For the past year and a half or so, I’ve been in middle of a very personal, very difficult time of transition. To say the least, God was messing with my own interior, shaking things up on the surface so He could deal with the deeper parts of me that needed His merciful touch. In the process, I found myself questioning my calling, questioning my “qualifications”, questioning whether I am really supposed to be pastoring at all. At one particularly dark period in this transition time, there was not a week that went by when I didn’t seriously consider the “other things” I could possibly do instead of pastor a church.
Over time, the cloudiness began to clear, I found that the transforming work God was working in me as a person was beginning to open me up to changes I needed to make in the way I pastor our congregation. And it all came down to vision. As I became clear on my own personal calling (vision) from God, I began to ask God what the vision for our congregation should be for the next three to five years…only to meet with more silence.
The only thing that really captured by thinking at that time…the only thing that I couldn’t get my mind off of when it came to thinking about the future of our church was the possibility of breaking the attendance plateau I knew we were in. I know that sounds somewhat one-dimensional and purely numbers focused. But hear me out.
During that season of soul searching, I settled upon some essential convictions when it came to the future of our church. The first one was pretty significant for me, and that is, in order for us to grow to our potential, I must live out my pastorate in a way that is true to how God has made me (gifting, personality, talent, motivations, interests, etc.). That of course brings me right up against the areas of my weakness.
So the second conviction I developed was that I need people to lead in the areas where I am weak. That was huge for me. Because I had been spending too much energy trying to strengthen my weak areas (administration is one of them). What I needed to do was admit I was weak, and pray, seek, and release leaders who can cover those weak spots.
Thirdly, I settled upon the reality that the vision for our church, whatever that was, did not rest only in my own heart and mind. I did not have all the pieces to the vision. God has placed the pieces to the vision in the hearts and minds of a certain individuals within the larger congregation. I’ll call these people the “vision community”.
The vision community is made up of the people in our church who are thankful for all that God has done to get us to this point, but who also believe that there is more God wants to do through us as a church in forming more devoted followers of Jesus, in playing a significant part in the transformation of individuals, families, neighborhoods, and yes, even cities. The vision community loves our congregation too much to watch it get comfortable and grow complacent. And they are willing and ready to move with any of the changes necessary to become the kind of church God has intended for us to be.
The vision community will not settle for anything less than what God intends for our church. The vision community will ask the hard questions, and then point the first finger at themselves, and begin to model the kind of changes first in themselves that they want to see in the congregation. The vision community is a people full of passion for Christ, and a love for the people for whom Christ died. They are not only a future-oriented group that is willing to step out in faith, they are also an intercessory group that prays for the spiritual renewal of God’s people. They are people who are willing to work hard, and work smart, to learn humbly, and give generously…to sacrifice the right things in order to see the vision become reality.
Wow that’s a mouthful. So let me start this new series of blogs with a new invitation. To all of you that consider New Life Center your church home, or would wish to make it such, will you consider becoming a part of this vision community? If so, don’t raise your hand, I can’t see it. But you can show your support by responding to these blogs. For now is the time to engage in a conversation together. I need you. We need each other. We need the Spirit of God, his wisdom, his favor, his touch. There is too much at stake to not envision together what God is calling us to do as a church. There is too much at stake to not decide upon the changes that need to be made to become the best version of ourselves as a church. So, will you join me in this conversation? Let’s talk about what it is going to take for us to grow deeper, stronger, and larger as a church.
So, before we start talking about “barriers” and “obstacles” to our future, let’s start by celebrating our past. Here’s the first question, going out to the vision community:
What good, redemptive, providential, and perhaps even miraculous things has God done in our history as church to get us to the place we are now? Let’s tell some of the stories of how God has used our church to change lives, grow stronger disciples, serve the needs of others, and bring people to salvation.
(I understand that some of you may be quite new to our church. If so, what kinds of things drew you to the church and made you want to stick around?)
