Nuggets #22

An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
Chapter Nine Re-Formation

Becoming a Problem
The third area of problems to be exposed-though seemingly paradoxical-is the ability to create problems. Great leaders creat great problems. If you're not willing to create problems, you're not willing to lead. Leaders create problems by changing expectations. Many churches that have been stagnant for years do not consider themselves to have any real problems. Only when a leader begins to call them out to the status quo does it begin to be perceived a problem.

If vision is anything at all, it is an invitation to excel beyond the present condition. In a sense, when a leader begins to cast vision, he begins to create problems. No matter how healthy or vibrant a church is, once a people begin to aspire to greater heights than presently experienced, problems are created. Before a leader casts a vision, there may not have been a problem in that arena at all. Only when the standards have been raised does a crisis ensue.

The Problem with Vision
When a church has too few problems, that may be because it has too little vision.

I'll have to stop there for today, the next section is long. If what Erwin says is true, and I believe it is, it is bad news for those who are conflict phobic. But when you look at the cost vs. benefit, who wouldn't choose to have a vision that is clearly and often communicated? One that stirs the hearts of the church?