There’s a difference between leadership and
management. Management consists primarily of three things: analysis, problem solving and planning. If you go to any management
course, you’ll find it revolves around those three things. But leadership consists of communicating your Vision and Values.
If you don’t clarify the purposes as the leader,
who will?
Here are a few guidelines:
Believe it or not, the bigger your vision, the
easier it is to reach. People are rarely
motivated by small visions. They will follow a big vision easier than a
little one. People need a purpose. Giving them a grand vision will
enable them to connect as some level with that vision. If your vision is
narrow, you may fail to interest some people. However, if your vision is
large, it will leave plenty of room for others to get involved.
Don’t worry about solving the problem before
casting the vision. A good example of
visionary leadership would be the United States President, John F.
Kennedy. Regardless of what you think about his politics, Kennedy stood
up one day in the early 1960’s and said, “We will put a man on the moon by the
end of the decade.” He was clear; he was precise; and the vision was
something people could look to. Now, here’s the interesting thing – when
he said it, the technology to put a man on the moon hadn’t even been
developed. That’s visionary leadership! Just because you don't have
all the pieces of the puzzle just yet, does not mean that you can't share the vision.
Let others come along side you who will bring those pieces to the table.
Your God determines how big your goal is. So, how big do you think God is? The issue is not who
do you think you are, but who do you think God is? In your dreams for
ministry, don’t limit yourself by saying, “What can I do?” Instead ask,
“What can God do? What can God do in this place?” Then, use every
single tool and resource that God puts in front of you - no matter what it
looks like. Judging whether or not a resource if "of God" will
limit God's ability to bless you in your work for Him.
Be pragmatic
even as you cast a vision. We overestimate what we can do in one year, and we
underestimate what we can do in ten or twenty years. That’s very
common. The trouble with most goal setting is we set our goals too low
and try to accomplish them too soon. Instead, we need to set big goals –
huge goals – enormous goals – but plan plenty of time in reaching those goals.
Creating systematic attainable goals is better than ones that come few
and far between.
Finally, make
a frank appraisal of your own gifts. The Bible teaches that there are
one talent people and five talent people and ten talent people. That
means you may be good at several things, but you’re not good at
everything. How large is your vision? As a Christian leader, you
need to put it before your congregation and then keep it before them.
Your talent is only limited by your ability to use the people who God
gave you regardless if they appear to be ready for the task or not. Trust
God to enable them for the work.
0 Comments