Vision without a clearly established set of values will hinder an organization from achieving it’s maximum impact. One of the key competencies we teach church planters at LAUNCH is “Evaluate your core values and integrate them into the DNA of your church”.
Church planters are some of the most optimistic, enthusiastic, visionary leaders on our planet. I see it all the time, God captures a young energetic leader and burns a vision into his heart and he becomes virtually unstoppable. But sometimes those very same leaders become discouraged or disillusioned when their God given vision doesn’t seem to be getting traction.
Leaders love to think, dream and inspire people to pursue a better future. While this type of visioning is essential for organizational direction, if the leader doesn’t provide a clear set of values it may be difficult to achieve the desired outcomes. Having a clear vision doesn’t ensure the necessary behaviors to achieve that vision.
That’s why the church planter must invest as enthusiastically in values as he does in the vision of his church. Values are not cute “statements” that you post in the hallway of your office. Values are the core behaviors that define the very fabric of who you are. Values describe how you will behave on a day-to-day basis. In fact, personally I’ve stopped using the word values and have substituted it with “core behaviors”.
You may have a great vision but if the people in your organization don’t operate according to a unified set of core behaviors you will find yourselves unable to move forward in an aligned and productive way.
What are the essential core behaviors (values) for your church? How well are those demonstrated in the attitudes and actions of the leaders in your organization? What adjustments need to be made to ensure that all leaders are living out those core behaviors?
