Confusing My Vision with God's...
Barna (book: The Power of Vision) defines vision as "A clear mental picture of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants, and based upon an accurate understanding of God, self, and circumstances." Inherent in this definition seems to be the caution that vision should come from God and should possess a congruence in it's relationship to the leader's theology, self-awareness, and to the context in which the vision will be implemented.
As a church researcher, Barna's wisdom in this definition may stem from experiences of churches replete with leaders who believe that their dream equals God's vision- as if God has committed himself to finance our plans. Leaders become passionate about their hopes and aspirations, and then ask God to bless them, calling it His vision for the church. Or, even visions granted by God initially, can be held so tightly by leaders that they in essence steal it away from God- and possibly disqualify themselves from being a part of its achievement.
As a church researcher, Barna's wisdom in this definition may stem from experiences of churches replete with leaders who believe that their dream equals God's vision- as if God has committed himself to finance our plans. Leaders become passionate about their hopes and aspirations, and then ask God to bless them, calling it His vision for the church. Or, even visions granted by God initially, can be held so tightly by leaders that they in essence steal it away from God- and possibly disqualify themselves from being a part of its achievement.
posted by Mike Ayers at 10:23 PM
4 Comments:
Interesting that we all seem to use the concept of "vision." How many "visions" are there? Does God have more than one vision? Surely, our "vision" of the future of a church or minisry or life is an orientation to the grand vision God has already cast for all of creation and history.
Why do I say this?
Only because we may not need what is popularly called "vision." instead, if we catch hold of God's vision for the cosmos, we can then go ahead with the confidence that we are "on track."
Every vision that we have at some point transfers the responsibility from God to humanity. We just differ at which point that happens. Some seek fine detail in their visions - as if God has revealed to them what to do at 7am, 8am and 9am today. Others have a vague sense that we are to "redeem society" and so look for opportunities to get involved in that vision. There is such a diversity in use of the word.
Not critical, just processing stuff as i write
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