How do you get vision?

Last week I asked the question, "how do you get vision?" I had several responses and a few of them were serious - well actually one was serious - the only person to respond that wasn't a pastor!

I realize that vision cannot be given to you in a book or program. The shelf life of that type of vision will be about as long as the next book or program. Just about the time you buy into a program and start to communicate it as the gospel - Bill Hybels comes out and says, "I was wrong!" Not that it ever happened to me (more than 3 times)

Thom Rainer, author of Simple Church and President of LifeWay Resources will be at Camp Warren on April 16th from 10-4 leading "Simple Church" Conference. I hope you will register for the event. More than anyone else, Thom helped me learn how to shape mission and vision and discipleship. Register here

Vision is a revelation that comes through study, prayer, dialogue, knowing your community, observing what God is doing...among other things. Here are a few questions that I have been using to help churches work through visioning discussions.

Pre-Vision Process Questions
What vision has preceded us in this church’s history?
What are our five-year trends?
What is our current state?
What is happening around us including other churches?
From what do our current members base their identity?

Vision Questions
What can we do better than 100 other churches?
What are we ultimately supposed to be doing? (mission)
Why do we do what we do? (values)
How do we do what we do? (strategy)
When are we successful? (measures milestones)
Where is God taking us? (vision + milestones)

Vision Rollout Questions
How will be build internal awareness of the new vision?
How do we create understanding and appreciation of the new vision at every level?
What common questions will need to be answered when the new vision is communicated?
What tools and resources need to be in place when the new vision is communicated?
How do we create urgency when rolling out the new vision?
How will we remind people that this is God’s vision?

Vision Integration Questions
Who is ultimately responsible for aligning and advancing the vision?
How will the vision be integrated into developing leadership?
How will the vision be integrated into intentional communication?
How will the vision be integrated into duplicatable processes?
How will the vision be integrated into compelling environments?
How will the vision be integrated into conscious culture?

Let me know if you add to these questions or if you have other ideas.  These questions came from Will Mancini (Church Unique)