C3

Introduction
One of the things as a Pastor, communicator, leader and coach that I have wrestled with for years is the way in which we develop something of significance and meaning - a vision - something far greater than ourselves. What's more and looking far beyond the development of any one particular thing or vision is the importance of helping others engage in creating and adopting vision.

Something that I have developed inter personally over the years, as a tool for greater retention and learning is an ability to create acronyms, acrostics and the like. I love the idea of word association. I thrive on 'silly sayings' and rhymes. Call it the right-brained or creative side of me; it just makes since.

In regards to our ministry here at Oregon City Evangelical Church and the incredible opportunities we have to experience God and create effective ministry together, I have been thinking through ways of getting others on board and involved. This article is simply my thoughts on paper - an attempt at articulating what I have found to be 3 things that I think are vital for us as we work together to accomplish the ministry God has given us responsibility over. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am enjoying thinking through it.


C3 & Me

Vision
Why is vision important? What's the purpose? How do we go about ideating, creating and implementing vision? These are all great questions; questions that I have wrestled with for years. The late-great Yogi Berra once said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there."(1)

Vision is the ability to see beyond ones' self, to spot potential and create means to attain vision. And although I am no author, scholar, and certainly no academic or creator of the DATA or Dictionary According To Andrew, I do think that I have a pretty healthy grasp of what vision is, at least in my own life.

Below are three practical steps that I've developed as a system for myself in helping me do something with the visions in my life. These are my thoughts, expressions, and are based on personal experiences and reflections.


Create vision
I believe that God gives each one of us various gifts and unique expressions of self as well as varied experiences; and by putting the pieces together, it creates a wonderful and beautiful Mosaic - a combination of diverse elements forming a more or less coherent whole (2). While recognizing the importance of a leader's role, leaders such as a CEO, Director, President, Chair, etc; we would be remiss not to mention the importance of involving others when it comes to creating vision. A quote that I once read on the subject of leaders incorporate other leaders suggests that, Leaders experiment and take risks, listening to those around them. Those who challenge the process know a good idea when they hear one. Because failure is inherent in risk taking, leaders learn to accept disappointments and move forward. (3)

Lesson-learned: A team approach to creating vision is key.

Cast vision.
If you are prone to day dreaming or love getting lost in your thoughts, if you are like me and you love thinking about the possibilities of what could be, then creating vision probably won’t be too much of a stretch for you. It's the next step that I believe we have to develop in route to making our vision a reality. It's the process of communicating or casting our vision. Beyond communicating our vision, I believe it is equally as important to do so in a way that makes since and is easy to engage, accept and adopt. The problem is that at times we dream dreams and allow it to stop there, never allowing for more than a dream.

Lao-tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher once said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." And although I don't know much in the way of philosophy, I do find a great deal of truth in Lao's statement.

I believe in the importance of communicating or casting our vision. I believe in engaging others in thought and action. In comparison, much like a plant without water or nutrients will eventually wilt and die, so too will our visions eventually fade away without intentional words and other means of casting our vision.

Lesson-learned: Vision without casting vision is nothing more than a good idea.


Carry vision.
Have you ever had one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments in life where it seems as though everything comes together in your thoughts? For me, ah-ha moments are too few and far between. So when I have one, I try to make the most of it.

This summer, while speaking at a camp I uttered the words in context to my message, Passion without purpose is pointless. The statement was nowhere in my notes, mostly because I wasn't using notes. When I was done speaking I headed off to my room to write my epiphany down. Later that week while giving a talk on goal setting in relationship to the information learned while at camp, I was able to speak more directly to the statement and really elaborate on the idea. I had a great time with it.

The same is true in connection with carrying vision. It's one thing to create vision and all together entirely different casting vision. Without intentionality behind it, putting the rubber on the road, so to speak, there really is no point.

What I've come to understand is that carrying vision is not possible if one first does not have buy-in or ownership of an idea - thus, the importance of creating and casting vision with, in and through others. It's a team effort. It's a goal that can only be accomplished when everyone is working toward the same goal, direction and with the same end-result in mind.

I guess it can be summed up in one sentence, and so I leave you with this, Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. (4)

Lesson-learned: Passion without purpose is pointless.

(1) Yogi Berra - Baseball Hall of Famer. Father of Yogiisms.
(2) New Oxford American Dictionary
(3) Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge
(4)James Dean - American actor