I had lunch with Matt Neely this week who recently planted The Watershed Church, a UMC church close to my home in League City, TX. One topic of conversation centered around the idea that "vision" is a tainted word today especially for emerging leaders. Its seems that the abuses of the church growth movement and the overuse use of term generates a little skepticism. One of the difficult things in writing Church Unique was trying to figure out a name for a book on vision without using "vision" in the title. "Redeeming Vision" and "Ooze Vision" were top choices. Another option was "Quantum Clarity" as I believe the idea of clarity is the key for missional leaders to embrace a bold vision with an appropriate humility. To redeem the concept of vision keep in mind how and passion without pride come together around "clarity:"
--Clarifying vision is about looking to the past as much as the future
--Clarifying vision requires careful consideration of strengths and limitations
--Clarifying vision is as much about identity as it is methodology
--Clarifying vision is always about what God is already doing