Tag Archive - vision

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Vision is a Destination not a Statement

Vision is a destination, not a statement. Many churches spend an incredible amount of time wordsmithing pithy vision statements instead of providing a clear picture of where they’re going. What a majority of churches view as their vision statement is usually a mission statement.

Mission Answers the Question: Why do we exist?

This is the timeless answer to why your church is on the planet in the first place. We don’t get to pick our mission Jesus did that for us. That’s the whole, “go and make disciples,” part. But we do get to pick language that contextualizes it for our culture.

Vision Answers the Question: Where are we going?

This is the next hill that needs to be taken. Vision typically changes every 3-5 years. Vision changes because once you get there and have taken then hill, there’s always the next hill to take.

Most church staff can’t articulate the next hill their church is taking. They don’t’ know the target on the wall they’re shooting for. One way to begin to bring clarity to the vision at your church is to simply ask the question,

“Where would we be in 3-5 years if our church faithfully lived out the mission Jesus has given us in the context of our community, unique culture of our church, gifting and passions of our Sr. Leadership, and resources that God has given us?”

Doing the serious work to answer this question will help you put a target on the wall to hit. Getting crystal clear on this will have a “trickle down” effect on every decision made in your church over the next 3-5 years. It will allow you to:

  1. Set goals and measure results.
  2. Determine how to allocate resources and budget.
  3. Help you understand how you need to structure your staffing model.
  4. Bring alignment to ministries.

Posted in Leadership

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Why Churches don’t Change

Churches don’t change. In fact most churches avoid changing at all cost, even if it means not growing. It’s so bad that I’ve seen churches choose to close their doors over choosing to change. Below are 6 common reasons I’ve observed why churches choose not to change. One of these might be why your church won’t change.

Procrastination

Churches find themselves talking about the same issues they’ve been talking about for years. Instead of making decisions and doing the hard work of dealing with those issues they’re sitting around waiting on a silver bullet, innovative idea that will never come but if it did it would magically solve all of their problems.

Structure

Churches don’t change because their structure won’t allow it. They can’t make decisions in a timely manner because there are too many boards, committees, polity to wade through, and church votes to take to actually do anything.

Focus

Churches are more focused on taking care of the sheep then they are inviting new people to the family. They make decisions based on who they are trying to keep rather than who they’re trying to reach.

Desire

Churches don’t want to change. They like things the way they are. They like knowing everyone at church, they like singing the same songs, they like the warm blanket and safety and security of knowing what to expect. In a world that is constantly changing around them they pride themselves on never changing.

Money

Churches don’t change because of money. If they really did change then the people who are funding the church might leave and stop giving. So they keep things the way they are

Fear

Churches are afraid of leading through change. The tough thing about leadership is that eventually you have to lead. It takes real courage to receive criticism, some of it fanatical in a church setting, and keep moving in the direction the Lord has asked you to go.

Want to change your church? Engage the Unstuck Group and let us help you grow your impact through church consulting and coaching experiences designed to focus vision, strategy and action.


Posted in Leadership

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10 Articles that will Help Your Church Make Vision Real

Thank you for making May another great month here at Helping Churches Make Vision Real! It’s great staying connected with you through social media and hearing that these articles have been helpful. So, thank you for connecting with me through the content on this blog! You made these the top posts from this last month. If you missed out on any of them, here they are all in one place for your convenience!

How Many People should your Church have on Staff?

Before you buy into the idea that you need another staff person at your church, think again. That just may be the worst decision you make at your church this year.

How to get Guests to Come Back to your Church

Why is it that the one organization on the planet that should care the most about people, the church, seems to get a bad rap for the way it treats people?

How to Clear Up the Vision at your Church

In my experience working with churches “vision” seems to be one of the most talked about and least understood concepts in church leadership. Most church leaders have a tendency to over-complicate or over-spiritualize vision.

Insider Focuses Ministry Names

The language we choose to use is important because it both reflects and builds culture at the same time. And one of the most obvious ways to tell if a church is insider focused or outsider focused is the language that they choose to use. It either says that the church is “inclusive” or “exclusive.”

Why Good Leaders Shut Down New Ideas

There are countless examples of organizations and churches that fall in love with past success, become risk adverse over time, and refuse to change. But did you know that the most successful organizations and churches on the planet are just as adept at shooting down new ideas? Here’s why…

How to Leave your Church

No matter what style or size of church you serve in, no matter what title you have behind your name, there is one thing that every person in ministry has in common. At some point in the near or distant future, you will leave your current ministry position.

