Finding Gods Vision for Your Church

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Finding Gods Vision for Your Church

• Source Lyle Schaller, The Very Large Church
  New Rules for Leaders, Abingdon, 2000
• Chandler_at_vbmb.org

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Goals vs. Vision

• There is a difference between
• Challenging Goals
• Inspiring Vision

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Challenging Goals

• Help us to keep on doing what we have been doing,
  only more or better at it
• Win more games
• Get better grades
• Build nicer buildings

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But Inspiring Vision

• Communicates a radically different picture of
  tomorrow
• Making your kids the first to graduate college
• Empty nest homemaker returns to school
• Tenured prof resigns to start a new business

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5 Differences Between Goals Vision

• 1. Continuity with the past vs. Discontinuity
• Vision is generally radically discontinuous with
  the past
• Vision gives a compelling vision of a new
  tomorrow

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5 Differences Between Goals Vision

• 2. S.A.M. vs. Potential
• Goals focus on S.A.M. aims
• Specific, Attainable, Measurable ceilings
• Vision identifies and fulfills potential
• Tends to have floors but no ceilings

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5 Differences Between Goals Vision

• 3. What I can do vs. What God can do

• The visionary leader paints a picture of what
  the Lord is calling the church to be and to do.
• Schaller, p.141

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5 Differences Between Goals Vision

• 4. Which rule book do you use?
• The goal-challenge can usually work within the
  limitations of the local rule book
• The visionary leader almost always has to either
  ignore that local rule book or introduce a
  radical revision of it

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5 Differences Between Goals Vision

• 5. The Support Base is different.
• With goals, the aim is broad-based support
• ideally 100 consensus
• Visionaries need the enthusiastic support of 7-30
  widely respected, future-oriented, influential
  and competent volunteers who become allies in
  enlisting support for the vision

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The Difference?

• Goals the light comes from people
• Humanly manufactured
• Committees
• Vision the light comes from God
• From deep prayer
• Calling

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How to Discover Vision

• Pay attention, first and most, to the calling of
  God!
• Then, consider 3 other angles
• Culture/Community
• Clergy/Leaders
• Congregation

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God
Culture
Clergy
Congregation
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God

• Experiencing God as a model for knowing and
  doing the will of God
• Watch where God is moving and join God there!
  Henry Blackaby
• Adjusting to God rather than asking God to adjust
  to us

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Experiencing God
GOD
You must make major adjustments in your life to
join God in what he is doing.
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Clergy / Leaders

• May render other considerations moot or paint
  them in a different light
• In what chapter of ministry is your pastor?
  Key leaders? The church?
• At any given point, the pastor and church may be
  in very different chapters of ministry

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Culture / Community

• Who has God called you to reach?
• Can we be clear and honest about our priority?
• Look at the budget and church calendar to get the
  real story!

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Churched
Non-Churched
Christian
Non-Christian
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Congregation

• What would we do if we prayed and God granted it?
  
• Is my church willing to act a different size?
• next size up
• Am I willing to expand my view of the group life
  of the church?
• Multi-congregation/cell

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So, when a church has

• Received a clear calling from God
• Been clear and honest about who it is called to
  reach (culture)
• Been supple to adjust the life, style, and size
  of the church (congregation)
• Become clear about the chapter of ministry of key
  leaders (clergy)

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Then .

• There can be vision!

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Finding Gods Vision for Your Church

• Dr. John P. Chandler
• Courageous Churches
• Virginia Baptist Mission Board
• Chandler_at_vbmb.org
• Copy right John P. Chandler, 2000