Make it Transformational: A Blog for Champion Discipleship

Last Tuesday I began explaining the Four P’s of communicating our vision based on the book, Managing Transitions, by William Bridges (Perseus Publishing, 1991, 2003).

The Four P’s must be communicated.  If not, vision is empty and abstract and virtually impossible for people to wrap their arms around.

A partial review of the first two…

(1) We must communicate the Purpose behind our vision.  Communicating purpose to our people means answering the question, “Why are we doing what we’re doing?”

(2) We must paint the Picture of our vision.  People have imaginations that must be unlocked.  People need to see where we’re going together; they won’t just follow an idea.

Alright, the last two…

(3) We must lay out a step-by-step Plan of how we plan to get where God is calling us. 

Many organizations and leaders stop short of developing these details – big mistake.  We work hard to understand where we are now and where God is calling us to go in the next three to five years.  And once determined, we celebrate, clap, cheer, and treat the staff to an In & Out burger, believing that our work is done – again, big mistake.

No organization accidently drifts to their Promised Land.  A well-thought-out, detailed and developed plan that answers the “How?” question – How do we plan to get there? – must be part of your strategic plan and must be clearly communicated in connection with your vision.

(4) We must communicate the Part our people can play as the vision moves forward.

This is the most important “P” as the outcome of the vision directly depends on the involvement and support of your people as a whole.  It’s natural as your ministry moves forward that some of your people will feel as though they’re not needed anymore or will struggle to find their “fit” in the future direction. 

Hear this:  Your people want to be part of something bigger than themselves and they want to be involved in something great for God’s Kingdom.  But (and this is a big but), one thing that oftentimes prevents meaningful involvement is that people don’t know how to jump in. 

It’s our job as leaders to show the way.  As we communicate vision, we must also communicate how people can be specifically (not generally) involved. 

There you have it. 

Your God-given vision + The Four P’s = Kingdom Results!

See Jesus’ specific plan for the 72 disciples in Matthew 10:5-20. 

And the result of following this plan…

Luke 10:17

“The seventy-two returned with joy…”