Vision - A blindsided reality!

It gives me a surge of motivation when I get an opportunity to write on my favourite topic “Vision”. I have written many articles on this topic. I trust it was a blessing to those who read the same. I have done a number of seminars related to vision, eg. ‘Understanding the vision’, ‘culminating to finding the vision’, why vision fails? how to keep your vision moving? how to develop a strategy and a roadmap from the vision? and how do I monitor my progress? The people group in my seminars included Pastors, Bible college students, young people and Church members.

Penning my thoughts down about my long association working with Churches (close to 60 denominations and more) in India, I found the Churches that really made significant impact among its congregation and in the community are the ones who were successful in finding what their vision is and able to articulate the same and follow the roadmap ardently. And most importantly these are the people who were able to quantify their progress and able to articulate the success not in terms of the many programs that the church is doing but in terms of measurable impact the Churches have created as the result of the programs and activities. I do come across disagreement, mainly out of convenience, that we don’t need to put this meticulously and follow a management style. What such group fail to understand is that the Bible is full of Strategies (Approaches & Methodologies) and more importantly Bible talks about planning, calculating, finding right counsel and so many other necessary factors that the Bible endorses completely.

We are so close to the coming of the Lord and you will all agree that much has to be done. Mere church activity without creating vibrant discipleship has less lasting impact. It is high time that we concentrate on the lost souls that we witness in our society, schools, colleges, work places, business areas even in Churches. It’s time to stop overfeeding our Church members, but train systematically on the core of discipleship that is found in 2 Timothy 2:2-3 “What you have heard from me, in the presence of many witnesses commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus”. How effective are we in sharing the gospel? One of the problems today is that we are not successful in presenting Jesus in a correct shape. How many of our members know how to share the gospel and what to share?

It is time to take a giant leap towards evangelistic work. Let me again use one of my favourite quote which goes this way,  “If you practice the great commission and share about Christ you are an irritant, and if you practice great commandment and talk about the love of Christ,  you are interesting, but if you do both great commission and great commandment together, you are irresistible.”. Enough of programs, activities and celebrations. If you follow the book of Amos, you would notice God using some strong words in the book of Amos 5:21-24 “I hate all your show and pretense- the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies…..”. Time to revolutionise things for God. 

Just want to leave you with a fact. In India we are still 2.30% though Christianity's presence is seen for 2000 years. Hinduism has reached London only 200 years ago and has achieved significant impact that their current population is 5%. This goes with the world Christian population too. The number of Churches has grown, denominations have increased, fund collection had increased too, but we still are not exactly where we ought to be. Are our statistics indicating something? Ponder over it!

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Why your vision fails?

“Vision” as I always state is a big word packed with so much of meaning that it needs to be internalized, articulated, documented (Habakkuk 2:2) and intentionally walk the journey. God gave me the vision to take up this ministry “SHEFA” and walk alongside the Churches to help them develop the ministry blueprint and pave the roadmap. In this journey, I could learn so many important lessons that further enhanced my perspective to help Churches (body of Christ) in an entirely different manner.

One of my key observation in the ministry is to find many people who are running around overtaking many others, but they are without a message or a purpose like Ahimaz. They always want to run as at other times (2 Sam 18:22), failing to understand that those who are waiting at the doorpost are waiting with a desire, a purpose and an expectation. Though Ahimaz was a good man, he could not impress David because he had no message. If you notice in this story, Cushi was not a usual runner but could impress the king because he had a message. Lets ponder over few questions listed below:

What is your message?

Why are you running?

Of what purpose is your speed?

Why are you overtaking others?

Noah Simpe in his book “Purpose & Pursuits” puts it this way, ‘It is said about achievers, that they are people based on the purpose & vision set goals and succeed in doing them. You are designed and programmed by God to be an achiever. You are born to fulfil a purpose; a purpose is the program of God almighty. We are mercenaries on earth, invading this planet to take over its kingdoms for our God.’.

Theologian Howard Hendricks said, “If it’s a mist in the pulpit, it’s a fog in the pew.”. Please consider this, if your vision is unclear to you, it will never be clear to the people in your Church/organization. Vision needs to be reiterated consistently. You need to find ways to step up the vision casting into the rhythm of your Church/organization. Vision should evoke emotions. Remind yourself of the vision every day and ask this question, why you are doing what you are doing and what is at stake?

During my sessions with Pastor/leaders especially while I keenly listen to them with an intention to develop a ministry blueprint and a roadmap, I find the testimonies of Pastors/leaders so inspiring and God ordained. But when I observe the current state of their ministry and their work there is dichotomy. It's far from the vision they received. In some cases the ministry has become stagnant and in other cases their Mission is successfully institutionalized and running the show without creating much impact.

King David in Psalms 139:16 states, “Your eyes saw me when I was formless, all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.”. Avoid planning activities in random. Note, Noah was given a blueprint for building the ark, Joseph translated the vision to a blueprint to save the people from famine, Moses had a blueprint for building a tabernacle, David had a blueprint for getting the temple erected, the list is endless in the Bible. Keep your vision moving and you move along with it.

