Look Up and Look Out?

Without a doubt, one of the most important roles of any leader, particularly a pastor, is to cast a vision for the people he leads. Jesus was the master caster of vision. In fact on one occasion, Jesus was talking to his disciples as they were out in the countryside, and he used his very surroundings to cast a vision we should all have every day as believers in the gospel of Christ: “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35, NIV).

One of the missing elements in the church is not just a passion for evangelism but also a vision for evangelism. Casting vision is, for the pastor, important and imperative. It is important that the vision be taught, and it is imperative that the vision be caught. This is very important to understand: a vision that is taught but not caught leads to a pipe dream; a vision that is caught and taught leads to a product. The product, in this case, is disciples, for this is what we have all been tasked to do: make disciples.

I have found that casting a vision begins always with the vision caster. That may sound redundant, but a pastor must realize this is the one thing he cannot delegate to anyone else. Your people will simply not see higher or further than you do. Read More