meet with the person be respectful of them as a person.

This is not a time to make them feel inadequate, but a time to be clear on what they are doing wrong and how it can be fixed. Ideally, the goal is to fix the situation even as you maintain a good relationship.

Confront Prayerfully.

One of the ways to make sure that you are being careful is to ask God to guide your conversation. Ask God into the conversation. Ask God for wisdom. Ask Him for the ability to listen and truly hear the other person to make sure you are not making assumptions as you confront. Pray about this beforehand, and during, and even after so that neither you nor the person you spoke with will misconstrue things that came up in the conversation.

Clarify the Issue.

It helps to clarify the problem. Make sure you know what it is that you are addressing. This is not about some vague feeling something is wrong, or doing something because someone else is pressuring you. If you are going to confront someone, you must be clear on what the issue is. Clarify the issue in your mind, and then be clear when you address it in your conversation. If you need to, write down a few key points, or even the main statement you want to make so you don’t waffle in the middle of the conversation and back off the issue to the point the person has no idea what you are addressing. You want to make sure you address the issue correctly.

Determine a Solution.

If you are addressing someone about a problem, it is essential that you have an idea of how to fix the problem. Simply pointing out a problem doesn’t solve the problem. Once you are clear about the issue, then become clear on one or more ways of addressing it. If the issue demands one specific response – for example, “be on time”, then be clear that is the response required. If the issue allows for a number of solutions, identify a few options that the other person may choose from. Make sure that the solution matches the problem.

Arrange the Meeting.

Where you meet will determine the atmosphere, and even the conversation. If there is a specific problem about a role at work, then meet in your office, or the board room. If there is an issue with someone you know well, and you want to be less confrontational, you might do it over a coffee, or a meal. Remember that when and where you have the meeting will play into how the confrontation will go. It might be good to give the person a heads up about what you will be addressing.

Listen as you Converse.

As you point out the problem, listen to the response from the other person. You want to make sure, first, that you are correct in your own understanding of what they did wrong, but also listen to make sure they understand what you are telling them.

Be clear and precise on the problem. Allow them an opportunity to defend their actions or clarify why they did what they did. Present the solutions as you see them, and then invite a response to see if they understand and whether they will respond as you need them to.

Know Your Next Steps Ahead of Time.

When you confront, you need to be clear on what you will do based on how they respond. If they agree with you and accept a solution to try, then you have made good progress. If they deny everything you are saying and try to blame others, you need to know if you will give them another chance or if it is time to part ways. If you are willing to move ahead together, you may want to set up follow up meeting with them soon after to see if issues have been resolved or not.

Confront carefully. You want to be clear what you the problem is and what the solution can be. You also want to be clear that you are focusing on the work the person is doing or how they are relating to the rest of the team, without putting them down personally.

Yes, we do need to confront occasionally. Hopefully we do it well. We want to honour the person and honour Christ even as we have the tough conversations.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Book Reviews: Andy’s 2023 Reading Experience

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

GETTING NAKED – by Patrick Lencioni

Getting Naked: a Business Fable, by Patrick Lencioni is exactly that. It is a well written story of a businessman sent to check out a smaller company that has just been acquired by the company he works for. He expects that, because it is a small company, it will not have anything to teach him. He is surprised by the things he discovers. He learns that they have a much better way of handling clients and doing their work than what he is used to. Lencioni concludes the book with a few key points that are already clearly shown at work in the story. A great book on how to benefit from being vulnerable in business.

7 Steps to Becoming a Disciplined Leader

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

Last week I wrote about what it is like to be a disciplined leader. Today I want to continue focusing on that topic by showing how you can develop that discipline in your own life.

Step One: Determine where you lack discipline.

Know your strengths and your weaknesses. If you have no problem showing up to work on time, count that as a strength. If you are always struggling to meet deadlines, that is a weakness. Choose only one or two weaknesses to work on at a time. If you are really brave, you may ask a colleague what some of your weaknesses as a leader are and work on those.

Step Two: Clarify your motivation.

