The King James Version of Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Any company, organization or ministry would know just how important a vision is to growth and development.
Vision is more than just a picture that we paint; it is what we put together so that bigger groups have something to run toward together. On many occasions, a leader's ability to paint a solid and strong vision is what makes or breaks an organization or an individual's success.
But is vision enough? Leaders -- both in ministry and in corporate fields -- have indicated the grand importance of vision, but is it really enough for leaders to get results and objectives done? We all know that the answer is no.
There is so much more to success and growth than having a clear-cut vision, although a vision does accomplish a lot. While there is so much more needed in creating both worldly and spiritual success, what I would like to really point out today are just three of the many things we need to support vision -- communication, values and action.
Communication
When Moses was called by God to lead Israel out of slavery, his immediate concern was his communication ability. We all know that that was an excuse; however, it was a legitimate one, so God gave Moses Aaron to communicate for him.
Vision is no good unless a leader knows how to paint the picture for others to see. It may all be in our heads, but until it is translated, people will not catch a vision.
Values
If a vision is where we want to be, values give us a roadmap of how to get there. Values are the vehicles that drive us from point A (where we are) to point B (where we want to be). Values must be clear for decision-making and mobilization to be effective.
When values are clear, we know when to drop people off from the team, we know what budgets need to be cut and what need to be increased and we know where to make changes when changes are necessary.
Action
Joel A. Barker once said, "Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes time."
Even God knows that vision without action is dead and commands us in James 1:22, "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves." The same way faith without action is dead, so is vision. When we make visions without action, the Bible is pretty clear with our outcome -- we'll end up fooling ourselves.
