Imagine you are an Olympic swimmer representing Australia. You are required to put in long, hard hours of labourious lap swimming; a regimented diet of exercise and eating and being coached and critiqued on your stroke technique constantly. What drives this is the vision of standing on the podium, hearing Advance Australia Fair blaring over the loud speaker, and having an Olympic official place a gold medal around your neck. All the time and training is worth it when the vision is realised.

This is the big picture stuff: what drives us, what motivates us, and what directs our time and energies. Every church needs vision. We need to have some big picture stuff that pulls teams together and energises us toward a common goal.

On the other hand, we’re also required to give attention to the little picture stuff. For instance, let’s go back to the Olympic swimmer metaphor. You have trained and disciplined yourself to be the best, dreaming of winning Olympic gold. However, just before the race, as your standing on the blocks, are you imagining what it will feel like to receive the applause and praise of the crowd? Of course not. You are now focused on the little picture: What you must do in the next couple of seconds, over the course of the race in order to succeed. The ability to focus one’s attention to the little picture will have a huge bearing as to whether one will ever achieve the big picture goals.

The same is true in ministry. We see this so well in the person of Jesus. In Luke 9:51, we are told: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem”. This is the big picture stuff of Jesus’ ministry. He will deliberately go to Jerusalem to be handed over to die so that salvation can be obtained through his sacrifice on the cross to all who believe. A clear sense of purpose never eluded Jesus and it directed his earthly ministry right to the end.

However, Jesus is likewise aware of the little stuff. After it states that Jesus set out for Jerusalem, we don’t read that Jesus blew people off because “I’ve got more important things to tend to”. To the contrary, he’s constantly teaching and mentoring the twelve. Jesus heals the ten men inflicted with leprosy (17:11-19). He allows the babies to be brought to him for a blessing (18:15). Then, we get to Luke 18:31 and Jesus declares, “We are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.” While exercising the little picture moments with compassion and grace, Jesus never loses sight of the big picture.

Unfortunately, many of us in leadership suffer with the liability of either being a good big picture person or a suave little picture worker. The truth is that both are required. So, here’s some questions to ask regarding big picture stuff.

• Is there a team in place in which we are all moving toward a common goal?
• Are we in danger of dabbling because we merely doing every good thing that comes our way?
• What is the goal or vision that drives us, directing and guiding our energy and resources?

On the little picture stuff, we ask these types of questions.

• What are the systems we have in place to enable us to achieve our goals?
• How do we know if we are winning or losing? What are the quality control expectations for our ministry?
• Do all the team members (whether paid or volunteer) understand their role and see their contribute to the overall vision?
• In order for us to succeed, what should I be giving my time to in the coming week?

Big picture/little picture. It’s about maintaining the proper balance. Are you suffering due to an inadequacy on one side of the equitation? Where’s your strength, both individually and collectively, and where do you need more assistance? Like Jesus, we can be both big and little picture people; let’s not surrender either component in our commitment to service in Christ.