Planning

There is something quite theraputic in being able to plan. Now, on one level, that's kind of crazy to say...because planning can feel daunting and overwhelming. But on the other hand, we all need a direction, a point to head towards. Proverbs is right when it says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." I think this is as true for groups as it is individuals.

I certainly know the feeling when the pressing concerns of the immediate seem to bog down. The days, weeks, even months, when I have not engaged in much long term planning has dragged down everything else I try to do. That is one of the truths (and perhaps paradoxes) of leadership: to lead powerfully and with wisdom and excitement now, we have to always be thinking very intentionally about the future.

Here of late I've been facing the same challenge. Between charge conference, meetings, finances, short-term worship planning, visitation, sermon prep, getting things together for newsletters and bulletins, and all the other things that come to me throughout each day via phone, e-mails, etc., what has most energized me has been the far-out planning: thinking more intentionally about the format a multi-site congregation may take, attending the new church start conference in VA in November, being asked again to help with annual conference worship, etc., and just generally taking a few moments to look beyond the immediate (though those immediate things do need resolution and attention) helps keep me motivated. I suspect, then, that it truly is a very good question to ask a pastor (or any other leader) who is feeling burned-out and worn down, "What is your vision for the future?" on any number of levels. The ability to answer the question may help energize, and the inability to answer would be reflective of a deeper frustration that needs to be more fully addressed.

What is your vision for the future? This is the question that is also very timly in an election season. Indeed, it is a question we would all do well to ask ourselves daily, and certainly each time we make a major decision. What is your vision, and how does this or that action help (or hurt) your ability to see that vision come to fruition?