Adapted from the message "Authentic Leadership" from a Purpose-Driven
Church Conference
Nothing starts happening until somebody starts dreaming. Every accomplishment started off first as an idea in somebody's mind. It started off as a dream. It started off as a vision, a goal.
Therefore, the first task of leadership is to set the vision for the organization. If you don't set the vision, you're not the leader. Whoever is establishing the vision and goals in your church is the leader of that particular church. A church will never outgrow its vision and the vision of a church will never outgrow the vision of the pastor.
So I want to challenge you to dream great dreams for God. The Bible says, God is able to do far more than anything we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes." Ephesians 3:20 (Living Bible)
That's an amazing verse. In it God tells us, "Think up the biggest thing you think I can do in your life, in your ministry, in your church, and I can top that; I can beat it."
So you need to ask yourself this question, "What would I attempt for God if I knew I couldn't fail?" Let that expand your horizons. Let it expand your dreams. Let it expand your vision into God's unlimited vision for your ministry.
But how do you find God's vision for your ministry?
When God reveals His vision for your ministry, the FIRST THING He shows you is the WHAT. He shows you what He's going to do. The big mistake - once God has shown you what He's going to do in your life and ministry - is to immediately run out and assume we can accomplish it any way we wish. So we go out and try to accomplish it under our own power, in our own way, and through our own efforts. And inevitably, we fall flat on our face, and it's then that we come crawling back to God.
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," we say. "What did I do? Did I miss the vision? You told me what You were going to do, and I went out and tried to accomplish it and fell flat on my face. Did I miss the vision?"
THE HOW
And God will say to you, "No, you didn't. You just didn't wait for PART TWO. I told you what I was going to do, but you didn't wait to find out HOW I was going to do it." God's HOW is always in the exact opposite way that you thought. You say, "I'll grow the church this way." And God will say, "No, let's do it my way" - because He wants the glory.
THE WHEN
Once you see the WHAT and the HOW you're still not finished. There's a THIRD PART of the vision - God shows you WHEN. The longer I walk with the Lord and the longer I'm in ministry, the more I'm convinced that God's timing is perfect. He is never a minute early; He is never a minute late; He is always right on time. And His timing is as important as the WHAT and HOW of His vision. You must wait for ALL THREE PARTS for God to work in your life.
