Leadership Principle #37: People can’t do their job if they don’t know what their job is.

Leaders must “write the vision.”

Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV “Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.””

Seems simple enough, but pastors and church leaders are sometimes weak when it come to recruiting for a ministry with very little guidance. The “training” is usually a sit-down discussion with no written guidelines, objectives, accountability, etc.

It is imperative that every person in your church or ministry that has been asked to serve, knows what is expected of them. If we think we can just soft-ball it to them, we are sadly mistaken. They are hearing something different than you are saying because they have different filters. Write the vision. If you don’t, they will “write” their own, and it usually will not look like what you have asked for.

The leader must cast the vision AND the process. You can’t have one without the other, or else you will promote frustration. Clear and simple instructions on how the ministry or department works is necessary. This provides the tools for a person to measure themselves as to whether or not they are accomplishing what is intended. And if you don’t know, then you are not the leader.

In the past I used to insist on lengthy job descriptions (I call them ministry descriptions) that covered way too much detail, and became counter productive. Now I strive to have an overview of everything on one page. If additional detail is needed, then fine. But they can know what is being asked by looking at just one page. The nuts and bolts are sometimes more involved.

There is a reason it is called “the work of the ministry.” Ministry requires work, preparation, planning, organizing, etc. Once you have done this, then you can enjoy the fruit of your labor.

God bless, George W. Black