This continues our look at "The Present Future"...
God is making waves all around the North American church. Some churches are going to get to ride them. These are the churches that are prepared to get in on what God is up to.
Wrong Question #5: How Do We Plan For The Future?
Tough Question #5: How Do We Prepare For the Future?
People tire of visionless activity and organizations, but people never tire of vision when it’s the right one.
Vision is discovered, not invented.
Listen. Listen to the heart hopes of the people you lead. Ask them what they would like to see God do in their lives and in the lives of the church and in the community.
So, we're listening. What do you have to say? I love this language. What are your heart hopes? Stop and listen to your own heart. What is it telling you? Not your head. Your heart. What would you like to see God do in your own life? What would you like to see the church, our church become?
I recently posed this question to some in our community. Here are the short one or two word responses to what they hope Mars Hill would be and become: a place of challenge, pursuit of God, know Jesus, be Jesus to people, full, deep reservoir, functionally and usefully deep, diversity, scandalous grace, radical inclusion, people of peace, whole, complete, abnormally normal, social work church, accept the rejected, go to the margins, love everybody, you add to the list.
Look. Look at your town, your city. Look at where you are. Look at what’s going on around you.
So, what do you see around you? Your neighborhood? Workplace? Community? City? What is happening all around us? What is the most natural response?
Talk. When do you see the energy go up?
What gives you energy? What are you passionate about? What are you indignant about?
In the emerging world people are increasingly looking for intentionality and organic to be joined together. What do we value? Values are demonstrated by behavior.
Here are some values that have risen the surface: culture, ideas, change, relationships, knowledge, real, alive, local church, spirituality, creativity, openness, family, risk, life together friends, evolving, leadership, flexible, poor, adaptability, marginalized, gospel, forgotten, future, next generation, urban context, you add to the list.
Create venues where people can practice the core values.
Where do you, me and us practice what we preach? Let's remember that we the kingdom of God is not a kingdom of words but rather a kingdom of action. Because after all, talk is cheap!
Every idea for ministry needs to be accompanied by a list of values it champions.
Our world is in no shortage of ideas. Let's be a value-driven community.
Often we tell children they need to spend more time on the things that come the hardest to them, leaving underdeveloped those talents that are most natural.
What are your most natural talents? Are you putting them to use? And for whose benefit?
Balance is a myth. Leaders are “out of round” in the areas of their passion, their giftedness and their vision. Your best shot at making your best contribution is for you to get better at what you are already good at.
In what ways are you "out of round"?
Someone in our community said that, "the world and the Church is being robbed because people are not utilizing their giftedness and uniqueness."
The church is so self-absorbed that most inquiries will tend to perpetuate innovations in doing church, not being church.
Together, let's keep turning outward. Serve our community. Extend mercy. Exist for others. And love more than others think is necessary.
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