Prayer for the Week of 2/14/2016: VISION
My prayer for pastors this week is for clarity of vision — vision for your life, for your family, and for your ministry.
So many of us labor in ministry, serving our churches and serving our communities, yet we have no idea who we truly are. I’m not even talking about it from a low self-esteem standpoint. I mean we serve God diligently, we serve God’s people faithfully, and we preach God’s word without knowing what unique value we bring to the kingdom.
Our specific skill set, our likes and dislikes, our passions, and even our quirks and idiosyncrasies all factor into not just who we are individually, but how we show up in the world and how we make the world better because of how God created us. We must protect and feed our individuality and the vision for our individual lives at all costs.
It appears, at least on the outside looking in, that it is very difficult to have a successsful ministry with a jacked-up family life. If charity begins at home, if the family is truly our first ministry, then not only must we show up for our families with as much passion and fervor as we do for our churches, but we must also have some measurable goals for our families.
What is our vision for our marriages? What is the vision for our children? These questions are critically important, regardless of your (and your children’s) stage in life. Satan is out for our families, for he knows if he can jack our families up, then our focus on ministry and thus our effectiveness therein will be compromised. We must fight for and protect the vision for our families with all our might.
What is the vision for your ministry? Where is God taking your church, and how is your leadership helping to make it happen? What is your church’s DNA, and how does it affect the way you do kingdom business? What has God specifically said to you about your congregation and what you all can do for your community? What will your ministry look like when you and your church family are fully walking forward together in all God has called you to do?
Your denomination or organization has a motto and/or mission/vision statement, but how has God uniquely anointed your church to live up to those statements?
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take an extraordinary human being to be a visionary leader. Vision is not limited to the genius, to the charismatic personality, to the popular leader, to the grizzled veteran with decades of experience.
Vision is for every leader, young or seasoned, introvert or extrovert, regardless of the size of your congregation or social media following. You need a vision for your ministry, and I pray for clarity of thought in crafting that vision and authority of action in executing it.
This post is super late, but my prayer for every pastor the rest of this week is that vision would come forth in your lives and in your ministries. I pray that no negative thought, sentiment, or action deter you from the vision God has spoken over you this year and beyond. May none of the distractions we typically face in ministry veer you off course as you boldly pursue all God has for you.
Vision is everything, and my prayer for you is that your vision concerning the things that are most important to you would be clearer now than they’ve ever been.
RELATED:
Scripture: Genesis 37–50; Habakkuk 2:2, 3; Proverbs 29:18
Podcast: A Unique Approach to Casting Church Vision — Rainer on Leadership: http://cylar.me/1QiVz0h
Podcast: How Vision Affects Productivity — This is Your Life with Michael Hyatt: http://cylar.me/1LrAyJc
#PrayForYourPastor
Originally published as a Facebook post.
A former pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Marcus A. Cylar is an editor, writer, digital strategist, and speaker. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit and is the author of Rebuild: A 12-Part Framework for Rejuvenating and Restoring the Burnt-Out Pastor. He is currently working on his second book, #PrayForYourPastor, to be released in 2017. Dr. Cylar and his wife, Chariece, are consultants helping churches, nonprofits, and small businesses organize more intentionally, communicate more effectively, and use technology with greater savvy.
