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The Essential Element of Leadership
In The Lord's Churches
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1986
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

The Essential Element of Leadership In the Lord's Churches

Unit Two

Chapter 12

True Leaders Are Dreamers

Proverbs 29:18

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

In a very real sense, leaders are path finders. They are there first; they're the explorers. Most of the time they're the first to see the way. In their mind's eye, the Wright brothers got a glimpse of what it would take to fly. Henry Ford saw the car. Names like Edison, Bell and Newton immediately bring to mind men of vision, men who saw what others had never seen. Those who would successfully and consistently lead others must have this quality. Without it the people perish. That's precisely what Proverbs 29:18 declares. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

In churches, as in homes, businesses and nations, somebody's got to see the way.

Vision

In connection with some of the greatest leaders of the Bible, God specifically mentions their ability to see beyond the ordinary. Listen to this beautiful passage on Moses in Hebrews 11:24-27.

"By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."

Especially note the last part of verse 27, "he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." Moses saw the Lord in things where others saw only random chance and no design. Many of God's people, even leaders, can't see God in much of anything. Ask them what God has done for them today or this week, and they stumble and fumble around groping for something to say. David said in Psalm 68:19, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation." Yet few see it. Troubles, blessings, providential occurrences, the direction of world affairs mean almost nothing to them. They do not see God in the affairs of men.

Nebuchadnezzar was that sort of man. He was blind to the reality of God in his daily life. Daniel 4:28-37 tells how God drove him from his mighty throne and made him eat grass like an ox until Nebuchadnezzar woke up to the reality of God in the affairs of men. Listen to Daniel 5:18-21.

"God gave Nebuchadnezzar...a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will."

Yet, this very day, there are hoards of professing believers who have no greater perception of God in their affairs or the affairs of men than did Nebuchadnazzar, and some of them are preachers and other high church leaders. Moses not only saw Him who was invisible, but because of that, he was also able to see spiritual things to which everyone around him was blind. He saw the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than the treasure of Egypt. He saw deliverance from God where those around him could see only the Red Sea.

Brethren, I'm talking about spiritual perception or vision, which is so important in those who would lead God's people. Genesis 12 tells how Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees not knowing where he was going. Like Moses, he couldn't see all the way, but with the eye of faith, he could see God who was leading the way.

Hebrews 11:8-10 records Abraham's courageous journey saying, "He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." What vision! He saw in God one who is sovereign, and who rules among men, and the spiritual perception opened his spiritual eyes to all sorts of realities and possibilities.

Look at Nehemiah. He went to a city in Nehemiah 2 where everybody else saw only ruin, heaps of smashed rocks and debris, blackened cinders from the fire and chaos everywhere. With the eyes of his spirit, he saw it all cleaned up and rebuilt. He saw a plan. I'm talking about a man of vision, a true leader.

Joseph surely was a dreamer. Genesis 37:5-10 records some of his dreaming. Here was a boy who could see beyond his brethren, and God made him their leader in due process of time.

There's surely no question that David was a dreamer. I Samuel 17 is just one place where his vision stands out. Where the men of Israel could see no way to prevail against the Philistines, David saw that God could give the chief of the Philistines into his hand and rout the whole Philistine army in the process. Furthermore, God could enrich him, make him a prince, and set his house free in the process. Note verse 25. Throughout his illustrious life, David was a man of vision. He saw Jerusalem in Jewish hands and as the capitol; he saw the ark in it's rightful place; he saw his enemies subdued on every side; he saw the temple Solomon built.

Vision! Yes, it's a mark of true Godly leaders. Open your spiritual eyes. Don't ever be afraid to open your spiritual eyes, look around at what God is doing, and at what he could use you and those with you to do. Thank God for dreams, ideas and vision. They're a resource like oil or gold. A church must have a dream, or else it will fail. Preachers must see where they are going.

Soul winners need goals. Thank God for those pastors who dream of winning many souls, and of being God's tool to build a great, dynamic, soulwinning church! Thank God for those missionaries who see souls dying without Christ in unreached places, and who see themselves as the one to reach them! Thank God for the dads and moms who have the vision of their kids growing up to get saved and live great lives for God! Thank God for the teacher who can see how to convert an empty classroom into a room full of kids or men and women being taught the great principles of the Word of God! Thank God for the teacher who can see that she or he may have a great preacher or missionary among the little ones! Thank God for churches who have the vision to see where other churches are needed and how to start them!

Dream believer! Get a vision! Look ahead! Be going somewhere! Plan! If you don't you'll fail. Paul had goals. He said in Philippians 3:13-14,

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

It would be hard to imagine Hebrews 1:21 without seeing a goal in mind, a vision. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

Too many church leaders have no real direction. They don't seem to know where they're going. Like many families and businesses, they're just sort of ambling aimlessly. Ask them to list five of their short range goals and they can't. Ask for five long range goals, and they're blank. No doubt this is a big reason why some churches are just sitting while others are moving forward, getting things done. Someone has well said, "He who aims at nothing, generally hits it."