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Vision-Purpose Unfolded

How crucial is having a vision for you? It is the holy grail that's reiterated in Christendom today. Without a doubt it is the most crucial thing in life because Bible states that "Where there is no vision people perish....." Proverbs 29:18 (KJV). In other words without a ‘vision’ we cannot unfold the purpose of God in our life. Martin Luther explains vision this way, “You cannot move from where you are until you see beyond where you are.”. You must have a dream otherwise whatever is not your vision can never be your portion in life. You will lose the purpose for what you have been created, if your heart cannot conceive.

“A vision provides the focus for the ministry and will enable the leader to keep his followers to move in one direction towards the ultimate goal. It is the skill of an effective leader to articulate the vision in such a way that everyone understands it and wants to participate in it. A vision statement provides direction and a target for the church/organization or even individuals.  It is a tool to help the organization fulfill what God has called it to do.”.

A clear Vision provides 3 things.

1.    Why we are here: Our purpose

2.    Where are we going: A picture of the future

3.    What guides us along the way: What we value!

Stay with me as I unfold how to culminate to a vision or a dream. Finding a vision to move forward towards a specific mission is not conditioned to dreams alone. Let me categorize few major heads to find direction to unfold the purpose in your life:

1.    A specific vision/dream from God or God speaking to man for achieving a specific mission:                 

Pharaoh had a dream (Genesis 41:1-7) for Egypt which was wrapped in mystery. Joseph had an opportunity to unfold it to a specific, meticulous strategy and workplan.

Moses: God spoke to Moses in Mt Sinai to build the tabernacle (Exodus 24:18; 25:8)

Jeremiah: God specifically called Jeremiah to warn Judah and return to Lord God. (Jeremiah 1:8;10)

2.    A strong desire or aspiration to fulfill something for God:

David had a strong desire to build a place, an abode for God (1 Chronicles 17:1-2). What is your burning desire and how it falls under the Biblical framework.

3.    Sensitizing about the Problem and getting the person to act. (Can be from God or from an anointed man of God):

God reminded Moses of the serious problem Israelite were facing, the slavery in Egypt. Moses was asked to be the conduit and bring the people out from bondage (Exodus 3:7; 10)

Esther was challenged by Mordecai to redeem the Jew who were soon prepared to be annihilated (Esther 3:13; 4:8,14)

4.    Getting to know about the problem and act on it:

Nehemiah: He heard about the broken walls of Jerusalem and was burdened and acted on it (Nehemiah 1: 1-4). The problem that is overwhelming you is the missionary call to act upon it.

5.    Obedience to the edicts of God:

Edicts of God are as follows -

Great commission is to preach the gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) 

Great Commandment of God is to love God and to love the neighbors (Mark 12:30-31), and 

Great Compassion is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the strangers, help the sick, visit those in prison etc. (Matthew 25:36-40). 

Here, no one is exempted. Everyone who is His disciple is mandated to be involved in the mission of God.

It's worth to ponder which of the above categories you fall under as a Church, organization or individual. May God help you in fulfilling His purpose in your life through visions and dreams.

(To influence people on vision, strategies, developing a Ministry blueprint for Church and organization through seminars is my ministry. I would be glad to help you out in the same for your ministry.)

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Write it down!

“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.” Habakkuk 2:2-3.

When God inspired me to help Churches articulate the Vision and document the same, this was the verse that was overpowering and inspiring me to take this forward to help Church leadership, youth and congregation members so that they understand the real purpose of their existence and pen their vision down.

Once the Vision statement is articulated and the Church roadmap is drawn listing out the milestones, it gives the sense of purpose and satisfaction. God in the Bible always quantifies, measures and gauges the work including our intention. We are capable of so much, but because we are not defining the ministry/organization purpose and the strategy to achieve it's goal, we are unsure about the progress or the impact our work  actually makes.

Unless people are convinced of their sincere calling and commitment for the ministry it will just not be possible for them to put their vision down. They will manage to exist and survive but without a purpose. Zig Ziglar puts it this way, “An out-of-focus purpose can’t inspire us, but a crystal-clear lens on God’s purpose for us rivets our attention and gives us energy to keep going until we reach our goals.”

We need to write our vision down in clear and compelling language so that it grips our heart. A clear vision statement frees us from confusion so that we can ‘run' forward steadily rather than wander, stumble or go backward. But the fulfillment of our vision is in His timing, not ours. Seldom does anyone move in a straight line from the conception of a dream to its fulfillment. We may experience ups and down, delays and disappointment. But this cannot stop us if we keep our eyes fixed on the purpose and on the One who gave it to us.

Personally, I had challenges too working with no expectations, sometimes supported sometimes never considered at all, but because of the strong passion towards my vision I am still by the grace of God able to move bereft of resources.  If your Church vision is compelling nothing will stop you to integrate the Holistic model of connecting Church with active evangelism and ministering to the poor. Do you have a clear compelling vision?

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