When you think of vision, does something like this come to your mind? “Our vision is to win 35,000 people to the Lord this year!” Or, “We’re going to generate $7 million of income!”
That is not vision. Those are short-term objectives.
Vision is your mental understanding, your mental perception of reality. Vision is how you see life and how you see yourself fitting into it.
Vision encompasses a wide range of understanding. This is the part we could call “The Big Picture.” Everyone has to have an understanding of the big picture.
The guy working in the mail room has to understand how his daily effort fits into the big picture – not just his eight-hour work day, but God’s plan for his life, for this nation, and for the world.
Every one of us has an eternal calling that transcends all dispensational lines. What I mean by that is, every one of us has a calling that is applicable to the age in which we live. Every one of us has an individual calling that is shaped by the gifts and talents and abilities unique to us.
All of these things add together to provide the kind of vision that gives meaningful direction to our lives and our ministries.
You have all seen those picture puzzles with thousands of pieces. When you scatter those pieces on a rug, it is impossible to make sense of them. If you did not have the picture on the top of the box to show you what the big picture looked like, putting it together would be nearly hopeless.
Life is that way. There are thousands of things which affect the quality of our lives and our success in life. Those things are scattered all across the canvas of our day.
If we did not have a big picture to show us where to fit each piece, life would be a lot harder than it already is. We have to have the big picture. It keeps us properly oriented.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Mac and Lynne Hammond are senior pastors of Living Word in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which they started in 1980. Many outreaches and ministries have launched from Living Word since that time, including Maranatha Christian Academy, a Pre-K through grade 12 school with nearly 900 in attendance, and Living Free Recovery Services, a licensed outpatient treatment program.
Most recently, Mac and Lynne have launched a vision to plant fifty churches across the globe in the next five years. As of August 2024, nine churches have been planted in the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, and Guatemala with construction underway for seven more churches in El Salvador, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Prior to becoming a pastor, Mac was a pilot. He served in the Air Force, served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia, and was honorably discharged in 1970 with the rank of Captain. Between 1970 and 1980, Mac was involved in varying capacities in the general aviation industry, including ownership of a successful air cargo business serving the Midwestern United States. A business acquisition brought the Hammonds to Minneapolis, where they ultimately founded Living Word. Currently, Mac is the host of The Winner’s Way and The Winner’s Minute broadcasts and the author of several internationally distributed books. Mac is broadly acclaimed for his ability to apply the principles of the Bible to practical situations and the challenges of daily living.