This is an edited version of notes taken from the live blog of the Auxano Houston co::Lab Session #6. All coaching sessions took place at Gateway Community Church in Clear Lake, TX with Vision Coach, Will Mancini.

The Primary Objective: To define Vision Proper, explain how to cast vision and discuss how to use the Vision Frame in ongoing visioning and planning work.

Vision Proper defined

Vision Proper is the living language that anticipates and illustrates God’s better intermediate future.

The importance of living language is that the vision is always a developing Polaroid picture.

Never static. Always evolving.

Vision Proper is not a vision statement. It is a new dynamic vocabulary. It anticipates and illustrates your future.

We listened to Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream.” The full text here.

Casting vision

Vision is not to be confused with mission. Mission gives direction and integrates activity. Vision inspires sacrifice and creates energy.

There are two types of vision. Qualitative and Quantitative.

Qualitative vision comes first to the leader. God reveals a picture of the future that captures the leaders imagination and affects his heart. The leader can’t contain it and shares it with others.

Quantitative vision expresses milestones used by the leader to focus the people on measurable checkpoints. Benchmarks set to inform the people of their progress toward reaching the mountaintop.

Metaphors are used to connect people to the vision. Vision ought to be like a conk shell at the beach. When you’re not there, it can be picked up and heard.

Jesus used metaphors to communicate. As one co::Lab participant pointed out, “The language of everyday images and stories used by Jesus would have been perfectly understood by His disciples and the people around Him.”

There are six essentials to casting vision effectively.

1. Common Denominator – An emotional connection based on shared history.

2. Burning Platform – People will not be emotionally connected to your vision unless they have been previously connected to the problem the vision is addressing.

3. Golden Tomorrow – The promise of a better world in which people will want to live. How will the vision sound to people that get great satisfaction from spending Sunday’s sleeping in, reading the paper, enjoying relationships with others, having brunch and resting?

4. Wake-up Call – Creating urgency and inducing action. In contemporary terms, The Jack Bauer Factor of articulating Vision Proper. The “NOW!”

5. Mind Stretch – Find an idea, a cross functional initiative, that everyone joins together to accomplish at the same time. “I would throw away a notebook full of plans, objectives and strategies any day, in exchange for one milestone that everyone buys into.” Will Mancini

6. God Smile – Clarifying the biblical basis of the vision and showing how God’s heart is pleased.

Using the Vision Frame for ongoing visioning

Vision Proper lives within the Vision Frame – mission, values, strategy, measures. The Vision Frame provides boundaries for what will be an unpredictable journey. Changes are going to occur.

With the Vision Frame in place, team members will be able to contribute ideas and insights of their own that will complement the actions of the leader. There is room for all the leadership roles of Ephesians 4:11. The entire team has a common starting point and vocabulary adaptable to their individual gifts.

Every day brings vision-casting opportunities. In regular patterns for church at large. Every time leaders meet. When making changes such as multiplying a small group. Every time people are considering membership. Every time you introduce change. Every time you recruit a volunteer.

Leaders must help their teams to live vision daily. This one of the seven things I learned about casting vision during co::Lab, shared in my previous post. A transforming insight.

Thanks Will, Cheryl and Jessica for a great co::Lab. Enjoyed being with everyone and tracking together on vision clarity. Blessings on next steps!! –Andy Sytsma, New Life Church

The Auxano Houston co::Lab has inspired four previous posts: Pursuing God’s Vision for Technology in the Church; Finding Your Church’s Sweet Spot; Digital Missions: What Do You See? and Whose Vision is it Anyways?

In the final hours before our last session (that will be live blogged), I have been reflecting on what I’ve learned about casting vision.

Vision-casting was not new to me prior to co::Lab. Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I’ve participated in vision planning retreats many times.

I was fairly comfortable with the process.

Where have we been? Where do we want to go? What will the future look like when we get there? Creating vision statements. Writing a strategic plan.

co::Lab reminded me that we should always leave room for continuing education on any subject.

