To understand the importance of all three pillars of Envision, Enable and Embrace in leadership, let’s imagine there are three church plants. Each plant has two of the pillars but is missing a third.
The first plant’s leadership has strong Enable and Embrace skills, but lacks Envision. They organise well and they love their people in an authentic, tangible way. If the plant can gather a quorum to plant with, the likelihood is that the church will tick along happily. They organise well and care for those in their flock. But the lack of vision will ensure that the church never grows and never makes an impact beyond its four walls. It chugs on as a small happy holy huddle.
The second plant’s leadership is long on Envision and Embrace but lacks Enable. With Envision, the leaders easily rally people to the plant. Through the leaders’ Embrace the new members feel loved and heard. The enthusiasm is palpable and infectious. The plant launches with a bang, but things are rocky from the start. Logistics failures make for some embarrassing events. Volunteers in the church are often roped in at the very last moment to pull programmes from the fire. Some of the important, yet boring administrative tasks languish undone and the platforms on which good community are built erode, with substantial impact on the fellowship of the church. People in the church find they are commissioned into initiatives that invariably peter out and die. Or are duplicated by other efforts in the church. They feel they’re wasting their time and effort. Leadership hears them and responds with Embrace. They hear the people, love them, and affirm them. The people get back up inspired by vision and heart care. But the lack of structure on which to channel their efforts means they get no further practically. They may repeat that cycle a few times. But, at some point, they give up, spent and disillusioned. The church folds.
The third plant is all Envision and Enable. Like the second plant, they rally people for an exciting start. Unlike the second plant, they can execute. People are excited, energy is well channelled, and the church thrives. For a year or two everyone is sacrificially going above and beyond (in response to the Envision), and their labour is bearing fruit (because of the Enable). But after two or three years, people start feeling like a cog in a machine – underappreciated at best and used at worst. The church may continue to grow well in numbers and impact, but at the cost of its people. It leaves in its wake a steady stream of ex-members who feel used and perhaps even abused.
The best-case scenario is a church plant with leadership that Envisions a God-glorifying and community-impacting church, Enables the church to achieve that vision, and Embraces the individuals in the church.
To round it all out, trust and inspiration are generated from the character and conviction of the leaders as they Embody the vision. Add to that ongoing evaluation of the church’s leadership that Evolves into better and better practices. You have a church best placed to serve God and His people sustainably and successfully.