As you consider the weakness you want to work on, what is your motivation? Why do you want to become more disciplined in this area? Is because someone else told you improvement was necessary? Or do you recognize the value discipline could bring to this area? If you are struggling to meet deadlines, your motivation for more discipline may be to have less anxiety or to have time to do a review of the project before the deadline so you do better work. Make sure you are convinced this is an are where you actually want to improve. Then your possibility for success will increase greatly.

Step Three: Sort out the problem.

Why is this an area of weakness? For example, why are you not meeting your deadlines? Are you procrastinating and putting in little effort until just before the deadline? Is it because of an inability to accurately estimate the the amount of time it will take you to work on the project? Once you figure out what the problem is then you can develop steps to improve.

Step Four: Develop a plan.

Let’s say you struggle to meet your deadline because you procrastinate. Develop a plan that gets you working on the project as soon as you take it on. Work back from the deadline and establish your own deadlines. You could also create your own deadline a week before it’s needed to give you time to review it. When reviewing your deadline, you can also break the job into smaller steps and set personal deadlines along the way that get you working on it sooner and keeps you going. These dates can lead up to your personal deadline and help you stay on track.

Another strategy is to actively develop better habits and create rituals that keep you on task. This could be creating more shorter deadlines for smaller parts of your projects. Maybe it could be working on your task first thing in the morning and checking emails or engaging in other tasks only at noon or at the end of the day.

Step Five: Remove distractions or temptations.

Why are you procrastinating? Are you always on you phone? Are you taking too many coffee breaks or constantly chatting with co-workers? Maybe set an alarm on your phone that reminds you to get back to work after a coffee break. Or leave your phone in your coat. Don’t check personal emails at work. Turn off notifications on your phone that continually remind you to check I through the day. Sometimes, it may be beneficial to close the door and pull the blinds so that you are not distracted by others who are walking by your office or chatting with each other. Find ways to remove distractions.

Step Six: Find an accountability partner, coach or mentor.

It helps to know that someone will be checking in on you. Ask someone on your team to check in with you occasionally to see how you are coming along. If you are the one in charge, maybe you have a secretary or personal assistant who can check in and remind you of deadlines you have set. Or hire a coach to check in with regularly.

Step Seven: Just keep on keeping on.

One who wants to learn discipline will continue to push through an try again and again even if they fail occasionally. Keep reminding yourself of your goals. And as you make progress, remind yourself of how far you have come. Did you meet that last deadline? Then celebrate it. If not, then figure out if some adjustment is needed and get back to the next task at hand. Don’t get down on yourself if you fall short. Forgive yourself and recommit to the plan.

Becoming a disciplined leader takes hard work, but you can do it as you work on one or two weaknesses at a time. As you do, you will become the disciplined leader you want to be.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Develop the Leadership Character of Discipline

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

Discipline is something you develop in yourself by deliberate and consistent decisions. It is not something a person automatically has but is a characteristic that must be learned and developed. Discipline is what helps maintain what is good in life and build on it to improve even more. It is developed by regularly choosing to make the necessary decisions and take the correct actions. A disciplined person may live by a rule or system of rules governing their conduct or activity. As you live by these good choices, you become a disciplined person.

A disciplined leader gets more done.

Many people put in the expected hours at work. Some get much more done in those hours than others. One reason is that the disciplined person knows how to keep breaks short and focus back on the task at hand.

A disciplined person starts on time, but also ends on time. Whether it is the start of your day or running a meeting, a disciplined person is prepared, ready to start when it is time, and focused enough to accomplish what is needed in the necessary time.

A disciplined leader develops good habits.

Self-discipline is the ability to control your behavior in a way that leads you to be more productive or have better habits. Systems or rituals can help you organize the activities you regularly do into an orderly fashion that eliminates time spent deciding what to do next or how to do it. These rituals can be as simple as cleaning off your desk before going home at night so it is not cluttered when you return in the morning. A ritual could include taking 10 minutes to plan the next day so you are ready when you arrive in the office the next day.

Systems are the habits that are packaged together, like a series of procedures.  An example may be a system for tracking meeting decisions and action items. This might include transferring all dates discussed in the meeting onto their calendar, and adding your responsibilities to your to-do list, and adding time to work on these items to your daily schedule. In this way, within minutes of your meeting, you have all the pertinent information on the right calendars and to -do lists.

