Unified Vision
Any team with members who do not understand or support the vision regarding the purpose of the team is going to fail. If you are a soccer player, who is a forward, showing up in goalie gear, something is terribly wrong. Or, even worse, showing up in football pads and determined to score a touchdown!
It sounds crazy, but it happens all the time in churches and even their leadership teams. The pastor has a vision, the administrative pastor has his vision, and that doesn’t even include the music minister, Christian education pastor, or even the head usher. Each with their own ideas of the direction for the church. It is the adage, “Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth” come to life.
Below are three simple guidelines to remember regarding a church’s vision:
- Pastors should communicate the vision God has burdened upon their heart clearly and work with leadership to set goals and map out the approach to accomplishing the vision.
- Church leadership should support the pastor’s vision and any disagreements handled privately. A church can be destroyed due to leadership inappropriately discussing their concerns with church laity.
- Church laity should labor with the pastor and leadership team to accomplish the vision. Questions, concerns, or disagreements with approach should be brought to leadership immediately. As with leaders, disgruntled laity discussing their concerns with one another and not the leadership will hinder the church’s vision.
Working Together In Unity
As a child of God, you and I are part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Each of us has talents, passions, and wisdom to offer the Kingdom (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11, 12), but we must work together to be successful. For example, a team can have a player with phenomenal talent, but if the athlete does not function in unity with other members of the team, winning becomes a lot more difficult, if not impossible. Dr. Tony Evans writes, “One of the elements of God’s rule is His heart for oneness, also known as unity. Unity can be defined in its simplest of terms as oneness of purpose. It is working together in harmony toward a shared vision and goal.”
For believers to operate in unity and to remain in unity, there are three Biblical principles we must apply to our lives.
- We are commanded to live in unity with one another (Ephesians 4:3)