VISION MAP

How to develop a stewardship plan for every area of your life. A Workbook by Joël Malm

The Problem with Planning If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans. I’m certain this is really bad theology, but I’m pretty convinced God had a good laugh when a few years ago he completely ruined my plans. I was working as a worship pastor at a growing church. Things were going quite well, I thought. Until one Sunday while I was on vacation the pastor offered my job to the guy who was filling in for me from out of town. No warning. Bam! I was out the door. Worst part was, he didn’t even tell me. Another pastor on staff slipped me the news. A few months earlier that same pastor had offered me a pay raise so I could purchase a house. We did. We had been in the house a whopping two months when I got fired. Or, uhm… let go and not told. The great boxer/theologian Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody’s got a plan, until they get punched in the face.” I got punched in the face. Hard. I started freaking out. I knew we couldn’t afford the mortgage. I started applying at tons of jobs. I went from having a really solid ten year plan that including systematic steps I had set out with pay-raises, savings plans, and ministry expansion, to making my plans ten days at a time. God provided a place for us to live rent-free for a few months while we got our feet on the ground and I waited to hear back from some of the job opportunities that were open. But we still had to move out of our dream house that we had just poured blood, sweat, and tears into remodeling. Ironically, or perhaps divinely, it was during the time of my life that I’ve had the least vision that I wrote a book about vision. While I was reeling, trying to figure out what was next in my life, I managed to write a book about vision that I had been trying to write for many years. I had about ten different versions. But this time, I sat down and wrote the entire book straight through in about ten days.

“Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face.” – Mike Tyson

That book was Vision Map: Charting a Step-by-Step Course for Your Biggest Hopes and Dreams. In the book I write about a simple process God taught me for mapping a plan when God gives you a specific task. I used the plan as I was building the outdoor leadership organization I started. The process is so simple that I feel a little silly when I go up in front of a crowd to share it. I feel silly until I look out and see peoples’ faces light up when they realize the simplicity of it. Now, here’s what I know about you. There’s a good chance that at some point in your life you decided to start being all strategic and visionary and make a plan. Maybe you wanted to get out of debt or start your own business. But I’m guessing that right in the middle of that you, like me, got punched in the face. I also know that if you are reading this right now you fit into one of two categories.

The Planner: You are the person who puts little check boxes by your shopping list, which happens to be organized by sections of the store. You also make a checklist before you leave the house on vacation. You probably also have a written plan for every waking moment of that vacation. You are probably asking how I know you so well. Well, I know you because you and I are the same. We are both planners.

But, on the other side of the aisle we have a whole other type of person. The Not-So-Planner: You are the type that feels like plans put you into a box too much. And you don’t like boxes. You are laid back, easy-going, and it’s pretty hard to get you frazzled. Things usually work out, so if you just chill, it will all pan out. My wife is this person.

On a side note: Have you noticed how Not-So-Planners tend to be attracted to Planners, and vice versa? It’s like God put us together. He knew the Planners needed someone to help keep them from dying of a heart attack at age thirty-seven. While the Not-So- Planners needed someone to help them remember things that they really need to bring with them on vacation – like underwear. True story, for another time… Whether you are a Planner or a Not-So-Planner I’m certain some curveballs have been thrown at you that shook up some hopes and expectations you had for life. At that point it’s easy to throw up your hands and just say, “What the point!” I know. I’ve been there. But from personal experience I’ve found you really shouldn’t give up on making some sort of written plan. That’s why I believe the Vision Map concept is so powerful. It’s simple and it’s flexible. Plus, it’s about something bigger than just a plan. We are talking about something with eternal implications…

Stewardship Let’s make something really clear. A Vision Map isn’t a schedule for how your life is going to go down. That would be foolish (again, see Mike Tyson quite). Instead a Vision Map is about stewardship. I love Mark Batterson’s simple definition of stewardship: Doing the best you can with what you have. The goal of the Vision Map is to make sure we a doing our best and living with purpose in every area of our lives. If you aim at nothing you’ll hit it every time. Or as Andy Stanley says, “Everyone ends up somewhere in life. Some people get there on purpose. Those are the ones with vision.” The Parable of Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) makes it clear that breaking even isn’t enough for God. He wants you to do something with everything he has given you. The Vision Map helps us keep our vision clear and focused so we make sure we are doing our best. But we also remember to stay flexible, as life happens, and God often has other plans. But you still need a clear vision to move toward.

It’s All Connected Have you ever noticed that all of life is connected? You’ve decided you need to dedicate more time to your family. So you start pulling back from overtime at work. But then comes the trip to the emergency room. The bill is ridiculous. Now you have to work overtime to pay. That overtime means you’ll have to work on Sunday, which means you have to back out of volunteering at church. You begin resenting your job because you are there so much, all trying to take care of the bill for the emergency room that is keeping you from being with your family and is pulling you away from church. Ugh. Every area of our life bumps into other areas. We think we can compartmentalize, but we really can’t. One area of life gets thrown off and we feel it in other areas. One of the powerful functions of the Vision Map is it looks at every area of your life. It helps you see the connection between where you are and where you want to be in every area of your life. It’s quite possible that the pain you are feeling in one area is actually based on a problem in another area that you never would have seen otherwise.

