Discovering and Developing Vision

Over the past few weeks our series on missional vision has focussed on both the biblical basis and understanding for obtaining missional vision as well as some practical guidelines for church leaders in how to facilitate vision amongst the main body of the church.

To conclude this series I thought I'd go back and look at the general question of why we should have vision. This is a key issue when obtaining missional vision yourself and leading others to discover theirs. We need assurance that vision is necessary if we are to discover it, develop it and live it out.

A revelation of our salvation

'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' Proverbs 29 v 18

For me, this verse is the crux of the matter. Every talk I've ever heard on vision busts this out as standard. But it's not always clear what it's really getting at. The word 'vision' can have so many different meaning (I feel a Specsavers ad coming on….) but to feel confident in structuring both our lives and our church communities around 'vision' we need to be confident in what's behind this verse.

The Amplified Bible gives more detail to the language:

'Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man] – blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.'

So vision in this verse means a 'redemptive revelation of God'. Therefore we could say that one meaning of 'vision' relates to our seeing and understanding of our salvation in Jesus. That's something that most people in the church can hopefully get behind! But is there any more to 'vision' than knowing that we're saved? Do we need to have a personal vision, with our own mission statement and context?

A revelation of our identity

Proverbs 29 v 18 also references 1 Samuel 3 v 1, 'The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; there was no frequent or widely spread vision.' This verse references God's 'word' and 'vision' as the direct revelation from God that we read of regularly in the Old Testament. This itself highlights that God's specific word (rhema in the Greek) and the revelation that accompanies it is necessary in order that we don't perish. Similarly the other reference made is from Amos 8 v 11 which talks about a famine, where there will be no word from the Lord. This signifies the relationship between God and His people. As a people Israel needed God's word to them, it was their whole structure for living and their lifeline in battles and times of need – His word gave them direction and life.

In the same way that a revelation of our salvation is imperative to our lives, a revelation of what that says about our creation and identity is also vital. We need a revelation of His word (both through the written word and His specific word) because He created us to have that kind of relationship with Him.

As we're made in His image and to be in relationship with Him, it's obvious to see that He's designed us to be in partnership with Him and implementing His plans. The issue of vision I believe is intertwined with the issue of identity. A right understanding of our humble position before God, but also the amazing invitation to be part of implementing His plans, is essential when we are trying to discover vision. So often 'vision' comes out of a place of insecurity, seeking affirmation, pride...etc, that we get side-tracked into thinking that vision is all about a life-plan or a revolution, not about Jesus and His Kingdom.

In John Wesley's famous prayer the line which states 'Put me to nothing' always presents a challenge to me. A great fear amongst many Christians who are passionate about God's kingdom is that they will never fully realise His call on their life, or that they will grow into old age feeling that they've never accomplished anything for the kingdom. But our acceptance by God doesn't come from what we've accomplished for Him. We're already accepted and that's not going to change. However, if we pursue a vision because we're trying to prove ourselves it's probably not going to get us very far!

A revelation of God's heart

'Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.' Psalm 37 v 4

As Simon discussed in last week's blog we need to get a revelation of God's heart, impressed upon our own. He has made us in His image, which means that the things He cares about He's made us to care about too. It also means that the skills and application needed has been put within us in order that the kingdom can be realised. God's put His desires and plans within us. A friend of mine always say 'It's in there, you just haven't realised it yet'. He's made us uniquely and as we let His heart impress upon ours we can discover the passions and desires that we have inherited from Him, in order that His kingdom can impact the earth.

A revelation of God's kingdom

And the Kingdom impacting earth is what it's all about! We need a revelation of Jesus and the authority and power He has, to give us confidence that the Kingdom is forcefully advancing. When we look at the book of Revelation God gave us a vision of an incredible life that we can look forward to - He (and we!) will build a new heaven and a new earth. If God has the vision for that, then He also has the vision for your street, neighbourhood, workplace, school, business, town, city, nation... to be transformed by His love. We need a revelation of what His plans are for those places. We only need to ask Him to show us what it is and what we do next.

• Do you have a revelation of your salvation that effects everyday life?

• Do you have a revelation of your identity and acceptance in Jesus, that means you seek 'vision' because of who you're made to be, not what you're trying to prove?

• Do you have a revelation of God's heart? Are you allowing His heart to be impressed upon yours?

• Do you have a revelation of God's kingdom and how it can impact the places you inhabit?

Discovering and Developing Missional Vision

Today I would like to share some thoughts on the mindset change I believe needs to take place in order for anyone to discover and develop real missional vision.

The starting point in mission for any follower of Jesus has to be that WE ARE SENT. After all, being "sent" is what "mission" or "missionary" means. We use these words because it's what Jesus said about Himself and His disciples (see Luke 4:18 and Matthew 10:3). The whole essence of mission is captured from this viewpoint. So how do we apply this? Well, as always, the best place to start with any question is to look at the life of Jesus. In scripture, I think we see 3 key elements to Jesus being sent:

Jesus was sent by God.....

Jesus was totally dependent and given over to the Father. He would continually spend time in communion with Him (Mark 1:35) and only do what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). He had laid down His life long before He was crucified. He knew Father had sent Him. Often, the problem with being sent is that we are not the ones calling the shots. Missional vision comes from the Father. After all, it's His mission anyway isn't it? It's about choosing submission (being under His mission) and partnership (working with Him). I think the first part of discovering and developing missional vision is getting close enough to the Father so that His heart can be impressed upon ours.

Are we really listening?

Are we soft enough to Him?

Jesus was sent with a community.......

