Do We Have A Vision Problem?

I just returned from a productive weekend at our annual Diaconate Retreat.  This is the third consecutive year the Deacons at First Baptist have chosen to get away for a time of reflection, team building, and renewal.  The topic for this year's retreat focused on spiritual leadership and team building.  One of the recurring themes that continuously surfaced during the retreat was vision.  Several references were made to the verse in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision the people perish."  A verse, in my opinion, which has been misused and misinterpreted.   Let me explain.

The Hebrew word translated vision is chazon.  The word literally means revelation, and in this context is a reference to God's revelation, namely the Torah.  The writer is saying, "Where God's Revelation (Word, Torah) is lacking, the people stumble and fall."  The emphasis is God's Word, God's Revelation, God's Vision!  As a spiritual leader it is not my job to create a vision, my job is to articulate God's Vision for the Church.  The picture being painted by the wisdom writer is not a people withering away because their leader has failed to cast a vision, rather it is the picture of a people who are stumbling and falling because they have failed to follow God's Vision or Revelation.

What is God's Vision for the Church?  I think Jesus articulated that Vision in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."  If I understand the New Testament, God's Vision for the church is to make disciples.  As a Pastor or Spiritual Leader I can have a vision, but my vision may differ from God's Vision.  My vision may be to grow a large church, to build a fabulous facility, or to increase the church budget.  But if God's Vision is replaced by my vision, as attractive as my vision may be, then the church ceases to be the Church.

We (including me) have done a poor job articulating God's Vision.  Our silence, or at best fuzziness on the subject, has left the door wide open for those who would cast an alternative.  Our lack of clarity has lead to confusion and shallow expressions of faith.   So it is time for change.  What the Church needs is not so much visionaries, but faithful men and women who are willing to listen as God speaks and follow as He directs.

Blessings,
Jimmy

UPS and the National Day of Prayer

I attended a National Day of Prayer Service last Thursday held on the steps of the Municipal Building in downtown Washington, North Carolina.   Local civic and business leaders have sponsored a National Day of Prayer for at least a decade, and I have attended most of them.  I thought this year’s Day of Prayer was exceptional.  The prayers were offered by representatives from a cross-section of our community.  Clergy, elected officials, business owners, and community leaders were all represented.  Those responsible for putting the program together were very careful to make sure that various denominations and ethnic groups were invited to participate.  

I was also impressed by the musicians who led in this year’s event.  The event began with the blowing of a shofar; a local trumpeter led in the National Anthem; and a mother/daughters vocal group sang appropriately (since we were only a few hundred yards from the Pamlico)  “When I Went Down to the River to Pray.”

But the one thing that impressed me most about this year’s National Day of Prayer was not on the official program.  As I stood on the steps of the Municipal Building, I noticed a UPS delivery truck making its way up the street.  When the driver approached the Municipal Building, he apparently took note of what was happening.  I’ve never worked for UPS, but I’m told that most drivers are on a fairly tight schedule.  So, you can imagine the surprise, at least it was for me, when this particular driver stopped his truck; pulled to the curb; sat on the steps of his truck; removed his cap; and participated in the service.  

In my opinion, this driver exemplified what the National Day of Prayer should really be about.  It shouldn’t be a “political football” tossed around by politicians for their own political gain and purposes.  It shouldn’t  be about official proclamations or mandates.  It should be about people who care enough to pause from their busyness to pray for our Great Nation and her leaders.

Blessings,

Jimmy