Advantages to vision

Dreamers with specific goals have three distinct advantages over the blind. First, they have direction. They see ways to serve, ways to overcome obstacles, opportunities and pitfalls. They are looking at preachers, music pastors, teachers, good parents and solid citizens in the making. They're working toward a full classroom, productive saints and victory over weaknesses. They're headed somewhere, while the blind are headed nowhere.

Second, they have a means of measuring their progress. Once a person sees what he's shooting for, he can evaluate his progress and see if he's getting any true results.

Third, they can know the joy of accomplishment. There is nothing quite like finishing a task, getting a job done. There is great fulfillment in doing what one set out to do. Those who never finish projects are frustrated.

Curse of lack of vision

Lack of vision is a great curse to any leader and to those who would follow him. What a limitation physical blindness is! At best, it's a struggle. We only admire those who go on with a seeing-eye dog, a cane, reading braille. It's a most severe handicap. When Jeremiah said the sinful priests of Judah, "wandered as blind men in the streets," surely the picture is vivid. (Lamentations 4:14)

In Mark 10:46 Bartimaeus sat by the highway begging. He was blind. What a sad and pitiful sight he is. Physical blindness is God's picture of the curse of spiritual blindness. Listen to II Peter 1:4-9.

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins."

To fail to see what the Lord has done for us, and to fail to recognize and appropriate the blessings of character He wants to give us is a serious short coming which locks us into a sort of spiritual blindness. When those who would lead, who are supposed to have spiritual insight, are blind to truth and how to use it to lead God's people, God considers it to be a most grievous offence.

The Pharisees fell into this category. They had no real spiritual vision or perception. They were supposed to lead, but couldn't see clearly themselves. So Jesus said in Matthew 23:16, "Ye blind guides." He continued in verse 17 and 19, "ye fools and blind." Listen to Him address them in verse 24, "Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."

Sadly, many who would lead God's people are really blind. Isaiah 28:7 says, "They err in vision." They have almost no vision. They never seem to have any ideas or visions of what can be done. This is true at every level of church leadership. Those who's job it is to see, lead and be out front, can't see. Somebody's always got to show them. No wonder so many church leaders are not getting anywhere and neither are their churches. There's no forward look, no visionary focus. Isaiah issued this condemnation in Isaiah 56:10, "His watchmen are blind: They are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber."

What happens to churches where the leadership has no vision? Proverbs 29:18 says they perish. Jesus asked in Luke 6:39, "Can the blind lead the blind: shall they not both fall into the ditch?." Yes, they will fall into the ditch. Jesus said so in Matthew 15:13-14.

"Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."

See what others don't

True leaders must dream, look ahead, keep their eyes open and see what others don't. Most of us who lead churches know what it's like to go blind in a spiritual sense. Somehow, when we get away from God and the reality of His presence in our lives, we begin to lose sight. Our vision dims and we can't lead God's people like we once did.

One of the greatest testimonies to Moses is the fact that at 120 years old, "his eye was not dim," in Deuteronomy 34:7 On the other hand, Eli's "eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see," in I Samuel 3:2. There is a spiritual as well as a physical contrast here. Moses continued as a great leader until God took him. Eli went down in shame and disgrace.

Once you lose your spiritual vision, you will no longer be able to effectively lead God's people. So, stay close to God, and ask Him to open your eyes that you may be able to see clearly both nearby and afar. Psalms 146:8 says, "The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind."

Let every leader in the Lord's church dream. Oh, what a blessing for every leader at every level to develop good vision. In every class, in every department, in every office, every member getting a full vision of the work that could and ought to be done to the glory of God. What a revolution such vision would cause in the Lord's churches! Not just the pastor with a vision, but the support leadership getting hold of that vision and making it their very own.

Wet blankets

When you dream, some won't like it. When David got a vision of what would be done to the men who slew Goliath in I Samuel 17:25, his older brother, Eliab, tried to kill it in I Samuel 17:28. Dream of your church growing, winning many souls and true prosperity in the Lord, and some of the older "deeper" brethren will cry "energy of the flesh," "easy believism," and "wood, hay and stubble." When Eliab tried that on young David, I Samuel 17:30 says, "he turned from him toward another," and went on with his business of serving God. Do it, brother! Dream. Keep your spiritual eyes wide open. Don't be afraid to look at the truths, opportunities, pitfalls or whatever God shows you. And, when you see the way, lead on. Whether or not you do may very well mean the difference between victory and defeat in your ministry and church.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"