A question frequently comes up in my training and consulting ministry regarding vision. This question has to do with the origin of vision in or for a church. Some pastors and leaders think that vision should come from the pastor alone, that the pastor should go to the mountaintop and seek God’s vision for the church, and then come down from that mountaintop and inform others of what that vision is.
I find many pastors that want to lead in this way and many church leaders and members that also want the pastor to lead in this way. That can work as long as the pastor has accurately and comprehensively discerned God’s vision, but there are dangers.
Danger #1: Strong willed pastors have a tendency to form a personal vision and then convince others, and sometimes themselves, that their vision is God’s vision.
Danger #2: When a pastor’s vision is singularly equated with God’s vision for the church, ownership of that vision by others can come and go with the popularity or trust in that pastor during any given season. If the pastor falls out of favor, the vision falls out of favor as well and the church is adrift.
Danger #3: Pastor’s that insist on their vision exclusively can be divisive and are prone to paranoia. Disagreement or conflict with the pastor are seen as a lack of ownership in the vision, and if you’re not with me you’re against me. Things can get very personal.
Danger #4: Let’s assume that none of the first three dangers are issues in a given circumstance. The pastor has truly discerned God’s vision without ego and manipulation getting in the way. The pastor has proven to be very trustworthy and has always had the trust of other leaders. The pastor is open to suggestion and is willing to learn from others as iron sharpens iron. But the pastor has reached retirement and is stepping down, or illness, injury or death has intervened, or God has called that pastor to a different church. Then what? If the pastor has been the sole developer and guardian of a personal vision, what happens when that pastor leaves, a reality that will inevitably come to pass?
Danger #5: Churches are full of gifted people, and the church that is overly dominated by the pastor’s vision will stiffle the growth of such people and block vision from expanding in ways that God might intend.
Throughout the 80s and 90s the American church went through significant changes, and multiple churches of a non-traditional or unconventional genre emerged. Many of these new expressions of church we led by strong, gifted pastors whose personal imprint was heavily placed on those local church ministries. Many of those pastors are now in their sixties and are likely in the autumn of their ministries. What happens next? Will these churches survive the transition? When the pastor steps down will the vision that has guided the church for years or even decades step down as well?
With all this in mind, I want to draw a distinction between what I will call the Visionary Pastor as opposed to the Pastor with a Vision. The pastor with a singular vision that springs only from a personal source will, at best, limit the full development of a body of believers. Though this pastor might have exceptional vision and the capacity to make it happen, this is not what I would call a Visionary Pastor.
The Visionary Pastor is one who realizes that the church is a body of multiple believers, each with gifts, passions, calling and life experiences that are to be leveraged to expand the kingdom. The Visionary Pastor leads strongly, but with a broad based organic vision that is owned by a group of leaders. The vision of God for a church is bigger than a pastor, and when a pastor leaves for whatever reason, that vision should go on. The Visionary Pastor leaves such a legacy.
Given these definitions, I would rather serve with a Visionary Pastor than a Pastor with a Vision any day.
