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Today's ecclesiastic (and recent, and modern) emphasis on ‘vision’ and leadership models should cause us some concern. As important as vision is to an organization – and it IS important to a church – it is critical to note that God does not put such emphasis upon it as we do, at least not on the modern understanding of it. The one verse that gets quoted often – “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov 29:18, KJV) is terribly misunderstood, and tragically mishandled; it means, ‘Where there is no prophetic and godly proclamation for direction that lines up with God's expectations, the people will cast off restraints – and go their own ways, doing what is right in their own eyes.’ The verse is a warning; without Biblical counsel and direction, without someone proclaiming God's expectations and, in follow-up, seeing to it that God's people line up with God's ways in all things, the people will go astray. God's desire for leaders, and His intent for them, is that they themselves would walk in a manner worthy of their calling, and that they would insist upon those with them walking in that grace-driven but holiness-seeking way. Unfortunately, the cry for leadership nowadays is being driven, we fear, more from the Americanized business model than the Biblical one, and is reminiscent of Israel's desire for a king who would help them 'be like the other nations.' In the end, Israel got what they wanted, but much more than they were bargaining for, and it wasn't good. Such is usual the case when we’d rather do it our way, or do it like the Philistines do it, or when we want to be perceived as savvy more than spiritual.