Should You Share Your Vision?

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As leaders, one of our callings is to cast vision to those we lead. But, is there ever a time when we should not cast a vision…or, at the very least, the complete vision?

I was reminded during my reading this morning of Joseph and the ill-feelings he created between he and his brothers when he shared his vision. It only served to make them jealous and embitter them more toward him. He doesn’t get much of a better reaction when he shares it with his father.

As leaders, we must know when and how much vision we should cast. Sometimes, we would be better served to keep it to ourselves, at least for a while. Some good indications of when to hold back on vision is:

  • when your motive for sharing it is to brag instead of to build up
  • when those you lead are obviously not ready
  • when the vision is still not clear enough to communicate well
  • when the vision will do more harm than good
What are some other times you have found vision should not be shared?


Written by on November 28, 2011 and categorized under Impact

Are You Afraid to be Free?

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I remember the day I left home for college. It was a time of great excitement, of course…the turning of the page to a new chapter I’m my life. I was about to experience a freedom I had never known. But, there was also a cringe of apprehension…a nervousness about the uncertainty of stepping out in the unknown. For the first time, I would be completely responsible for myself. If I succeed, it’s because I worked for it. If I failed, I had no one I could blame but myself.

Have you ever felt like that? You knew you were stepping into a new arena of freedom…of purpose…of calling. You were excited about what lay ahead. But, at the same time, you were a little shaken by stepping out into the unknown.

God’s chosen people experienced a similar feeling. Having just been rescued from Egypt, there was a terrible fear that echoed through the crowd. They were free…but, they were afraid of their freedom. Time after time, you hear the people cry out to Moses to just let them go back to Egypt. They may have been slaves, but at least they knew what to expect.

It is so easy to allow our fear to keep us from enjoying the freedom that comes from following the voice of God as He leads us. We know we have victory because He goes before us…but, we’re too afraid of what it will cost us to take possession of that victory. So, what do we do? We fall back into the familiar…the safe.

The problem with playing it safe is that you never make it to the promise God has for you.



Written by on November 21, 2011 and categorized under Impact, Individuality

How Good Are Your Choices?

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Last year, I decided it was time to replace the TV in the living room. As I shopped around, in my mind, there were really only two options: plasma or LCD. My first flatscreen was a plasma, had lasted five years before I started having problems, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with that again. So, I opted for the LCD which has a longer lifespan. What I didn’t take into account is that the combination of the LCD’s softer, plastic screen and my then 2 & 3-year-old sons was not a good one. The result – a 2-week-old TV with scratches all over the front thanks to a plastic shovel and a little imagination.

Have you ever made a choice that you thought was right at the time but really didn’t end up the way you thought? All of us have. Don’t feel bad, though. You’re in good company. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, made an exceptionally bad choice. Wanting to give her husband a son and an heir, she gave him a servant girl as a substitute oven in which to place the bun. The result – a child that fathered a nation that is, to this day, the greatest enemy of the people of Israel.

Proverbs 14:12 tells us, “What you think is the right road may lead to death.” (GNB) So how can we know that we are making the right choices? We have to hear God’s voice. It is possible to make good decisions on our own. But, it is only possible to make God choices when we pay the price to hear from the Father.

How do you make sure you are making the right choice?



Written by on November 17, 2011 and categorized under Individuality

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