Steer

Chapter One

Map Your Destination... Know Where You Are Going

If you cannot clearly communicate the role, purpose, and destination of your organization,

you are cheating your organization and employees.

When I was called to be Lead Pastor at a church in the Midwest, I quickly found that the church had not embraced its vision statement and the staff was unsure of their goals. Amazing people of faith had come together to create a church, but there was no sign of a direction map for the organization. It is incredibly difficult and tiring to travel if you are not sure of your destination.

As we began our journey, we spent hours speaking about where we would invest time, energy and resources. Countless hours of prayer and dozens of giant sticky notes plastered the walls. After time, we discovered what our destination was going to be. It was exciting. Over the course of several months, we came together to put a metaphorical X on the map, and we decided to run hard to get there.

One significant and disheartening obstacle stood in the way. I likened the church to a four-door sedan. There is nothing wrong with a sedan; I have owned them. However, the church decided that its destination would require them to get dirty. This meant we wanted to do anything necessary to help with and meet the needs of people around us. We were convinced we were called to go off-road, to jump into the middle of a community — to partner with others and give over 20% of our income to the local needs and missions. This also meant jumping into neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and government agencies. It meant challenging families at every level. It meant demonstrating the willingness to partner with marriages in times of crisis and times of joys.

We wanted to do all of this while growing a passionate leadership team from fewer than 10 primary leaders to more than 150 adults from within the church who were engaged and passionate about where we were going. We wanted our purpose to sit in the heart of all, impacting there motivation and setting the course for others. For this to happen, we needed people to champion the vision, not simply memorize it.

It became clear to me that the four-door sedan was only going to take us so far. We needed a new vehicle. The sedan was efficient and cost-effective. It was fine for paved roads with only a few potholes, but not much more. Our church had been called to go off-road. We had been called to a greater purpose and vision than a small sedan could navigate. The terrain would be too difficult. Yes, modifications could help, but it would be limited. Sometimes new tires and louder speakers just don’t cut it.

So, after X months of working together and getting clarity around our destination, we found ourselves in the market for a new vehicle. We needed to be ready to travel any type of terrain that we encountered. We needed a Jeep with knobby tires and off-road suspension, chassis clearance, roll-bars, and 4-wheel drive. We had to be ready to climb a mountain.

For some organizations, the new vehicle represents new hiring practices, greater expectations, re-aligning budgets, new processes, changing staff and much more.

Two questions. First, do you know your destination? Your desired destination should be impacted by how you believe your organization can influence others.