The Progress Of Vision

I have such a new appreciation of the responsibility that leaders across the globe live out their lives with.  Having influence is one thing, but compelling people to lay down their lives for the sake of a cause is another.    Many leaders struggle with getting to the point that the vision and culture of whatever they lead is healthy and truly represents the pure form of what inspired it in the first place. Ideas are great and can even inspire people in a moment, but vision requires a higher form of communication and commitment.  

A year ago I initiated Generation ONE as a local church.  It's the ministry platform that is being birthed by myself and a few others.  It represents a merge and planting of a new church in Rochester Hills, a school of ministry, and numerous global initiatives still in the research and development stages.  I shared some vision about Gen ONE with some friends/acquaintances at lunch today and they totally get it.  They didn't just agree that it was good, it resonated in their hearts. I could see it.  I've shared these things numerous times and I'm finding that lately something is shifting.  I'm either just getting really excellent at sharing my thoughts or my thoughts are just more impacting.  I began to ask myself if anything has changed in the language that I use to communicate this vision and my answer was no. I asked myself if the adjustments made in the last year would account for a different response and the answer was no.  So what's changed?

There's a level of sacrifice and commitment that comes as the undergirding of vision.

You'll find that even the same words can be used to share both ideas and vision but way less is expected when our words are surrounded by the expectations of "sharing ideas".  What it takes to see things change can be monumental responsibility at times and while most people have "good hearts", do they have good skills?  Do they have wisdom, character and virtue? As a follower of Jesus, an important question is do they value His presence over all things? Can they manage the tension of risk and security? What priority does God's will have in their decision making process? These attributes being developed and matured become the source of vision being believable when communicated.

I understand more today than I did a year ago about what it's actually going to take to make these ideas truly manifest on earth.  Not only have I begun to birth these things and take them on as commitments, but I continue to believe in the future of them as well which only requires increased responsibility.  I believe there is a partnership that is available with Christ that allows us to steward the dreams and inspirations He's placed in us.  While God initiates these things in the unseen place, it's our follow thru that allows them to manifest on earth.  I Corinthians tells us that it's God who brings the increase, but we plant and water.

It's an unprecedented time through out the world.  There's more insecurity for our futures than we've ever witnessed and it's demanding that those who can lead, do.  Leaders have a hope that is greater than their current reality because they see from this unseen place.  This hope, when centered on Jesus, is able to draw people not only into an encounter of believing something is possible, but also to compel them to lay down their life that progress would actually be produced from this inspiration.

So do your words just yield head nods?  Are you sick of your ideas being overlooked?  It's time to DO something.  Your commitment, sacrifice and follow through to what is in your heart will begin to bring the impact with your words you are looking for.  This will allow your vision to become a reality.  The progress of vision takes time and great commitment, but when others hear your heart and you've given up everything to see God's best...  they begin to see the best version of you, which is Him. He's hard to say no to.  

Sheepwalking 101

I was driving to the office this morning and found myself caught in a small road construction project.  I was turning left onto South Blvd (a 4 lane road) from the service drive of the M-59 exit ramp.  The inside lane of South Blvd was closed and had the notorious orange barrels blocking it.  The closed lane wasn't inhabited by any construction vehicles as the work was only being done in the median by a backhoe.

The interesting thing about the open lane was that it had three sections of the road removed and prepped for resurfacing.  The prep work was about 80% complete, but there was still a 2-3 inch dip that was noticeable.  They had heaped asphalt on the transitions to make for a pretty bumpy ride, but that's what they needed us to do... travel a road that was under construction.   The closed lane had no vehicles working on it... and the open lane had uncomfortable travel conditions.  Hmmm....

It was visually confusing unless you read the signs.

The leading vehicle at the stop light was a truck and it was four cars ahead of me.  It was obviously dusty, the color orange and had a big white decal.  When the light turned green, the truck turned left onto the open lane and then immediately veered between two barrels into the closed lane and continued down a ways.  The three cars behind the truck followed suit.

When is it ever a good idea to follow a construction truck thru barrels into a closed lane?

When the open lane is uncomfortable to drive on and the person leading you breaks the boundary.

The lane wasn't closed because it was being worked on, it was closed because the backhoe was swinging his bucket into the space and needed the liberty of knowing vehicles weren't needing to be accounted for.
I didn't follow suit.  I drove the road in front of me.  The open road.  The road that we were being asked to drive on and guess what... all the people behind me followed suit.

Outside of the awkward lineup at the next stop light 500 feet down the road, there wasn't any damage to vehicles... just a few damaged egos pulling out of the closed lane and trying to merge into a single lane, but how often do we find our selves acting like sheep being herded and just following the butt in front of us? Seth Godin in his book "Tribes" calls it sheep walking.  It's the art of not thinking and thus not leading.  It's the theory that if the person in front of you did it and didn't die, it must be the right way when all signs point otherwise.  Sometimes we just need to lift our head up and read the signs.

People are longing to be lead.  They will follow you on a road that is closed and they'll follow a leader that takes them down the road that has a few obstacles but ultimately brings you the destination that yields the most productive result.

What will you be?  A sheep walker? or someone who's willing to count the cost of being right or wrong, read, and make a good decision?  Everyone around you is looking for permission to do the right thing.  Be the first and watch the culture shift in your sphere of influence.