THE VALUE OF VISION
Pastor Steve Crombie
The River Church, Minnesota
“How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight…?” I love doing things. I love building things, fixing things, and then seeing the tangible results.
I love being a doer of the Word, and that’s what we’re called to be as believers in Christ. But as a pastor, if I’m doing all the doing, then a lot of people are being cheated, left out, and the kingdom of God doesn’t experience the growth and multiplication God designed into it. That’s where I’ve discovered the value of vision in leading a church.
As pastors, God gives us a vision for what He wants His church to be and do. By nature, I’m a hands-on, do-it-myself kind of guy, which works well when building a dog house but is terrible when building God’s House. As pastors, we need to communicate the vision God has given us and then invite others in to use their gifts to make the vision come alive in ways that we alone could never accomplish.
It’s exciting to see people develop and operate in their gifts and callings and bring the vision to a place far beyond what I would have envisioned. In other words, it’s fun to single-handedly chase a thousand, but it’s way more satisfying to be part of a team that can put ten thousand to flight!
For so long, I felt I had to hash out all the details of how my ideas would happen. I had to figure it out. I had to give specific people specific responsibilities of what to do to make things happen. My intention was to make things easier for them as volunteers. I didn’t realize how much I was choking out the gifts God put in people who wanted to serve and be part of the vision. I also didn’t realize how much pressure I was putting on myself. Through much coaching by our NRP overseers, I finally saw that I could release the detail level to many others and allow them to run with their own God-given gifts and creativity. So much more can be accomplished when I’m not the main doer. Casting vision now is a lot more enjoyable, more fruitful, and a lot less work. Whew! Thank You Lord!