How to Make a Vision Map

In my Summit Leaders Coaching program I ask participants to create a Vision Map for every area of their lives: family, finances, career, ministry, and personal goals. (If you are part of the program you’ll actually get a pre-printed one that you’ll work together on in your first meeting with Joël.) Our goal isn’t to make a set-in-stone plan for the

future. The goal is to establish what our hopes and dreams are for the future. It’s also a great tool for clarifying exactly what you hope your future will look like. The goal is to write out the challenges and hopes and dreams you have for each of those areas. On the left side of the Vision Map you’ll see it says NOW. These are steps you can take right now. But you’ll quickly realize something as you write out those hopes and dreams. As you write out those hopes and dreams you’ll be able to place each item you write into one of two categories: 1. Things I can do 2. Things that God will have to do For example, I had a man join the Summit Life program who mentioned he wanted to have a better relationship with his daughters. He acknowledged he had not given them the attention they needed. This was something within him power, so I told him to take a black marker and write down some practical things he could do to spend more time with him family. I told him to write down in black letters the things he could do right now to work on this. He wrote: Stop watching so much TV. Use that time to spend with the girls.

Black Letters Once you’ve established what steps you can take you need to give yourself a realistic deadline. Most of us overestimate what we can do in a few months, but underestimate what we can accomplish in a year or two or five. The Vision Map you get in the Summit Life program will

have NOW and 1 printed on the left column. Then you’ll decide whether you want to put 2,5 10, etc. years as your goal timeline. The key is to put a deadline on the things you can do. But, as your move toward your plan you will invariable arrive at something you simply have no control over. The guy who wanted a better relationship with his daughters had the power to change his actions – but only God can turn a person’s heart. I always tell people, when you get a to a place that requires God’s intervention you are in a good spot. A God-sized vision will always require his intervention. Iraneus said it this way: “Work as if it depends on you. Pray as if it depends on God.” Both are true. When you come to something only God can do – you pull out a red marker. Write those things only God can do in read. Those are now your prayer focus.

Red Letters When Jesus was about to heal someone he did something intereting.

Even if the need was evident, like the blind man he healed, he always asked them:

“What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51)

It’s really important that we get specific about our needs.

We easily fall into the habit of praying lazy prayers like: “God give me favor.” Or “God bless this endeavor.” God seems to want us to get really honest and specific about what we need him to provide. So be specific.

Unfortunately, unlike the black letter items, it’s not wise to set a date for God’s part. You can try, but I predict it will be an exercise in futility. God works on his time schedule. Our job is just to stay alert to what he is doing. He may come through in a way that you never could have expected or thought up on your own. So stay alert and flexible to how he provides for your red letter items.

The Tension Point When people come to my coaching program they often need a little help identifying the obstacles they face. Sometimes it’s fear. Sometimes it’s debt. Other times it’s a combination of a bunch of things. Again, all of life is connected. Once we actually sit down and start filling in the Vision Map it becomes evident fairly quickly where the tension point it. The tension point is the one area where you are feeling the most pain in your life. It could be a family relationship, a financial challenge, a career frustration, a ministry goal, or simply some life goals that you just haven’t been able to pursue. When you reach that tension point make sure you identify it for what it is. When you find the tension point you might want to highlight or underline it. This deserves some prayer and thought. Share the challenge you are facing with some trusted advisors and get their feedback. Make sure you also spend lots of time in prayer about that tension point. God wants to give you wisdom about how to deal with it – so just ask for his wisdom!

Get Started So, you’ve got the basics now. If you are part of the Summit Life program you’ll work directly with Joël to build out your Vision Map. If you are doing it alone, it’s time to get started. Below are the five areas to be covered on your Vision Map. I’ve included some questions to think about. You can begin to write in your thoughts in the blank spaces below, then transfer them to your Vision Map later.

Spend some serious time thinking and praying about each area of your life. Get honest about where you are. Get honest about the challenges you face. Get honest about the hopes and dreams in your heart – even if they seem impossible from where you are standing. Write it all down. Then start to watch for God’s divine intervention. He is working behind the scenes. Stay alert! Family What do you want your family to be known for? Generosity? Fun? Stability? There is no one right answer, but whatever you decide on you need to be intentional about it. Are you single? What are some hopes and dreams you have for the mate you are looking for? Write them out. Then write out in black what standards are up to you to keep. Write out in red what God will have to provide. Are there any relationships that need to be restored? What steps can you take right now to move toward that? Write a letter? Make a call? Send a gift? Drive across town? Are there any hopes and dreams you have for your kids? College? A spouse? Write it down in red.

Finances Saving goals? Is there a particular purchase you see on the horizon (a new car) that you should begin saving for? College savings? Hoping to get out of debt? What’s the plan. What steps can you take right now? Do you have a budget? Should you take Dave Ramsey’s financial peace class?

Career Are you content and fulfilled in your career? If you were are the same place next year, in five years, at your career would you be content? Is there a dream you’ve always had for your career that has yet to be fulfilled? What is it? Write it out. What steps can you take right now to move toward that dream? More education? Apply for a position?

Ministry Are you currently involved in any ministry? Is there an area you’d like to being serving?

Personal Goals Do you have any travel goals? Places you’d like to visit. Any fitness goals? Any thing you’d like to accomplish? Write a book? Read a certain number of books? Write it down!