Being Visionary

When Apple founder Steve Jobs passed away in early October the word that was used to describe him most often was “visionary.” Steve Jobs was a visionary. He saw things that others couldn’t and encouraged people to pursue that vision. His vision for things changed the world in which we live. The curious thing about Steve Jobs is that we tend to think about him as a technology genius which was not the case. His real genius was in the area of design and what people would find desirable from a stylistic point of view. He had a tremendous gift for designing products that had the “it” factor. Apple products are just plain cool!

Vision is important. I define vision as a picture of our preferred future. We can see what it will look like and want to embrace and achieve it.

• The Wright brothers had a vision for people to fly.
• John F. Kennedy envisioned a man walking on the moon.
• Martin Luther King envisioned a society where all human beings had equal rights.       

If you want to achieve something, you need a vision.

God used visions to inspire people to accomplish God’s preferred future.

• God gave Abraham and Sarah, a childless couple, the vision of being the parents of a nation.
• God gave Moses a vision of leading slaves out of captivity and into a promised land. 
• God gave Peter a vision of a more inclusive church. 

There are many other examples in the bible, but you get my point. God inspired people to great accomplishments with vision.

         

Churches are no different than individuals. We need a picture of our preferred future to inspire us to make a difference in the world and to accomplish what God is calling us to do. In my mind each church that exists has the same mission, “to make disciples of all nations.” I believe that each church has their own unique vision for how we embrace that mission. That vision is based on the history of the congregation, the setting, demographics, a sense of calling and the overall gifts and abilities of a congregation.

Once a congregation has a vision, they align all of their resources (time, talent and treasure) to realize that vision. Everything that a congregation does or considers doing should begin with the question: How will this move us closer to realizing our vision?

Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church is embarking on a “vision process.” It will begin in January with the goal of communicating and embracing the vision in September. There will be lots of different ways for people in our congregation and in our community to participate in that process. As the year progresses you will hear more and more about the vision God is revealing to us.

Let us be in prayer as we seek God’s will and God’s way!

This week in worship we will continue to see how Jesus’ Upside Down Thinking from the Sermon on the Mount directs us to be part of The Next Christians. See you in worship.