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!