You’re Not Moses: Why Vision Grows Best in Community (Step 2 of the Best Vision Clarity Process for Churches)

You’re Not Moses (And That’s Good News for the Vision Clarity Process)

Let’s talk about this honestly so we can learn how to create shared vision in your church. The best vision clarity process for churches includes a powerful, collective effort.

Many pastors and leaders feel pressure to be “the one with the vision.” To retreat, seek God’s word, and come down from the mountain with a fully formed plan.
It can feel biblical. After all, didn’t Moses do that?

Yes, Moses received the Law on the mountain.
But let’s not forget:

• Moses also questioned his calling.
• He relied on others (Aaron, Jethro, 70 elders).
• He listened to the complaints of the people even when they were wrong.
• And ultimately, Moses pointed ahead to someone greater.

Moses was a type, not a template.
He was a signpost pointing toward a different kind of leader—Jesus.

In Jesus, we see the leader who walks with people.
Who teaches by asking questions.
Who draws others into the discovery of what the Father is doing.

Leadership today isn’t about dictating vision. It’s about discerning it with others.

Yes, you’re called to lead.
But in the best vision clarity process for churches, your role is to curate, guide, listen, and draw out the vision God is already growing in the hearts of His people.

So no, you’re not Moses.
You’re something better:
A Spirit-filled, collaborative guide in a community where every believer can hear from God.

Listen First: Step 2 of the Best Vision Clarity Process for Churches

That’s why Step 2 in the best vision clarity process for churches is simple, but powerful:

Listen First.

Before you name your Horizon, you need to hear from the people who are shaping and living it with you.

This means slowing down long enough to tune in to:

• Key stakeholders – staff, elders, lay leaders, and culture-carriers
• Ministry leaders – those who see spiritual and structural patterns up close
• Long-time members & fresh voices – those with deep roots and fresh eyes
• The Spirit’s movement – through prayer, Scripture, and what’s stirring in your community

When you create intentional space for listening, patterns emerge. You’ll start to see themes, tensions, longings, and values that may have gone unspoken, but are deeply shaping your culture.

Ask Better Questions in the Vision Clarity Process

Vision clarity doesn’t come from giving the right answers.
It comes from asking better questions. Check out my Facebook Pages where this gets put into practice: Leadership Coaching Techniques & Vision Clarity Collective.

Here are a few that can get the conversation going:

• What stories of transformation have we seen in the past year?
• What one positive change in our community would have the most dramatic effect on people’s lives?
• Where do we sense God is already at work in our community?
• What barriers are we bumping into repeatedly?
• If nothing changed in the next year, what would we regret?
• What dream seems just out of reach, but won’t go away?
• If our church was immediately uprooted from the community, what would people in the community feel is missing?
• What capabilities tend to cluster in our church? What are common aspects of training, education, or occupational history?
• If we had to only do one ministry outside of our church walls, which one would we choose?
• What one thing bothers you most about the world?
• If you knew you couldn’t fail, what one thing would you pursue for God?
• What have you secretly believed you would be really good at, if only you were given a chance?

When you ask questions like these: open-ended, honest, and hopeful, you help your people reflect, and your team discover what really matters. You minimize assumptions and stimulate awareness. The answers will give you insight into the:

1. unique opportunities and needs where Gos has placed us. (Place)
2. unique resources and capabilities that God brings together in us. (People)
3. particular focus that most energizes and animates our leadership. (Passion)

Better questions lead to better insights.
Better insights lead to better direction.

Shared Discovery Creates Shared Ownership

If the people you lead have no voice in shaping the vision, they’ll struggle to own it.
But when they contribute to the discovery, they feel seen, heard, and invested.

And that makes all the difference.

Ownership isn’t forced; it’s formed in the process of listening and reflection. When people recognize their voice in the vision, they’re far more likely to invest their hands and hearts (and dollars) in living it out.

This is why shared discovery is built into the very DNA of the best vision clarity process for churches, because a vision that’s co-discovered is a vision that sticks.

Curating Vision Is Still Leadership in the Best Vision Clarity Process

Listening doesn’t mean abandoning leadership.
You’re still guiding the process.
You’re still filtering themes.
You’re still naming direction.

But you’re doing it with your people, not apart from them.

The best leaders don’t dictate the vision; they curate it.

You’re tuning the ear of the church to the voice of God—together.

What Listening Produces in a Stakeholder-Driven Church

When you commit to listening first, you begin to discover:

• What your people already value
• Where there is clarity (and where there’s confusion)
• What language resonates, and what falls flat
• What God has already begun doing, even if you didn’t plan it

This is fertile ground. It’s not wasted time, it’s where fruitful vision takes root.

Reflect & Respond: Is Your Church Aligned With the Best Vision Clarity Process?

Think about your current context. Ask yourself:

• Who are the 8–12 people I should be listening to right now?
• What conversations haven’t I had that need to happen?
• Have I created a safe space for people to be honest about what they see and feel?

You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You just need to start listening with intention.

Want Help Designing Listening Environments?

I help churches walk through the best vision clarity process, not as a one-size-fits-all template, but as a Spirit-led, stakeholder-powered journey that reflects your real context.

📅 Schedule a free Vision Discovery Call here
Let’s help your people see what God is already doing and join Him there.

Want the deeper “why” behind this process?

Check out our featured series: From the Head of the Church: A Vision-Shaped People
It reminds us that clarity isn’t the goal—Christ is. And when we follow Him, we become a people shaped by His vision.