4. Vision
I can’t imagine a long tenure in ministry leadership without a clear and compelling vision that leads the way and drives you.
There is much talk about vision and leadership. Sometimes I think it’s made far too complicated. Vision is simply a picture of the future. A dream for how you want things to be. A sense of where you are going.
Tom Watson was the leader responsible for putting IBM on the map during its heyday. When asked why the company had become so successful, he said:
“IBM is what it is today for three special reasons. The first reason is that, at the very beginning, I had a clear picture of what the company would look like when it was finally done.
The second reason was that once I had that picture, I then asked myself how a company which looked like that would have to act.
The third reason IBM has been so successful was that once I had a picture of how IBM would look when the dream was in place and how such a company would have to act, I then realized that, unless we began to act that way from the very beginning, we would never get there.
In other words, I realized that for IBM to become a great company it would have to act like a great company long before it ever became one.”
Throughout my leadership run at Meck, there was never any doubt of the picture in my mind—how a church that looked like that would have to act, and how we had to begin acting that way from the beginning.
We’re not there by a long shot—not simply in terms of size, but in terms of being a biblically functioning community—but the picture is crystal clear and one I still chase.
5. A phenomenal wife
This should have been first on the list. I can’t imagine doing ministry without a faithful, loving, supportive, loyal, “I believe in you,” committed, hard-working, selfless soulmate. Susan has been all that and more. Simply put, I married well.
Really well.
James Emery White
Sources
The story of Tom Watson is found in Michael Gerber’s classic work, The E-Myth.
This article originally appeared here.