In order to carry out His Father's work, Jesus chose to seek out and surround Himself with people who were hungry for the Kingdom. In many ways they were nothing special, but they were the ones who would drop everything to follow the Messiah. This community wasn't ready made and good to go. It took Jesus time and effort to grow something around Him that reflected the Father He knew and loved. They had great times together (Luke 10:17) and tough times together (Matthew 17:17), but in the end they were the ones who would go the distance and change the world forever. I think the second part of discovering and developing missional vision is surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for God's Mission and committed to seeing it through. Doing this allows us to grow and refine the vision that God has put in us.

Are we seeking out these sorts of people and committing to them in the context of shared vision?

Are we becoming the sort of person that others are drawn to do this with?

Are we speaking out what God is saying to us?

Jesus was sent to the world......

Jesus never lost sight of where He was sent to or what He was sent to do. He immersed Himself completely in His mission field, taking His disciples with Him and becoming totally accessible. He was often moved by the people He met as the Father's heart stirred within Him to reach out to the leaper, the prostitute or the demon-possessed. He understood people, because He lived like one of them. Nobody walked away without experiencing a tangible sign of the Kingdom. I think the third part of discovering and developing missional vision is to immerse ourselves in the context God has called us to, so that the Holy Spirit is able to show us HOW our missional vision can made real.

Are we making time and space to go and meet the people God has called us to?

Have we discerned how God wants to make His Kingdom real to them?

Do we ACT on this discernment?

Do we keep going even when it's hard or inconvenient?

Allowing God to change our way of thinking to being SENT in these 3 ways will ultimately grow and develop missional vision in us which is strong enough to last beyond any good idea, feelings, or fashionable activity. It will also start to make it possible for God's Kingdom to be made real and tangible to those He has called us to.

By Simon

Discovering and Developing Missional Vision: Leadership Part 2

Yesterday I shared some questions to ponder on setting a good foundation of a leadership culture within your church, focusing on releasing vision especially in those who might not look like a 'typical' leader. Today, some practicals.

Here are a few tips for releasing vision in the non-pioneers, the under-encouraged or those lacking in confidence:

1. Get to know people's passions, dreams & desires, especially those who are less 'obvious' as leaders. Make some time for those who don't seek you out to tell you their new vision or idea - look for those who are putting away the chairs, or serving coffee. Often these guys make brilliant missionary leaders because they know how to serve and love others.
2. Help potential leaders to clearly articulate their vision - writing it down or talking it through with friends can help with this. It doesn't have to be complicated, just clear. If it helps, get them to think about what they want to see in the UP-IN-OUT of their community. It can (should!) be that simple!
3. You can't encourage the unconfident too much! They need to know you believe in them. Take plenty of opportunities to let them know what gifts/skills you see in them and how you see God's call on their life. However....
4. Don't let them get away with procrastinating about getting to grips with vision and/or getting started. Hold them accountable and pin them down to a plan of writing a vision/plan/asking team/etc, or they might well never bite the bullet and get on with it!
5. Give people space to experiment and fail. Sometimes this might be easiest / feel safest for them within the context of a larger community from which they can then be released at the right time.
6. Train them to lead in their own style/giftings rather than in yours or someone else's. They stand a much better chance of succeeding! Help them to develop team who will balance out their giftings.
7. Good coaching is key to their success. They might well need more coaching than a 'natural' leader. Concentrate on encouragement and helping them to make decisions for themselves rather than giving them all the answers (or telling them what you would do!)
8. Don't necessarily expect their communities to grow as quickly or easily as other more experienced leaders - after all, they are just learning how to be a leader and how to lead with a vision. This will be especially true if their vision is quite 'specialised' or has quite a narrow focus.
9. Keep them missional! It's easy to get overwhelmed with leading people so keep their eyes on why they're doing it.
10. Celebrate success! Share testimony, encourage (again!) and remember that mobilising a whole variety of leaders across the body into missional vision and leadership is worth your time and effort!

Discovering and Developing Missional Vision: Leadership Part 1

I hope you've been enjoying the blog posts over the last month. I've really enjoyed reading the contributions based on the theme of Establishing a Missional Culture.

Today marks the start of a new theme: Discovering and Developing Missional Vision. One of the things that gets me most excited is being able to release and support people into putting into action the vision God has given them. Seeing people live out their calling, especially those who aren't your typical pioneer or confident leader, is something I find really fulfilling.

I expect most of you who have been on a journey with Missional Communities with us for a little while will have been thinking about and concentrating on releasing your pioneer leaders, the ones who are 'early adopters' - those who are usually bursting with vision and raring to be released. Great! That's definitely the place to start.

This week however I'd like to use this blog post to explore a little how to help those for whom vision comes a bit less easily, who are less 'self-promoting', more introverted or simply lack confidence or experience. For Missional Communities to become fully established within a church it is important to be raising up leaders of all shapes and sizes - MC leadership is not just for the raving extroverts or the 'obvious' leaders you have in your church!

I'll post in 2 parts; today I'll ask a few questions of you to ponder on, thinking about some of the underlying foundations and leadership culture in your church. Tomorrow I'll give a few tips of how to help encourage more people into leading with a missional vision.

So, some questions for you to consider:

• Do you have a vision for raising up leaders?
• What is the culture of leadership in your church? Do people know that leadership isn't restricted to one 'type' of person? Do they have a biblical understanding of leadership?
• Do you have a process by which vision is taught, released and nurtured across the whole body? Are you making it simple or expecting too much?
• What examples of leadership are you holding up to the church?
• Are the testimonies you profile of God at work in every day life as well as the more 'spectacular'?
• Are your MC leaders able and equipped to encourage and release others in their MC into their own vision and calling?

Setting good foundations and a biblical view of leadership in your church is vital in enabling people to discover the vision and call God has given them.

Tomorrow I'll share my top 10 tips on releasing vision in the non-pioneers, the under-encouraged or those lacking in confidence!