Vision Navigator

[Note: I've been on a self-imposed blog hiatus for the past few weeks, but wanted to check in to offer a brief word of explanation, and let my faithful readers (that's you!) know that I'm still alive and well].

When I was a kid, I remember either my older brother or sister having a very “hip” to do list (it was the 70s, when hip was really cool). It had a glossy plastic orange cover with lowercase white lettering that read “Dumb Things I Gotta Do.” This list hung around our house for a number of years, and to my knowledge nothing was ever written in it. This isn’t surprising really, because who wants to be reminded of pointless tasks you’re forced to do against your will?

This list came to mind recently, because I realized some of my own to do lists have started to feel like that for me. Chores. Sources of stress. Burdens. Fun-suckers. Energy drains. Dumb things I gotta do.

So what’s a person to do? Add another “to do.” Namely, write a blog post about it

Seriously, I’ve come to realize such feelings are an indicator that there is a disconnect in certain areas of my life between vision and reality. That I’ve over-committed, and undervalued the limited amount of time and energy I really have to spend. That I’ve allowed complexity to set in, at the expense of simplicity and clarity.

So for the past couple of weeks I’ve been doing what I counsel my clients to do. Hop off the treadmill for a bit to evaluate why I was on it in the first place. Employ the aid of a strategic outsider to help me gain some perspective and ongoing vision clarity (because, as a friend of mine so aptly puts it, “You can’t see the back of your own head”). Take some time to evaluate all the task oriented clutter that I’ve accumulated, to see where it fits (or doesn’t fit) within the broader missional framework for my life.

Thus, the blog hiatus. So now you know.

Does your life feel clear or cluttered? How do you manage your to do list(s)? When you look at the tasks on them, do you feel drained or energized?

Wanted to pass along a link to a great article by Will Mancini, which was published on the web a week or so ago [link to the full article is here]– here’s an excerpt:

What if the real challenge of translating vision to reality is something inherently wrong with our current models for vision? What if strategic planning models and long-range planning teams spend countless hours developing a vision or a plan that, by its very nature, is unrealizable? What if we changed our paradigm or working definition of vision in a way that made it naturally and organically more likely to blossom? What if we could make vision so clear that action was inevitable?

I believe the real challenge of turning vision into reality is one seven-letter word: clarity.

This resonates with me on so many levels. It’s part of the reason I joined up with Mancini and the Auxano team in the first place.

For when leaders pursue clarity, they find a unique vision from God that nourishes them and compels others to join. It’s not about the latest tricks, trends, or techniques then. It’s not about coercion or manipulation. Rather, it’s about leaning into, living, and casting a clear vision that invites others to participate in God’s mission — catalyzing folks into action to become part of something larger than themselves, a unique expression of Christ’s body on earth.

What is your experience? Do you see a connection between vision and reality in your life, or in the life of your church?

Ran across a couple of great posts on vision, both of which drive home the notion that vision should be more than just an idea — vision needs to connect mission to strategy in a real/tangible/practical way:

1) Larry Brey talks about how Vision is Divisive, but in a good way — here’s a quote:

Vision isn’t a statement, it’s what you do. The more you clarify the vision the more divisive it is. It draws a line in the sand that says either jump on board or get out of the way because here’s where this church is going. For too long churches have muddied the vision keeping in nebulous and ill defined. When vision is only something you say, anything goes. But when you drill it down to what you do people are forced to do something…either get on board or go somewhere else.

2) Chris Marlow explains why Vision is Overrated — namely vision devoid of implementation — excerpt is below:

I think vision gets way to much credit in the church world. Lot’s of dreamers with big idea’s. (people like me) Dreams mean nothing if they don’t get some feet and start walking. Vision can become your friend or your enemy. Vision can bear fruit or cause apathy.

The difference is leadership. It takes a leader to see the vision from scratch to wholeness while a dreamer will continue to “put stuff on paper” but that “stuff” never comes alive in the people of God. A true leader will take the words on the paper document and bring life and fruit from the vision.

The greatest leaders are not the visionary but the implementer. The visionary has to learn how to implement or have people around them who can implement the vision.

Is your vision becoming a reality? Do you have a clear strategy or process for accomplishing your God-given mission, or is it still just wishful thinking?