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Over that last week or so I have been mulling over the role of the leader with regards to ‘vision-casting’, shaping culture and all thing related to leading a church community. I firmly believe that leaders are a gift to the church, we are to lead church communities into fresh and exciting places in God and are called be key people of influence within a church community, who demonstrate passion for Jesus, the gospel and love for the people he has entrusted to us.
I have a problem with vision that is about the ambitions of the leader, serving their ego or just simply their preference. For this reason vision formation, which is actually about discovering where it is God is at work by the Holy Spirit, where he is going and getting involved in what he is already doing in the life of any given church community and the communities they are in. This is not to negate the need to move communities forward in Christ, in the furthering of his mission to the world. Therefore, vision should be a thing which is discerned by a body of leaders/elders whom God has placed as leaders in a community.
Leaders, I firmly believe vision, culture creation, leading God’s people is not necessarily about what we like and what kind of church style we find enjoyable. Leading God’s people is more like cultivating a garden, bringing the best out of the environment God has placed you in and seeing that community flourish into all that God has called it to be for his glory and fame.
We have different personalities and preferences but these are not to be the dominant factor in leading the community of faith, yet God will use them because you are you. Just because someone on your the leadership team has a different style, personality, preference doesn’t make it wrong or less valuable than yours, it is just different, unless of course there is something clearly sinful about their preference. What matters is what Jesus is doing in your community and what he wants it to become, hence the need for a plurality of leaders to discern this together the direction. Now this likely to be a longer process than one person declaring the “vision” of the church, but in my experience, it is healthier and more fruitful to do so. Any appointed “senior pastor” is the first amongst equals and must journey with others, and sometimes that means going at the pace of the slowest person on the team.
Leadership is about leading the people of God to a preferred future in Christ,
shaped by the mission of God.
We must constantly check our “vision” motives are they being driven by ambition, need of recognition, unhealthy drivenness. Ambition and drive are not bad things in and of themselves, the problem is that when they get distorted and ‘vision’ becomes about us, we are in a dangerous place. Leadership is a gift from God and much needed to keep the church on its primary mission to glorify Jesus and make him known. Don’t abuse your position, but use it and all your God given strength for furthering his kingdom to the glory of his name.
Questions to ponder: these are questions I have asked of my own heart.
- Is the vision of the church you lead simply about your ambition and making a name for yourself ?
- What may you need to change or repent of in order for this to change?
- What is your church community like? What is God already doing & do you need to work with Him in this?
- What is good about your community that need to be cultivated? What is not so good that God is calling you to lead change in?
Posted on September 30, 2011
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