This is especially true when God gives a leader new insights on that subject. During co::Lab, Will Mancini shared with us his original approach for discovering and articulating vision.

Here are seven things that I learned about casting vision during co::Lab.

1. God is the source of all true vision for the local church (and for individuals).

2. God’s vision is unique.

3. Activities, programs and personalities do not equal vision.

4. Discovering uniqueness requires a systematic process.

5. Preparation – praying, learning and discerning what God is doing – is more important than planning.

6. Clarity and simplicity are new imperatives for the Digital Age.

7. God’s unique vision is a lifestyle to be lived daily.

During session five of co::Lab, I journaled in real time for the first time using ScribbleLive.

The last entry from the live blog that day was “Wherever there is great ministry results you will find that people have been intentional in how they work and think.”

co::Lab gave me the opportunity to observe this principle in action.

The intentionality of the Coach and his team. Will and his Auxano team are spearheading a movement for radically changing how the church identifies and expresses God’s unique plan. This is a unified team. They love Christ. It has been a privilege to spend these months together. Participating in co::Lab was a great opportunity. I am grateful.

The intentionality of the Leaders. My fellow co::Laborers were some of the most humble, interesting, on fire pastors and leaders anywhere. It was energizing to watch these men and women focus on discovering God’s unique plan for their churches, their congregations and their own individual lives. I will continue to pray for them.

The co::Lab sessions and collaboration with church leaders provided me with an excellent education about daily church leadership. I’ve learned a lot about the importance of vision integration, particularly as it relates to my own area of focus with New Media and communication technologies.

I knew the co::Lab sessions would come to an end. Though, as I’ve learned, living a lifestyle of visionary leadership is a daily journey that is just beginning.

Postscript: God is using co::Lab and Church Unique to redefine vision with catalytic clarity. I highly recommend Will Mancini as a leader and Auxano as an organization.

When I participated in Auxano’s co::Lab, vision coach Will Mancini led us on the “Vision Pathway” toward a lifestyle of visionary leadership.”

By definition, a lifestyle affects relationships, actions and how things get done.

That makes the source of vision, from which the lifestyle gets its meaning, very important.

Working with Will, I learned three truths about visionary leadership:

Principle #1: All true vision comes from God. “Then the Lord said to me,’Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.’” (Habakkuk 2:2)

Almighty God is the source of all true vision.

God alone wants to reveal His plan for our churches, our ministries, our businesses, and our lives. Not only that, His message is to be assembled in such a way that it can be clearly articulated to others.

From the outset in any major undertaking, there is to be no mistake about the origin of the vision.

Principle #2: God alone enables us to see His vision. “I could not do anything of my own accord.” (Numbers 24:13)

Self centeredness defeats clarity when seeking God’s vision. Leaders must subordinate every desire, every dream, every whim in order for the Lord’s vision to break through. Staying spiritually fit will keep us out of mental fog.

Humility allows the Spirit to confirm in our hearts and minds that the dream or plan is from the Lord, and not something we have conjured up on our own.

Principle #3: The ability to think about or plan toward God’s future takes His wisdom. “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” (Proverbs 4:11)

God told Solomon that he could ask for anything and it would be given to him. Solomon asked for wisdom. That may be the number one prayer request of leaders today. God give us wisdom to _____.

Only the Creator of the universe can give us a mental image followed by an understanding of the pathway toward the splendid future He has planned.

Identifying enemies of the vision

It might seem obvious for a Christian leader to say God is the source of all true vision. After all, He is also the author of every true value and every right principle that guides our lives.

What is not always so clear, is identifying the enemies that can cloud our ability to see God’s grand picture. Entrepreneurial leaders are constantly coming up with the new: new ideas, new ways of doing things, new directions, new avenues of growth.

But here’s the thing. The new may be good, but it may not always be best.

