Cast the Vision

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is one who keeps the Law. (Proverbs 29:18, NASB)

The Folly of Godly Leadership

Many godly, Christian, leaders are at risk of leading with sheer folly! Without even knowing it.

You see, these leaders, approach leadership with all the right intent: integrity, humility, equity, and a desire to do good for their organization and the people.

But the risk of foolishness impeding their leadership subtly sneaks its way in. This is when leaders fail to have a vision.

However, most leaders will say they do have a vision. This shows in the form of setting annual goals, reviewing mission statements, and achieving profitability. Which is necessary for effective leadership.

But there’s a subtle shift that needs to occur to help us avoid the folly of godly leadership. It’s a shift in where we place our focus for visions. This shift doesn’t eliminate the work mentioned above, but it establishes where the work actually begins.

The Wisdom of Godly Leadership

Godly leadership becomes wise when we start with God. Proverbs 29:18 tells us that without a vision, people are unrestrained and will perish. Therefore, we recognize that it’s imperative for all Christian leaders to have a vision. But we must make sure that our vision is a vision that comes from God.

A vision is not just limited to prophetic words from a prophet. Visions contain the words designed to shape an organization, its work, and its people. Visions are words of instruction, helping those who follow it to be transformed.

Before we do the work of goal-setting, establishing missions, and more, the godly leader needs to take time to sit with God. We must seek God to understand His vision for the people we are serving, the people we’re working with, and the organization we’re building. This applies even if we’re middle managers, leading one ministry within a larger ministry, or leading a sub-committee.

Sit with God. Find out what He wants. Because everything that we do, in community with others, is designed to not only help us accomplish a goal, but to have a transformative impact on the people we work with and serve. In fact, we’ll also experience transformation.

Once we have clarity from God, we can begin the work of establishing and executing the vision. We begin with God to receive a heavenly vision for His will. We seek Him to know what He wants us to accomplish through our work, our ministries, our organizations. The heavenly vision becomes the foundation to the earthly work of goal and revenue setting. It becomes the basis of our mission work and establishes the purpose of our work.

A heavenly vision brings clarity, provides instruction and authority. It makes it easier to establish the earthly vision and targets we need. Heavenly visions reduce the amount of time spent doing, re-doing, and circling around the same ideas without forward progress!

Without a vision, people will become unrestrained. Maybe not like the wild, wild, west. But unrestrained, yes. We see this happening in two ways. The first way is that a lack of vision and instruction allows people to choose their own adventure. They will interpret direction, make decisions, and take action based on their own understandings. Which may or may not be in alignment with the overall vision or leader.

People will also begin to experience a fatigue that comes from spending enormous amounts of energy trying to figure things out. Many people want to do good at their work. And they will continue to persist even when a lack of vision makes it hard. However, after a time, fatigue sets in and people will begin to drift away from the leader, organization, or ministry.

The second way is that a lack of vision leads to perishing. This doesn’t necessarily mean death. But it could mean the loss of jobs, fewer people served, and a decreased impact on a community. All of this because the lack of a heavenly vision causes us to spend too much time spinning our wheels. And we lack the forward progress we could be making.

It’s also important to realize that everyone has agency as to how they respond to the vision. Some will reject it. Some will accept it.

Those who reject it are shaped. Their shaping causes them to let go of control and become rebellious towards the leader. They’ll have distrusting spirits. And will generally create unhealthy atmospheres and environments of dissent. Be ok with letting those go to find a vision they can accept.

Those who accept it are shaped. Their shaping causes them to have alignment with the vision. They will tend to be open towards the leader and willing to be obedient. And they are ultimately happy, or blessed, in God’s sight!

As leaders, the wisdom of our leadership begins with sitting with God to receive a heavenly vision. Doing this ultimately leads to people far beyond us being happy and blessed in God’s sight. This is not just having wisdom in leadership. But it’s also a responsibility for and a gift to the leader.

Here’s the flag indicating the folly of godly leadership: it’s when we don’t think or believe that there needs to be a vision from God for our secular work. Or the work that extends beyond traditional church work.

Listen to Jesus Culture sing about God being our vision:

Weekly Power Shifts

Power Shift 1: Where Does Your Vision Begin?

Reflection Question: Before you set your goals, review your mission, or plan for the year, have you actually sat with God to ask what He wants for the people and work you lead? Or does your vision-casting start and end with strategy alone?

• Your Action Step: This week, set aside 20–30 minutes to sit with God and simply ask, "What do You want to accomplish through this work?" Write down what you sense Him saying, even if it's just a phrase or an impression.

Power Shift 2: Are People Choosing Their Own Adventure?

Reflection Question: Look at how your team or the people you lead have been making decisions lately. Are they moving in alignment with a vision you've clearly cast, or are they filling in the gaps with their own understanding because clarity hasn't been given?

• Your Action Step: Identify one area where you've assumed people understand the vision but haven't actually said it plainly, or acted on it. This week, communicate it directly and treat it as instruction they can act on versus as a nice-to-have.

Power Shift 3: What Is Your Vision Producing in People?

Reflection Question: As people respond to your leadership, do you see alignment, openness, and trust growing? Or do you notice dissent, distrust, or drifting? What might that reveal about how heavenly your vision is, and how well you're stewarding it?

• Your Action Step: Choose one person you lead who seems to be drifting or resistant. Instead of managing the behavior, ask God to help you see what's missing in the vision you've cast, and take one step this week to reconnect them to it personally.

Download a free printable reflection with Power Shifts for the devotional: Cast the Vision - Reflection Download

Lord, being a leader is an honor and we thank you for allowing us to lead in the ways and spaces in which you’ve called us. Leadership is also weighty with responsibility. And we take that responsibility seriously. Forgive us when our attention naturally drifts to establishing goals and missions from an earthly perspective first, and then praying about them second. Help us to right-size our approach to leadership so that we’re moving in the wisdom of your vision. May we trust you to give us a vision and then to accomplish it. We ask to be part of the conduits and vessels you use to ultimately bless the people we lead and serve. May the visions you give us create happiness and blessings for others. Amen.