By George Bullard
Is a vision best when written or best when experienced? Yes, and it depends. But, let’s go deeper.
Think about your dreams during your sleep last night. Yes, you dreamed, but you may or may not remember them. If you do remember did you dream in pictures or words? Did you interact with people or a script you were reading?
Of course your dreams were pictures, experiences and interactions. It was not a script you were reading. First you see pictures or something that is a metaphor for something else, often you interact with people in pleasant or unpleasant ways, but you are not reading a script.
Dreams and visions are cousins. When you imagine a vision is it words or a statement you are imagining? Or, is it an experience or a picture of a destination? Is it a metaphor of some type that represents your vision?
A recent congregational client expressed their vision using the metaphor of a pizza. The crust, the sauce and the cheese each meant something of significance about the future story of the congregation which represented their vision. It was important that people saw the metaphor before they ever saw the words of the future story that was a narrative of the vision. In this case they could almost smell and taste it.
Too many people believe vision is a statement. It can be. It is often not, at least at first. Generally the very best visions are experienced first, and then at some point when they mature are written down for sharing. I believe that how the New Testament came to us is one way to look at the coming of vision and whether it is written or experienced.
The New Testament, especially the Gospels, was experienced, the stories were told and then when a written record was needed for accuracy, retaining the stories and sharing the experiences, it was placed in writing. Vision is best experienced first, and later written for clarity and sharing.
Also, many statements that are called vision are actually very general, generic statements that better fit the category of mission. Any written vision statement needs to be able to be experienced as unique for your congregation.
Here are two vision insights that focus on the subject of a written vision statement versus vision being experienced. The first 34 vision insights about congregation vision are contained in the posts found here.
Vision Insight 35: Any similarity between the typical committee-developed vision statement and true vision is purely accidental.
Committees write statements, create mottos and, too often, emulate something they have heard or seen elsewhere. They also confuse vision with mission which is easy to do as mission has so many meanings and applications.
Committee-developed visions are often words rather than experiences, pictures or metaphors. The words may represent a negotiated compromise for everyone to feel good about it. Seldom are the words sharp, captivating and representative of the passion of a large number of people in the congregation.
Even if well-crafted, a vision statement belongs primarily to the crafters and must be sold to the congregation for there to be any reasonable depth of ownership of the vision. Ownership of the vision is three-fourths of the needed effort to create a congregation that is captivated by God’s vision.
Some of the best vision statements are the ones congregational participants develop as their personal elevator speech that conveys the essence of the spiritual strategic direction of the congregation. As long as their elevator speech is compatible with the general understanding — even the wording — of their congregational vision they is perfect for them to use.
Vision Insight 36: Vision is not so much written as it is experienced. Vision must be sensed and experienced rather than read or heard.
Vision must ooze out of as many congregational participants as possible as they give their full heart, soul, mind and strength to the current vision as one part of the journey to fulfill the overall mission of God in the fellowship of their congregation in their community context.
Yes, we eventually need vision in a written form to remind us as to what the words are and how they fit together. Yes, we need it in written form to initially share with others who ask about it. Yes, we need it in written form to create a consistent pattern. It is even all right to memorize it.
More than all of this we need to experience vision in our own lives and ministries as Christian individuals and as congregations. We must be able to talk about vision as a feeling and not just a thought. It must be a personalized story more than a written statement.
This is the 15th in a series of posts on congregational vision. To see all the posts go here. Look for the next post, entitled “Just like the New Testament, congregational vision is experienced then written.”