An Emerging (Non)Vision Pt 1
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
People frequently ask church planters, “What is your vision for the church?”
What they usually mean by that is, “What specifically do you expect the church to look like five, ten, or twenty years down the road?”
It’s not necessarily a bad question, but it does reflect what I call a business plan mindset regarding church planting.
Most church plants begin with a fundraising campaign. But in order to raise money, you need to convince people that you know what you’re doing. In today’s business-influenced church, that means being able to articulate a clear, compelling vision, along with a reasonably believable plan for achieving that vision. The vision statement is the money statement; or to put it another way, the money follows the vision.
Misinterpretations of Proverbs 29:18 notwithstanding, church vision statements are not biblical. That’s not to say they are anti-biblical; only that they’re not mandated or even recommended in the Bible. They are non-biblical or extra-biblical. Vision statements are a creation of modern business, and they’re based on the assumption that you can create a future that more-or-less coincides with your vision. The problem is that God is not obligated to tell you what he plans to do through your community of Christ-followers. Too often, vision statements are simply a reflection of the church planter’s own dreams and desires.
This is why I’ve been hesitant for our team to lay out a full-fledged vision for The Heights. It’s not that we don’t have the imagination or the creativity or the horsepower. It’s that we don’t want to take a single step out in front of our Leader. We want to be sure that Jesus is going ahead of us. And I’m convinced that sometimes means embracing uncertainty, keeping your options open, and preparing for multiple possible future scenarios.
Still, I understand the desire for people to know what kind of church you’re looking to plant. That’s why, in our initial launch plan, we sketched a broad, tentative vision for The Heights and why I’ve started this series of blog posts.
As we’ve worked together through the initial stages of planting a church in Noblesville, we’ve tried to remain open to God’s leadership, and a clearer picture is beginning to emerge. I hesitate to call it a vision, because we are not primarily committed to any particular conceptualization, but to following Jesus wherever he leads us in the moment.
Over the course of the next several Mondays, I’ll be sharing some about the emerging (non)vision for The Heights. We welcome your responses and feedback.
What they usually mean by that is, “What specifically do you expect the church to look like five, ten, or twenty years down the road?”
It’s not necessarily a bad question, but it does reflect what I call a business plan mindset regarding church planting.
Most church plants begin with a fundraising campaign. But in order to raise money, you need to convince people that you know what you’re doing. In today’s business-influenced church, that means being able to articulate a clear, compelling vision, along with a reasonably believable plan for achieving that vision. The vision statement is the money statement; or to put it another way, the money follows the vision.
Misinterpretations of Proverbs 29:18 notwithstanding, church vision statements are not biblical. That’s not to say they are anti-biblical; only that they’re not mandated or even recommended in the Bible. They are non-biblical or extra-biblical. Vision statements are a creation of modern business, and they’re based on the assumption that you can create a future that more-or-less coincides with your vision. The problem is that God is not obligated to tell you what he plans to do through your community of Christ-followers. Too often, vision statements are simply a reflection of the church planter’s own dreams and desires.
This is why I’ve been hesitant for our team to lay out a full-fledged vision for The Heights. It’s not that we don’t have the imagination or the creativity or the horsepower. It’s that we don’t want to take a single step out in front of our Leader. We want to be sure that Jesus is going ahead of us. And I’m convinced that sometimes means embracing uncertainty, keeping your options open, and preparing for multiple possible future scenarios.
Still, I understand the desire for people to know what kind of church you’re looking to plant. That’s why, in our initial launch plan, we sketched a broad, tentative vision for The Heights and why I’ve started this series of blog posts.
As we’ve worked together through the initial stages of planting a church in Noblesville, we’ve tried to remain open to God’s leadership, and a clearer picture is beginning to emerge. I hesitate to call it a vision, because we are not primarily committed to any particular conceptualization, but to following Jesus wherever he leads us in the moment.
Over the course of the next several Mondays, I’ll be sharing some about the emerging (non)vision for The Heights. We welcome your responses and feedback.