Question: If increasing my leadership ability is the key to growing a healthy, life-giving church, what do I do as a pastor and/or leader do to increase my leadership ability? Pastor Keith Hodges from Liberty Church in Alabama gives us his take on this question: If you are going to increase your leadership ability and your ability to take people into the vision that God has for your local church, you are going to have to learn how to become an effective vision-caster. Vision casting is more than having a vision statement. Vision casting is the ability to communicate your vision, God’s vision, in a way that resonates and connects with the hearts of your people. If you are going to be an effective vision-caster and you are going to cast vision in such a way that people are going to buy into what God is wanting to do through your local church, then you are going to have to understand that vision is what could be and what should be. Vision casting starts with the vision of God burning in your heart. It has to burn in the heart of the leader. If the leader is not sold-out to the vision, then the people will not buy into it. Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” When he found that pearl of great price, he sold out. He sold everything he owned and bought the pearl. The first key to effective vision casting, to raising the bar of your leadership ability, is that you have to sell out to the vision. As a pastor and a leader, you have to sell out to the vision of God for the local church. It has to become more than something that could be—we could have this kind of church. We could reach this many people. We could have an impact on our community. It should become, we SHOULD do this. “Vision is not only what could be, but vision is what should be.” –Andy Stanley When the vision of God burns in your heart as a leader and you begin to communicate, talk, preach, and meet with your people, they begin to connect to the vision. Your ability to communicate that vision and lead your people into God’s plan for their lives increases because you’ve sold out to that vision. Get alone with God. Spend time at His feet. Sell out to the vision that God has for your local church. And if you can’t sell out to the vision that you have, you need to get a vision from God that you can sell out to. Until you sell out, the people can’t buy in.