What I learned about visioneering from 6 months in the ICU

Our staff team was discussing the upcoming calender year, and talking through some of the strategies for pursuing after what we see as a vision for 2010. In this conversation it hit me how much I have learned about this from our extended hospital stay with Josiah in the ICU.

1. Someone with vision sees long term goals.

Often Josiah's day to day care is very intense and challenging. Dealing with his frequent fevers and sudden hikes or drops in heart rate, blood pressure, and O2 saturation's is sometimes overwhelming. The hospital staff here is incredible, yet they (like me, and you I presume as well) can get so focused on stabilizing Josiah's day that the long term goal (going home) is put aside. I can find myself doing this in the office, and an entire week flies by where all I was able to manage was a state of stability. Someone with vision sees past this. Erin and I have to do the very best we can to put the big goals(s) above all else... we can't afford to lose another week to merely stabilizing things. Again, this is our job as Josiah's parents. It is not necessarily the job of a nurse or doctor to do this. They DO need to focus on the immediate needs. Likewise, in a church/organization it is the role of pastor/staff to look at the big goals. Allow someone else to handle the immediate needs that DO need attention.

2. Someone with vision thinks holistically.

Josiah has a myriad of doctors, nurses, and therapists who come to see him on almost a daily basis. Each of them is specialized in his or her role. As parents, we have to remind the Occupational therapist who is concerned about Josiah's limited range of movement about his poor lung development for the respiratory therapist and not to overwork him and tire him. We have to think about his nutrition, his sleeping patterns, his mobility, his medication, and his mood. We have to think about Josiah holistically. Similarly, someone with vision thinks holistically about their church/organization. Will this ministry conflict with another? Does this family need special help? Did that person slip through the cracks? Has this event been promoted enough? A visionary pastor/staff keeps the overall health of the church/organization at the forefront.

Simple keys for success I know, but how much more effective would you and I be if we started with these?