JeffCranstondotcom: Vision

Fork-in-the-road

1. What would I do if I had no limitations?

2. What would I do if I had only five years to live?

3. What would I do if I had unlimited resources?

4. What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?

These questions are challenging me and are from John Maxwell's latest book, "Put Your Dreams to the Test." I like to evaluate and re-evaluate where I am and where I think I ought to be going in life-direction every now and then. I think we should all so that; it's healthy.

I'll put it this way: to not evaluate where your life is and where it is going is to live a life without purpose and direction. We then too easily fall into the trap of mediocrity and settling for less. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to invest my life in those two areas!

Why not ask yourself these questions and see where they might take you?

"Vision," wrote Jonathon Swift, "is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." As a leader, part of my responsibility is to "live" in a preferred future for LowCountry Community Church. This opens a leader up to criticism, being charged with the heinous crime of "being a dreamer." And yet throughout Scripture we see God planting vision and dreams in the hearts of His people.

Joseph was directed by God through an angel during a dream; Mary took those things and pondered them in her heart; Jesus' life was rescued from a murderous brigand. Nehemiahdreamed of rescuing the city, rebuilding the walls and a return to prominence for the people of God. Josephdreamed of saving his family, native land and his people through his elevated position. Pauldreamed of pouring his life into people, bringing them the gospel, reaching the entire world for Christ, and planting churches everywhere he went. And Jesusdreamed of the day when we would be returned to the Father through His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection. And every one of these dreams came true!

Dreaming of a preferred future is called vision - and when God's people lack it, they die. When a church stops dreaming and ceases to talk and become excited about a preferred future, "Ichabod" is written over the door. Helen Keller understood this well when she said, "The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but no vision." That is not only true for people, it is true of churches. It becomes even more distressing when a church loses the vision God has for them.

Here are a few statements I'm just throwing out which I believe become true of a church when that church loses the ability to dream big dreams for God, and have faith in the reality of God's preferred future.

When a church loses her vision...

the baptistry is dry as dust.
changed lives are non-existent.
the leadership listens and responds to the moaners, whiners and malcontents instead of the Holy Spirit.
church resources are spent on keeping the present crowd fat and happy.
no one sacrifices for the Kingdom.
the pastor is never awakened in the middle of the night by God saying, "Get up and write this down - then go and do it for Me."
time is spent criticizing other churches and ministries.
people in the church whisper questions to one another like, "What's wrong with our church?" "What's wrong with our pastor?" "Why is such-and-such church growing and we aren't?"
people never ask, "What's wrong with me?"
it's automatically assumed that because "such-and-such" church is growing that they have "watered down the gospel and just tell people what they want to hear."
the pastor never has sphincter-tightening moment.
the order of the worship service for this coming Sunday could have been the order of worship for any Sunday from the past five years.
very few people ever leave the church; very few people ever join the church.
the church believes the latest and greatest program, "summit", conference, or trip holds the key to future "success."
knees are uncalloused