Following a Vision to Go to the Other Side of the Hill – Part I

Have you ever seen the need to get something done? Maybe it involved using new technology. In your mind, it was a simple process – you simply needed to do steps A, B, C and D and, with a snap of your fingers, you would have it done!

That’s when you realize it will never happen. Why? Because of all those darned committees and all the people who will say: “No, you can’t do that because ….”

We’ve all run into this. Perhaps you’ve experienced a situation where a visionary leader might say something like: “God has given me a vision to do X. Come on, let’s do it,” but then turn the project over to someone else and move on to the “next big vision.” In a church, it might be a lay leader or staff person to whom the vision’s implementation is delegated. But, while that “go to” person might have organizational responsibility to make the project happen, he may lack the authority to seek and retain active participation by other staff/key volunteers. Thus, without the active, engaged support of the senior pastor, the project will die – either because it is never really born, or because it will be born with “special needs” and be a source of frustration and criticism once it is half-heartedly launched.

What can we do to increase the likelihood that the project will be born with a vibrant, healthy start – and grow into the vehicle for ministry we believe God wants it to become? I believe there are four key attributes that are required if we are to take a vision and “go to the other side of the hill.” These steps are:

1. The visionary leader needs to be able to see the big picture. He needs to be able to see "the other side of the hill."

2. The visionary leader must be able to explain to his followers the steps needed to get from this side of the hill to the other side of the hill.

3. The visionary leader needs to be able to help each person involved in the project see how what they do makes a difference in getting to the other side of the hill.

4. The visionary leader needs to find a way to create a vehicle that we can climb on to so we can go to "the other side of the hill."

Today, I’d like to begin this four-part article by examining the first step.

The Internet and Seeing the Other Side of the Hill

I love the movie, Braveheart, for its richness in applied leadership principles. For William Wallace, the “Other Side of the Hill” is the place where the Scottish people have gained their freedom and where they have a country of their own. Now, having freedom and “a country of our own” is an example of an intangible goal. We know it when we see it, but it’s hard to describe what the end product will look like. In the same way, using the Internet to do ministry presents us with an intangible goal.

Back when the Internet was new, churches began to ask: “How can we use it?” One idea was to move from having church newsletters/communications pieces that could be delivered electronically, rather than via the mail. Conceptually, this vision might consist of the following items:

1. Allow members to sign up to receive information/flyers on specific ministries in which they are interested.
2. Allow outreach committees to notice when non-members participate in church ministries (i.e., youth sports, church day care, church school, etc.) and reach out to include them in other aspect of church life.
3. Provide a communications tool, especially in large churches with multiple services where it is difficult for everyone to get to know each other.

A visionary leader might be able to see clearly what the “other side of the hill” looks like – in this case, an interactive web/communications platform. One challenge the visionary leader might face is that he doesn’t have the skills to accomplish the details – and must recruit someone who does have those skills. At this point, it is both natural and desirable to delegate this to another person, or group of people. A trap into which any organization can easily fall, however, is to simply “hire someone” (either a staff person or an outside vendor) and say to them: “This is what we need, now go do it.” In the mean time, the visionary leader moves on to the “next” project, with the mistaken belief that the project that just got delegated will happen.

Here’s the problem: If the individual tasked with the responsibility of making the vision happen does not receive the support of the visionary leader, he will lack the authority to carry out his responsibility. The more people with whom he must interact - especially if it is a large scale vision - the more critical it is that the visionary leader be engaged. Taking our example of implementing web based communications, various ministry leaders will need to be involved. Here are some potential things they may be asked to do – and some possible objections that might be raised to justify their reluctance to participate fully:

Things that Might be Needed

1. Provide content for the web based communications pieces in electronic format.
2. Deliver content on a regularly scheduled basis so that we can produce communications pieces that reflect all the ministries in our church.
3. What are the goals of the ministry – how can we do a better job of communicating what we are doing to reach more people for Christ.
4. Consolidate email lists of people who utilize various ministry opportunities in our church.

Objections that Might be Raised

1. I don’t like to type. I write everything in pencil.
2. I don’t have time to write what you need on your schedule and get it to you by a certain date. I haven’t had to do that in the past- and I don’t have time now.
3. Nobody’s ever written out a “mission statement” for my ministry area. What if I don’t like what they come up with – or can’t do what is being asked?
4. I’ve worked hard to build my list of volunteers/people who participate in the ministry I run. I don’t want others to “steal” my volunteers.

Hopefully, you’ll never run into these types of barriers to cooperation. Never-the-less, such barriers do exist. In many church/volunteer intensive organizations, the person tasked with responsibility for implementing the vision does not have the authority to make it happen. Therefore, without the engaged encouragement of the visionary leader, the project will likely fail to “launch” – or to “launch” half-heartedly.

That’s why it’s not enough for the visionary leader to “see the other side of the hill.” He also needs to address the second of four principles if the journey will prove successful. The visionary leader must:

2. Explain the steps needed to get from this side of the hill to the other side of the hill.

This will be the subject of Part II of this article.