Bleed Purple...

Our pastor just finished a series called the "Purple People Leader". (Go here to check it out). Basically it was a series all about pulling the leadership potential out of anyone and everyone. This series definitely encouraged me...especially with the job that I have now! I am in a position to bring out leadership qualities in generations to come and I don't want to take that for granted!

He told us that we were peculiar people (hence the title "purple people leaders") with a remarkable purpose. One Sunday he talked about being visionary leaders (Adam and I missed that Sunday, but hearing from other people, it probably made the most sense to me...especially in understanding how our church works and the vision that our Pastor has for Elevation).

Being in a leadership position and not having a vision of where you want to go or where you want to be is not good. Teachers have a vision to see their students succeed, Realtors have visions to sell houses, Salesmen have visions to make their quota, Doctors and nurses have visions to help heal people, and so on. Everyone is in a position of leadership no matter where you work, who you are, or what you hope to be one day. And once you figure that out, you've got to set your sights on a vision.

With every vision comes a strategy, or a plan on how to accomplish your goals. Our pastor gave the example of Noah. God gave Noah the vision to build an ark for him and his family and the animals to keep them safe from the flood waters. Noah obeyed God and God did what He promised. But...don't you think Noah had doubts running through his head? He probably had people telling him that he's crazy and wondering why he was taking all his time to do this. Noah knew what he had to do, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he had a strategy on how or why he did things. Pastor Steven read a verse that summed everything up...

"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." ~Hebrews 11:7

Do you get it? You have your vision...you don't have your strategy...however, when you have faith in the middle of those two things, God will unfold the strategy as you choose to follow and obey what He commands. Picture "vision" knocking on the door of "strategy" but it can't get in until you unlock it with the key of "faith". Maybe that's a little cheesy for you, but it completely helps me understand the vision that Pastor Steven has for Elevation. One of his goals is to have 10,000 people in attendance by 2010. He's got the vision and the faith it takes for the Lord to unfold the strategy on how we'll get there.

I know this was kind of a long post, but I hope that it encourages some of you to become visionary leaders even if a strategy hasn't been revealed to you yet. All you have to have is faith as small as a mustard seed to see the amazing works God can do in you life!