A disciplined leader excels at self-management.

A disciplined person is a self-starter. They don’t need someone else to regularly check in to remind them of the next job to do. They know how to determine what needs to be done and what can wait. They know where to go to get answers or expertise they don’t have. A disciplined person sets their own direction for the day rather than waiting for the supervisor to give them their jobs. A disciplined leader manages their time in such a way that everything gets done and they still have time to dream and plan for the future.

A disciplined leader keeps going when things get tough.

Being a leader is not always easy. Pushback can come from many angles, including some of your own staff or even those you serve. Financial issues can become a big concern when money isn’t coming in as expected. A time crunch can also be tough, when the amount that needs to be done seems to be greater than the time available. Things can get tough too, when a leader feel like they are leading beyond their limits. In all the different ways that things can get tough, the disciplined leader will never give up. They will push through. They may arrange for deadline extensions or make some financial adjustments. They may get outside help, whether personal coaching, or more staff, to push ahead when they feel they are in new territory and unsure how to proceed.

Discipline is a valuable characteristic of anybody, but especially a leader. This characteristic will help a leader get through many situations when an undisciplined person may give up or just panic and do a poor job. Work at becoming a disciplined leader, one good decision, one good habit, after another. If you want to lead well, develop the character of discipline.

If you are looking to become more disciplined, checkout next week’s post on how to develop discipline as a leader.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Can God Really Be Heard?

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

As people who love God and want to serve Him, can we actually hear him? Can we have clear direction as we make decisions and lead a church?

God spoke with people in the stories of the Bible. In Genesis 3 the Bible describes a conversation between Adam and Eve and God. It tells us that God came and spent time with them in the Garden of Eden. Many times, prophets in the Bible spoke what they knew were the words of God. And others accepted their words as from God. People like Abraham and God had conversations about how many children he would have. God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Sometimes God sent his angels as messengers, as seen when Gabriel visited Mary. God spoke through dreams and visions, as he did when warning the Magi not to return to King Herod after visiting Jesus. When people in the Bible heard God speak to them, they were confident that it was Him and clear about what He was saying to them.

God clearly spoke through His Son. John 1 tells us that Jesus was and is the Word from God. He is the expression of all God is. But Jesus also spoke with his disciples about many things. He taught with authority – so much so that people wondered where he got his authority. Jesus’ disciples had intimate conversations with Jesus dealing with everyday life like paying taxes, or dealing with the fact that he would have to die and rise again. He spoke to the two on the road to Emmaus, in Luke 24. Even though those who heard from Jesus were sometimes unsure what Jesus meant when he spoke, they clearly heard him, and had the privilege of asking questions to clarify what He meant.

God spoke in and still speaks through scripture. 1 Peter 1: 20-21 says, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” The scriptures are God’s words to us. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 record Paul’s words to Timothy on the value and purpose of the Scriptures in people’s lives: all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and learn what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” The scriptures are God’s words of guidance in our lives so we know how to live a life that honours Him. As God speaks in Scripture, we can clearly hear his direction for how to live our lives.

Sometimes God combines a few ways of speaking to give clear direction. A good example is the story of Philip leading the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ in Acts 8. First, an angel told Philip in verse 26, ‘” Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So, he did. He started travelling down the road until he came upon this man sitting in his carriage. Verse 29 says, “The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.’” Philip did. He heard the man reading scripture so he asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man did not and invited Philip into the carriage to sit with him and explain it. In the end, the man wanted to be baptized as he accepted he Good News of Jesus.

In this case, God spoke through an angel, through the Holy Spirit, through Philips willingness to enter into a conversation with the man, and through the scriptures – all to get the right person to talk with this man and explain salvation to him!

Philip clearly heard he was to go on that road, then clearly heard he was to go up to the chariot. But then, no one told him to enter into a conversation. He saw this as the next right thing to do. As the man asked questions, Philip explained scripture for him to understand and respond to.

