I was recently a part of an interview with a potential candidate for a staff position at my church.  The candidate had been a part of several churches- some successful, some doing ok, and a failure.  We asked him, “What was the difference between your experiences?  Why did some churches succeed where others failed?”

“Vision” 

When it was our turn to answer his questions, he asked, “What is your vision?”

He asked this of a different staff member, but this would have been my answer:

1.   Our vision at Forest Pointe is to lead people take the next step on their journey with Christ.  Specifically, we lead people to step up in a life of worship, step in through opportunities to grow and connect with others, and step out to serve those far from God.

2.   The lens with which we filter our vision is the family.  We want to lead children, students, singles, couples, and entire families on their next step with Christ.  We strive to be a resource to families so they can choose to live out the values God desires for them.

3.   Finally, our vision is focused on the big picture, which is our community and specific communities around the world.  We want to make such a revolutionary difference in these communities that thousands of people can feel our impact without ever having attended worship.  If Forest Pointe were to cease to exist in the next instant, we would want our community to miss us and wish we were still impacting them.

The vision is big.  It is so big you can’t always wrap your mind around it.  Sometimes it is hard for me to know how we are going to do it all.  (I would say that we can’t, but God can.)

But the how isn’t vision; it is strategy.  And the strategy of how we carry out the vision will be different five years from now or even one year from now.  There are some strategies we are looking at for the future that are exciting (e.g. buildings, multi-site, family worship experiences, creative processes, and specific initiatives are strategy).  However I am convinced that any (and every) strategy will fail unless we are faithful to the vision God has given us.

God’s vision for Forest Pointe has me totally pumped.  In fact, I don’t think of it as the church’s vision anymore.  It has so enthused me and captured my heart that it is mine; I own it.  I will be the most miserable person on earth if I don’t do something about it. 

My girlfriend, Shea, and I went driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Shea found Mt. Pisgah and said, “It’s only 1.5 miles to the top - want to hike?”  I said sure, thinking that I could handle a 1.5 mile hike.  Easy, right?

Which mountain were we going to be climbing?  I thought the trail was just to the small mountain on the right.  But as we continued to hike, I wondered if we might be going to the mountain with the tower on the left. 

Along the way, I wanted to quit several times.  Shea kept saying, “We are almost there, I still want to make it to the top!”  Of course I followed.  We eventually arrived at the top and found …

I was right.  Shea said that had she known we would be hiking all the way to the tower at the beginning, she wouldn’t have even tried.  I wouldn’t have made it to the top without her because I would have quit in the middle of the journey.  By the way, do you see where we parked?  Yes, way down there …

Life is full of mountains to climb.  Things aren’t always easy.  All of us want to quit at some point.  But when we support each other, we are able to see something beautiful. 

I haven’t posted in a while because I took some time off.  This weekend I had Sunday off and was able to learn a lot from a visit to Kinetic Church.  I had heard so many good things about it that I decided it was worth it to brave race traffic to attend (it is in Concord, home of the Coca-Cola 600). 

It was awesome!  The crowd of folks were friendly and I felt welcome as a first time guest.  The music was great!  I normally have duties on Sunday mornings, so it was a great change of pace for me to be able to take a break and not have my normal responsibilities.  The Pastor, Dave Milam, was very inspirational and real.  If I lived in Concord, Kinetic would be the place I would attend.

No, every post is not going to be about vision.  I just happen to see a common thread in the books I am reading.  This is one from the book Nuts! by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg.  It tells of the Southwest Airlines story.

Southwest Airlines’ secret recipe for success is really no secret at all.  In fact, the ingredient that has catapulted Southwest to the top of the industry is simple, elegant, and well publicized:  discipline.  Throughout its existence, Southwest has consistently adhered to a clearly defined purpose and a well-thought-out strategy for accomplishing it.

“Most companies fail in their growth because they don’t have a vision,” Putnam (a former Southwest President and CEO).  “They don’t know where to go.  When you have a vision and someone comes to you with some convoluted idea, you can hold it up to the vision and ask, ‘Does it fit?  Does it fly?  If not, don’t bother me.’”

Even at the height of its success, Southwest exercises the discipline not to stray from its strategy.

I love the Southwest story because it stood up to the airline industry and proved things could be done in a different way.  We wouldn’t have low fares today if it were not for Southwest.

Are we disciplined enough to stick to our purpose?  If we want to make a difference for the long term (i.e. eternal), then we must put in the hard work and be vigilant about sticking to the vision.

Here’s an excerpt from a book I’m reading called It’s Not What You Say … It’s What You Do by Laurence Haughton:

It’s hard to remember now, but back in the early nineties AOL was founded on the purpose we’re going to build a new medium as central to people’s lives as the television and the telephone, only more valuable.  That purpose helped Steve Case not only get extraordinary follow-through from employees (especially in the company’s treacherous early years) but to engage the assistance of as many as 16,000 volunteers a year …  Losing sight of that purpose as the company merged with Time Warner certainly contributed to AOL’s spectacular decline.  According to insiders, it became all about the money at the company instead of providing people with incredibly valuable and convenient technology tools.

AOL kept providing Internet services to customers.  It even continued to innovate.  But it declined so much that there is no more AOL in the Time Warner name.  Why?  It diverted the focus from the original vision of the company.

Churches and church leaders lose focus, too.  Most of the time we don’t even realize it.  We become enamored with possibilities or innovation so much that we forget to answer the questions, “Does this help us achieve our purpose?  Does this keep people focused on the vision?”

The church is lifeless without vision.  Vision drives us.  It energizes us.  It binds us together.  (Yes, it provides incredible force!)  When we lose focus of the vision, we lose the very reason that God created the Church.  We lose the power to change lives.  We have to manufacture passion when we should live in awe of God’s power unleashed in the body.  So is your vision clear?  Is it focused?  Most importantly, do your actions each day reflect God’s vision in your life?

Welcome to Strategic Pointe!