Guest Post | How’s Your VISION? by Jeff Crawford

Today, RonnieFloyd.com welcomes guest writer, Dr. Jeff Crawford. Dr. Crawford is the President of Cross Church School of Ministry and a Teaching Pastor at Cross Church.

Each summer for the last 12 years, I have either led or been involved in a staff advance experience for our ministry team and their spouses. We just got back from this year’s time away and a major theme that was brought to the table for our team was VISION.

VISION is the stuff of life in a church. The Bible says that where there is no VISION the people cast off restraint (Proverbs 29:18). That means where there is no VISION, people lose focus, they get restless, and things fall apart. I believe that the local church must have a compelling vision. Pastor, God has put it on you to be the primary vision caster for your congregation. It is on you to seek the face of God and to absorb from the Holy Spirit the unique vision the Lord has for your church. I believe that kind of VISION will energize, focus, and breathe life into all you do as a pastor and your church does as a Kingdom force in this lost world.

One thing I re-discovered on our recent staff advance is that if you are not spending a lot of time talking about and doing VISION, it is easy to forget what VISION looks like.

What does VISION look like?

• VISION is bigger than you.
• VISION must be biblically based.
• VISION is external, not internal.
• VISION thinks BIG, as in God-sized, as in only God can do this.
• VISION thinks FUTURE.
• VISION is about MORE.
• VISION is about REACHING.
• VISION is RISKY.
• VISION evolves as VISION is realized.

Let me challenge you to apply the above statements about VISION to your family, work, life, and yes, your church. The default position for all of us is to be internally focused on what we have now, “making it the best it can be.” This, of course, is necessary and you SHOULD be doing these things, BUT these things are not VISION, they are maintenance.

I encourage you to PRAY and ask God to give you a VISION for your life. God says that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).  If that is true and if we really believe that, then we need to think GREAT thoughts and dream BIG VISION, because no matter how big we dream or how big our VISION, we will never be able to out-do God!

Dr. Jeff Crawford

President, Cross Church School of Ministry
Teaching Pastor, Cross Church

@JeffCraw4d
@CCSchoolofMin