I believe we serve the same God who will speak to us and direct us as we listen to him, though it doesn’t always seem as clear as we wish. God can and still occasionally speaks through angels. God can and does speak through the Holy Spirit. This may be an “out loud” voice or it may be strong sense that you need to do something. Sometimes we get this sense we are to call someone or visit someone and perhaps after responding, we see that God was setting that up. God can, and still does, speak through scripture. There are times when a certain verse jumps out at you as you are reading, and you know that was God’s encouragement for you. Sometimes, God will use a verse to clearly direct you.

God continues to speak in various ways. I have had God clearly direct me through seeing certain signs on trucks. He used these signs as a reminder of something I had written in my prayer journal, and he showed me the answer. I have had God speak through thoughts or feelings I was supposed to do something. I have heard God through the words others spoke. I have “heard” God speak through pictures he has given me in my mind. And many times God has spoken to me as I read the Bible, His Word to us.

God wants to speak to us. I am convinced of that. I also believe that God does not want us to be confused. We need to expect God to speak, and then respond as we believe we should. And if it is not clear, then ask him for clarity. Look to scripture to speak. Even ask God to speak through other wise people around you. Believe that God is interested in you and wants to speak. Keep listening.

And keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Book Reviews: Andy’s 2023 Reading Experience

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH EASE: How the love of Christ can flow naturally from your life – by Thom Rainer

In Sharing the Gospel with Ease, Thom Rainer explains how sharing the gospel should be a natural experience for a follower of Christ. He reminds us of our calling in the Great Commission from Matthew 28 and our encouragement and empowerment in Acts 1. Thom points out that many of us use excuses for not sharing the gospel. We complain about having no time. But the average Christian is also apathetic about the gospel. We say that we realize unbelievers will miss out on heaven and end up in hell, but we don’t seem to care enough to do it. Thom Rainer encourages us to allow it to be a natural part of our life. And to pray that God would guide us and open doors for us to share. A good little book.

Good Vision Work Requires Time and Patience

/ thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

Every organization and every church benefits from having a clear vision describing their purpose and how they will focus their efforts. A vision helps determine if certain programs in the church will be helpful or not. If something does not help move the vision forward, then it is wasted effort or worse – detrimental to your organization or church. Develop a clear vision to give direction to all you do.

Realistically, the vision creating process takes time. Those involved need to be able to mull over different ideas in order to come up with the best ones. Most people in volunteer board/committee roles do not have the same time to commit to this process as those leading it, so we have to go slower than we think we should. It is no use pushing ahead if that means we lose people along the way. Consider those on your team and provide appropriate time and space they need to work alongside you as you lead the process.

Time and patience also are needed as we pray about the vision. Our church is currently doing 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting, with part of that time specifically focused on asking God for vision and direction for the church. This is best done over time too. Don’t think one short prayer will be enough. The more time we spend in conversation with God, the more likely we will hear clearly from Him. As we patiently take our time, we will be better off in the end.

As I work with my church to create our vision, we started with identifying three core values. This took time, too. We gathered for one six-hour session with this outcome. While there was a lot of conversation around the whole process that will continue to contribute to the vision, our end result was three core values. Since then, we had a second five-hour session where we now came up with a possible two-word mission statement. Again, there was a lot of conversation that will continue to speak into the ongoing vision discussion, but didn’t result in a finished vision.

All of that to say, it takes time, patience, and a lot of conversation to come up with a meaningful vision to give direction to the leadership team and the church as a whole.

Our next step is to share with the congregation what we have come up with so far, inviting them to speak into the process and tell us how what we have so far connects or doesn’t connect with them.

Some leaders say that good vision creating can take months if not years. My contract with them will be ending in a few months, so we are trying to get to a point where they can easily continue to build on the work being done now with the next pastor. So we are working on this with purpose, but patience. We want to keep the vision work moving along, but not rush it and miss out on important conversations along the way. Hopefully we will determine a vision with enough clarity to guide us in creating a practical strategy for how to work toward accomplishing this vision.

Take time for the important work of vision defining so that everyone knows exactly what you are committed to doing and how you will do it. Ask God to walk with you in the whole process so your end product is a vision that reveals God’s heart and resonates with the church. And then, as you begin to work out the vision, you will all be on the same page and moving ahead together.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe