Making Vision Stick- Andy Stanley

             Tonight we watched a video of Andy Stanley on his approach to “Making Visions Stick” in the church. 

            His whole message was intoxicating. I loved his teaching style and the way he communicated with his audience, both live and through a screen. It was as though we were good friends talking over the dinner table, the way he shared stories and jokes, encouragements and suggestions.

            Those who were in his live audience were given an outline of his message with blanks that they could fill in to help them stay focused. I liked this because, whether he did this purposefully or not, it tied in with his message, as well as making it an interactive experience.

            It tied in because he was sharing about vision casting in churches, and how many times, the vision doesn’t stick very well. In these cases, the leadership tends to blame their congregants for forgetting the vision or for letting things slide, but in reality, it’s the leadership’s responsibility. In this case, Stanley equipped his audience to remember his words and to be active in that process.

            In reference to one’s church, Andy Stanley asked the question, “Would you even go here if you didn’t work here?” and stated that if there was a hesitation before you answered, somewhere along the way, the vision was lost. He said that there are three reasons that vision doesn’t stick: Success, Failure, and Everything In Between. Success, because you have options and everything becomes more complex; Failure, because when a plan or strategy fails, it’s hard to stick to the vision; and Everything In Between, because vision is about what could be and should be, but life is about the here and now, and people get distracted. “Getting people to embrace the vision when the needs of today are so demanding is one of the hardest things [about vision casting].”

            He liked the three-step idea, because he also shared Three Things You Need To Do To Make Vision Stick:

            First, Cast It Strategically; Define the vision. When you spell everything out and repeat it over and over, it makes it easier for your congregation to understand and retain. He said that we don’t cast vision enough because we’ve said it so many times already. 

            Second, Celebrate It Systematically; Provide inspiration. When people see you celebrating, it makes it real, “it puts skin on the vision.” He says that there are two parts to this section, (A)When You Cast Vision, and (B) How You Cast Vision. 

            For (A), When You Cast Vision, you should schedule in times to cast vision and to celebrate the success of your vision. Something I really liked is that he asks his staff at their weekly meetings, “did anything happen this week that made you feel like there’s progress being made?” and they tell stories of what God is doing in the church and they celebrate them. I’d like to implement that in my youth leadership team, probably at the upcoming meeting!

            For (B), How You Cast Vision, you need to talk about the vision in a way that it is unmistakably clear and challenging.  To do this, there are another three steps:

1) Define the Problem- Ask the questions, “What problem is my organization designed to solve?” and “If we don’t do what we do, ________ won’t get done”

2) Offer a Solution- “How is your vision a solution to a problem?”

3) Give them a Reason- “Why must we do it and why must we do it now?”

Stanley said, “If you don’t know what the problem is, if you can’t state what the solution is and if you can’t say why you need to do it now, then you need vision.” “When you can answer those three questions, something will come alive in you and you will be able to more efficiently cast that vision. “

            Finally, to make vision stick we must Live It Continuously; Provides credibility. The difference between a talented leader and a leader worth following is that the leader worth following lives out the vision authentically.

            Unfortunately, we had to cut the video short, so I hope to hear the ending sometime soon!

I think this is something that is very necessary in many churches today. In thinking about it, I’m not sure that I’ve really ever heard a “vision casting” message before. I only gave one in my beginning weeks as a youth minister and haven’t really touched it again, so I know that I will be in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Stanley!