In the past year, we have been working with a team of very talented and dedicated digital warriors on a large project.

There have been a few times when our good ideas just didn’t seem good enough to move us forward. The Lord had brought us to a place where to demonstrate that the vision was His, and that He was in control, we needed to agree that we would not take another step until He showed us the best path forward.

We had to put ourselves in a place where either God showed up or we would bow out. By letting go of our good, and waiting for His best, we were saying, “Lord it’s your vision. Lead us.”

His vision, His way

When we subordinate our good for God’s best, even if it means the deal is off, we will experience a greater intimacy with the Creator than if we pushed ahead on our own. What plan, no matter how grand it is, can be better than that?

When we let God carry His vision, His way, we will experience victories over all enemies, foreign and domestic, bent on thwarting our dreams and spiritual lives. We will see the One who called us, the One who is faithful, and the One who will complete the vision.

We will see with a clarity that will completely redefine how we lead others forward with vision.

Question: What is your biggest obstacle to living a lifestyle of visionary leadership?

During a recent study of church consulting leaders, I was introduced to Will Mancini, clarity evangelist and founder of Auxano, a firm that guides churches in the area of vision. I got in touch with Will to learn more about his process and to share my passion for pursuing God’s vision for technology in church.

This year Auxano launched Vision co::Lab, a learning community of pastors and church leaders that meets one day a month over a six month period to focus on the process of defining and communicating vision.

Expressing interest in the Vision Pathway principles and coaching strategy for teaching them, the door opened for me to participate in the Houston co::Lab.

Five reasons I am looking forward to participating in this unique learning environment:

1. Remarkable concept. I was hooked after reading Will Mancini’s book Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture and Create Movement. The approach boils down to this: God has given every local church a unique DNA. During Vision co::Lab, we will learn what it takes to discover, develop and deliver what God has uniquely created each church to do.

2. Reputation of the coaching team. Auxano has guided hundreds of churches through the vision pathway & trained thousands of leaders, including the team at Oak Hills Church, San Antonio. Having gone through the process, Pastor’s Max Lucado and Steve Dye called the approach “the missing link to all the chatter regarding church strategy.” We will be learning from the best of the best.

3. Relationship with the participants. It is always an honor to meet and interact with men and women of God. Listening to stories of faith and hearing about ministry dreams will be inspirational and instructive.  Through collaboration – ongoing dialogue, sharing knowledge and ideas – we will learn as a team how to apply a new visioning process to our individual mission assignments.

4. Recreating the role of technology in church. Thousands of churches are in position to adapt sophisticated communication technologies to The Great Commission mandate. The churches that do so will need to develop a “technology strategy” to be most effective. I recently wrote a blog post about the idea of Digital Missions initiatives. Churches will need to determine what technology tools fit and how to best align those tools with their vision. Through the thinking and processes behind Church Unique, I look forward to learning how to help churches develop a holistic approach for integrating technology into their central strategy.

5. Recognizable terrain. In the interest of total disclosure, Houston is my hometown. We have three daughters in the area and family throughout South Texas. I never pass up an opportunity to come home. I hear that familiar territory creates an environment more conducive to learning. That’s my story anyway. Being a native will also be useful to the group. When anyone mentions “Pico de Gallo” I’ll understand what’s being said.

“AH-HA” Moments

Speaking about a team pulling their unique vision together, Mancini says, “I wish you could see the delight on leaders’ faces, and hear the “ah-has” as a team crystallizes their Church Unique with stunning clarity. I am not sure there is a more exhilarating moment in leadership.”

Pursuing God’s vision for technology in church led to my taking this six month journey of discovery with the Auxano team and outstanding group of church leaders. As I reflect on how the opportunity came about; the privilege I will have in making new friends; and the possibilities of how God might work through these intersections in the future, I am humbled. And, having a pre-co::Lab “ah-ha” moment of my own.

Praying for everyone involved.