Jim Wall, D. Min. The Acts 2 Network

Vision has been defined as “a mental image of a preferred future.” The struggle to find God’s vision for our respective ministries echoes down the halls of church offices all over the world.  Why is something so important, so elusive?  One of the answers lies in the mistake that many of us make; i.e. We start at the wrong place.  It is impossible to catch a vision of the future without a clear, honest understanding of the present.

This series of blogs is designed to introduce you to the tools that will help you gain that understanding.

The first two lens with which we are looking at our church’s have to do with structures, systems and processes; how effectively we get things done. They are the Structural Lens and the Political Lens. Lens three and four, the Human Resource Lens and the Symbolic Lens have to do with the people and relationships that make up your church. This week we’re looking through the Human Resource Lens. There are three questions you must ask in understanding what’s going on in your church:

 1. Is our church more focused on corporate or individual goals?

When you look at the people in your church do you see them as a means to an end? Or do you see the corporate goals of your church as providing a way for individuals to meet their personal God-given goals? The better you learn the individual gifts, talents and passions of your members, the more likely they will be fulfilled and the church will exceed its mission.  Your number one job in the Human Resource Lens is matching gifted people with valid needs. In the last church I pastored, we reached 1,000 regular attenders while I was the only full-time paid staff member! That’s crazy. I don’t recommend it. But it can be done when members are viewed as people in need of fulfillment rather than a resource to be tapped for accomplishing your goals.

 2. How do I motivate our members to give and serve?

There are three primary methods available to you. 1) You can threaten them; i.e. “If you don’t use your talents, God will get you!” 2) You can bribe them; i.e. “If you serve I will do these things for you (pay you, give you a title, tell everyone how wonderful you are, etc.” 3) You can inspire them; “God is at work here. Fulfillment lies along the road of giving your life to service that matters!” The first two methods will raise up people to do things, but burn-out and turnover often accompany them.  The third method helps people to think beyond themselves…to see the needs around them and genuinely want to do something about them. That road ends in goals accomplished and personal fulfillment in the members.

 3. Is close-enough-is-good-enough in our church?

What level of emphasis does your church put on excellence? Far too many leaders are afraid to set the excellence bar high. They are afraid they won’t have enough people to do the work of the church. The exact opposite is true. People are busy. They aren’t interested in making commitments to mediocre efforts. When the last church I led began small groups ministries, we struggled to find enough group leaders. We made it as easy as possible to become a group leader in hopes more would step up to lead. We struggled until we added required training, accountability, goal-setting, etc. to the group leader role.  It was amazing how many began to say, “I believe God is calling me to be a group leader.”  The commitment was finally worthy of their time. Don’t be afraid to set the bar high!

At end of the day, the church is not collection of structures and systems. It is relationships. Structures are important, but only as they provide environments for people to fulfill their God-given purpose in life. If the human factor is struggling your church, you need to address that before you think too much about visioning for the future.