SG Conference – Vision & Discipleship

I had mentioned little over a week ago that I had traveled to Wilmington, DE with 10 other Coaches and Group Leaders for a 1-day Small Groups conference. Now that I’ve completed my ramblings about the various tensions you should experience in healthy group interaction, I’d like to post a few insights from the plenary sessions at the SG Conference. The speaker was Greg Bowman, so credit for these thoughts goes to him.

Today, I’d like to discuss the whole idea of Vision, what it is and why it’s so important, especially to Discipleship. First, what it is not. While many people think they know what Vision is, I find that few actually do. Sometimes, they confuse Vision with Mission. Mission is your definition of your organization. It reminds you of and tells others what “business” you’re in. Here at Grace Church, our Mission Statement is “Meeting people wherever they are and Moving them to where God wants them to be.” It’s simple and straightforward. If you’re unclear of how to be faithful at Grace, look to the Mission. Wherever you are, church, work, school, the mall, the grocery store, the soccer field, you are to be looking to engage people in edifying conversation and activities.

And Vision shouldn’t be confused with a list of Goals. Think about Discipleship. If I were to give you a list of things that a disciple of Christ does (read your Bible, pray, attend church and group, tithe, serve, witness, etc.), would that be the same as a compelling Vision for Discipleship? Of course not. These are disciplines or goals or characteristics of Discipleship, but not a Vision of Discipleship.

Vision is actually the expression of a desired future state which is decidedly better than the present state. While Vision may include concrete, measurable aspects, it is primarily qualitative. In other words, Vision answers the question, How? more than the question, What? Look at the Vision that the Lord cast for the Israelites through Moses as he led them out of Egypt toward Canaan. First, their destination wasn’t called “Canaan;” rather, reference to the land referred back to the promise of God to Abraham, “the Promised Land” (Hebrews 11:9). But look at the language about their destination,

Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today-- to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul-- then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Deuteronomy 11:8-15

Vision is vitally important to leadership because people commit to Vision. So your group should have an idea of where it is going. A group gathering is not the destination. It is the means by which you achieve the desired future state. And I don’t mean Heaven; I mean Spiritual Maturity.

But Vision without an implementation strategy isn’t good either. You have to have some sort of plan for getting to your destination. It works this way,

• Low Vision and Low Strategy lead to Ignorance – you don’t know where you’re going nor what to do next.
  
• Low Vision and High Strategy lead to Malaise – you know what to do, but you aren’t passionate about seeing it happen.
  
• High Vision and Low Strategy lead to Fear – you know that there’s something incredible in the future but you haven’t got a clue how to bring it about.
  
• High Vision and High Strategy lead to Progress – you’re excited about where you’re going and you know how to get there.

So, how are you doing as a leader? How is your group doing? Do you know why you’re getting together? Is the future clear and exciting? Do you know how to get there? Do you even think or talk like this? If you need help, this is what you should do:

• Begin talking about this as a group. Discuss what your expectations are from group. Make sure that you don’t lose sight of what we’re shooting for at Grace in our CONNECT Ministry. Then talk about what you feel you need to do to get there. This is a great time to discover the SHAPE of people in your group. What are they passionate about? What life experiences have brought them to where they are today? What wounds are they still looking to heal?
  
• Talk with your Coach. Your Coach can help you to figure out where your group needs to grow and how to bring about transformation in those areas. He wants to help. Give him a call.
  
• Be patient in the process. Discipleship is a journey. And it also involves other people. Some of those people need to get into God’s Word, maybe for the first time. Others need to begin seeking God’s guidance in exposing the areas of their life He wishes to redeem. Still others need to start working toward the implementation of the things God has already made clear to them. And some need to learn how to teach, setting themselves aside for the sake of others. And in His infinite wisdom, God has placed all these people together in your small group.