Sue's Musings

The book this time talks about moving an already established church toward being a missional church – one engaged in outreach, in mission, in discipleship. One thing that is absolutely vital in order for there to be any movement, is vision. Specifically, you, the leader, needs to have a vision of what you believe God is calling/challenging the church to become. Vision gives direction and inspiration. Well communicated, it gives hope.

What is your vision for the church? You might ask, “how do I get vision?” “How do I know what God is calling us to become?” Well, as a friend of mine said, “I probably do it wrong – I go away for a weekend, pray until I get a vision, I go back and share it with the church, and then we work until we’ve achieved it.” Wow – what a concept – pray!

Here’s another idea – read the Bible – read stories of God at work in the early church – read the Acts of the Apostles – see what God was calling the church to become then, and what God was calling the disciples to become. I believe that God’s call to us today is not far different from God’s call to that first church.

Here’s another idea – talk about it with each other – with the session and with church members. Out of conversation, God’s voice is often heard – if we listen for the underlying voice of the Spirit beneath the words we speak to each other when we speak of the things of God.

Don’t worry about getting the vision “right.” We may not fully get all the details the first time, but if we can catch the bigger vision, share it in powerful ways with the congregation and with each other. They (you know -that nebulous “they”) say that rarely will a person be motivated to change his or her life because of the threat of negative consequences (such as those associated with smoking), but they will often change when they catch a vision that motivates them.

What vision motivates you?