The 4-Phase Planning Process for Church Leaders

Few churches have a great planning process. Most don’t even have a good planning process, if they have a process at all. I’m not sure why this isn’t a bigger priority. Planning is certainly biblical. I don’t find many pastors who would really take aim at that fact. You’d have to throw out a lot of Proverbs, if you decided to.

Why some churches Win but most Lose

There are a lot of reasons why 80% of churches in America aren’t winning and there’s no “silver bullet” fix. But there are a couple of things that winning churches consistently do that losing churches don’t.

is your church Over-Thinking Discipleship?

At the Unstuck Group we’ve discovered an alarming trend in churches across America. When we lead a church through our strategic planning process we help them discover several “core issues” that that are holding them back from being the church that God has called them to be. In a study that we conducted more than any other issue churches identified creating a solid discipleship strategy as the most pressing issue they are facing.

10 Signs your church is Headed for Decline

What if there were early warning signs (flashing lights on the dashboard) that helped indicate that trouble was ahead? In my experience Coaching Church Leaders and Consulting with Churches across the country I’ve seen the following 10 indicators of an impending decline over and over again.

Photo Credit: justin fain via Compfight cc


Posted in Leadership

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How to Clear Up the Vision at your Church

In my experience working with churches “vision” seems to be one of the most talked about and least understood concepts in church leadership. Most church leaders have a tendency to over-complicate or over-spiritualize vision. It doesn’t have to be that difficult. I like this definition of vision that I frequently hear a good friend of mine use, “Vision is simply understanding the times and knowing what to do.”

In church-world people are tagged a “visionary” if they are a compelling communicator or seem to generate a lot of ideas. Just because you’re good at sales and can get people to buy into your ideas doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a visionary.

On the other hand many in the church oversimplify vision when asked. I can’t tell you how many church leaders I’ve seen puff out their chest in pride and say that the vision of their church is the same as Jesus’s vision for the church, “to make disciples.”

While that sounds spiritual it’s still a bit off the mark.

Mission

Answers the Question: Why do we exist?
This is the timeless answer to why your business, organization or church is on the planet in the first place. For those of us in church-world we don’t get to pick our mission, Jesus did that for us. That’s the whole, “go and make disciples,” part.

Vision

Answers the Question: Where are we going?
This is the next hill that needs to be taken. Organizational vision typically changes every 3-5 years. Vision changes because once you get there and have taken the hill, there’s always the next hill to take.

Goal

Answers the Question: How do we get there?
Goals are just vision with a timeline. They are the actionable and attainable steps or objectives to be met that move the organization in the direction of the vision. You know you’re winning and moving in the direction of accomplishing the vision when you are meeting your goals!

Need help understanding what’s next at your church? I’d encourage you to check out how the Unstuck Group helps churches gain perspective, plan and prioritize, staff to the vision, and execute strategically!


Posted in Leadership

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The Difference between a Visionary and a Dreamer

Churches are notorious for talking about vision at the start of the New Year. In fact, many churches actually come up with a new “Vision Theme” every year that they role out to the church in January. There’s getting ready to be a lot of “vision talk” in churches across America in the next couple of weeks. The problem is there is a lot of confusion in the church about what vision and being a visionary actually is.

Often churches confuse being a good communicator with being a visionary. Just because you can get people to buy into you or your idea doesn’t make you’re a visionary. Other times vision comes packaged as a compelling idea. Just because you have an idea doesn’t mean you’re a visionary.

What I’ve discovered is that most churches are chasing a dream, not following a vision. Here’s the difference:

Cost

Dreamer: Dreams are fun, fantastical, and free. It doesn’t cost anything to dream dreams.
Visionary: Visionaries are willing to pay the price to see their vision become reality.

Focus

Dreamer: Dreamers are full of ideas, bouncing from one dream to the next.
Visionary: Visionaries have a determined laser focus on the vision.

Deadlines

Dreamer: “Someday” and “eventually” are common language for the dreamer.
Visionary: Visionaries build action plans with real deadlines that get them to the vision.

Impact

Dreamer: A combination of chasing ideas with a short attention span rarely leads to a great impact.
Visionary: Focused attention that moves you towards a specific vision coupled with a willingness to pay the price can lead to tremendous impact.

What are some other differences between dreamers and visionaries that you’ve observed? I’d love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment!


Posted in Leadership
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