In literature about church leadership today, the term “vision” is inescapable. The rector (or senior pastor) must “cast a vision” for the parish; the vestry (or elder board) must “safeguard the vision” of the parish; every parish needs a “vision statement”; bishops and synods must be “visionary.” I think we all understand what is meant by such language—an institution that lacks a clear sense of its identity and mission will drift, make incoherent decisions, or perhaps abandon faithfulness and orthodoxy. Insisting on a vision, for this discourse, means insisting on a clarity of purpose and planning wisely for the future.
However, such language sits uncomfortably with biblical and historic understandings of the church. To make one perhaps banal point, the language of “casting a vision” nowhere appears in the church’s charter given in the Great Commission.
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