I have a very good friend of mine who has been a missionary for close to 10 years. I’ve always looked forward to hearing from him because he’s always sharing the story that he is a part of. It’s been a winding road for him – back and forth between the States and abroad, changes in focus, marriage, kids – sort of like all of our lives.
Even in the midst of the constantly changing situations in which he found himself, he has maintained his group of supporters. I don’t think this is necessarily because he is pursuing an unwavering vision. There have been times in his journey where one thing has naturally led to another, as part of the process of learning and preparing. But most of the time his journey has been disjointed.
How then is it that he managed to attract a group of followers? I mean, haven’t I been saying that you must have an aligned and unwavering vision for you to build a cohesive story that people want to follow? My answer is that not all vision is goal oriented. My friend’s disjointed journey doesn’t detract from the story. It adds to it.
As an individual missionary working inside of a larger missions organization or ministry, it’s often hard to plot your own course. You don’t always get to make the decision to pursue the particular thing you believe you are called to do. It’s not that you abandon the vision that God has placed in your heart. It’s that you are serving under authority for a while as part of your journey.
My friend doesn’t invite people to a destination. He invites them to join him on the journey. The story he tells involves all of the uncertanty of finding his way along that journey. His followers are woven into that story, and they are changed as a result of God working throughout my friend’s story.
If you are struggling to figure out what your purpose and vision are, don’t try to hide it. Invite people into the process of God working out your story with you. Share the mistakes and the struggles; the triumphs and the successes. If your people are part of the story, then the story will have deeper roots in the people that matter most.
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