Vision 101

In this bit, I have quoted Rick Joyner's book Leadership, The Power of a Creative Life; in particular, his chapter on cultivating vision (Ch. 12 pp 111-113) and then added some of the thoughts I was having while I was reading this.  The main reason I wanted to share this with you all is because cultivating and understanding how vision works is so crucial to the future of the Tri-state.   The scriptures are clear; "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18).  This means that if we don't know where we are headed, then we will probably end up nowhere. 

"Cultivating vision is a practical way that we can increasingly open our eyes to see beyond the things that are and see the way they could be."  This is a truth that we need to grasp for the Tri-state.  What do you see that no one else does?  What do you see that needs to be?

"...great leaders dictate the course of history...True leadership is born out of vision and strategy that is established firmly on the bedrock of conviction and purpose..." 

By this, Rick is saying that when we catch sight of what could be and what should be instead of what is, we can allow that to fuel our resolve to see our vision become a reality.  Change for the sake of change is pointless.  Change for good is okay.  Change for the best should be our goal.

"By definition, a vision is a concept that is not yet real.  The first step in formulating a vision is to simply start thinking about what could be rather than what presently exists.  This does take a certain amount of optimism; the critical and skeptical will seldom have visions or dreams." 

It is easy to weed out the skeptic among us.  The difficult, and much needed, thing for us to do is empower the skeptics to see and back the vision for a brand new Tri-state.  To do this, I think it will help to be aware of their hesitations, stop dismissing them and address them with patience and love.  Taking the, "Fine, I'll show you" approach only serves to create division.  There is no quicker way to "de-vision" a people than "di-vision".

"To be optimistic is no small feat...70% of the average person's thoughts are negative (thinking bad about something, someone, or expecting something bad to happen)...lives lived in bitterness fall well below their potential.  Only those who believe they can succeed will be encouraged enough to put forth the effort it takes to succeed...The most important step...is to start thinking the very best about everything and everyone.  EVEN IF WE ARE SOMETIMES WRONG,...it is better to err on the side of believing in others...This will open us up to disappointments, but there are things much worse than occasionally being disappointed--namely, failure to accomplish anything."

Rick went on to talk about how every event in our life will either make us bitter or better.  We are not talking about ignoring wisdom or overlooking warnings that are meant to protect us from failure.  But the negative thinking will cause us to see only warnings and then we become paralyzed.  In another chapter of this same book, Rick talked about how canoes can only be steered when they are in motion.  So even a canoe that is headed in the wrong way must continue to move forward in order to be corrected.  Those who are so afraid of failure will simply stop their canoe in desperate hopes that the canoes will either right itself or the direction they are going will suddenly become the right way.  That, I believe, is very similar to insanity.  In the very least, it is silly.  Fear of failure leads us to the very thing we fear.  What we should fear is not doing anything at all.  This will bring us to accomplishing many great things.

"We must always keep in mind that the accomplishment  of any significant vision will take significant people, and significant people will almost always need to be led in a positive way."

I am very encouraged by this statement in that I know the Tri-state is full of significant people.  In fact, I have not met one single person here who is insignificant.  Sure, there are those who are not living up to their potential who are being hindered by wrong choices and the negative bombardment of society and the enemy, but they matter and it is our responsibility to awaken them and put the salve on their eyes so they can too see what could/should be instead of the negative reality they find themselves in.

What is this great vision that I see for the Tri-state?  It is actually pretty simple and I fully believe that it came from God's desire for this region. 

I believe He wants a city of people that love Him more than they do any other. 

I believe that He wants Evansville and the surrounding communities to be known as a modern day City of Refuge (thus the name of this blog) where people from all around will come to find peace with God. 

I believe this will be manifested in several ways, from economic strength to emotional well being and even on to environmental purity. 

We may be known now as a place that is fighting to stay afloat economically in a nation that is falling apart, but we will soon be known as an economically strong city that will be a beacon to those who are hurting. 

We may be known as a city full of depression and one of the highest suicide rates in the country, but we will soon be known as a city of joy.  This joy will be so infectious that it will spread to the rest of our nation and even the world. 

We may now be known for ozone alerts and allergies galore, but we will soon be known as a place of pure, fresh and cleansing air.  So much so, that people will come from all over just to breathe our air, drink our water and enjoy our produce. 

Seem crazy?  Good. 

Otherwise, it would not be a vision worth having.  If we could do it easy, it would be done and I think we all can asee what has been done.

Let me leave you with this thought from Peter Drucker, a military strategist.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."