Every time we talk about what could be and should be, we’re having a little conversation about vision. Whether it’s across the lunch table with another church member, at a planning retreat, or talking together as a church, we’re gesturing toward something greater than ourselves. It is an effort to name that elusive sense we have that God is drawing us toward something. Vision cannot be pushed. Instead, when we talk about vision, we’re talking about a passionate, God-given sense of direction and purpose for being and acting. In a very real way, we don’t catch a vision so much as we are caught by it.
Think of the apostle Paul’s powerful sense of this as he writes to the church in Philippi:
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:12-14)
Through high times and low, faced with challenges, diversions, adversity, and any manner of changes, Paul was all-in, captivated by a God-given vision. “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things,” he continues. It was true for the Philippians. It is true for us at Yates, too.
The deacons are now developing a sustained visionary conversation within the church. It is not idle talk, but instead intended to name several important features of Yates’ future on the corner of Cornwallis and Chapel Hill Roads and around the world.
So we must hear the questions our congregation is asking and start asking new ones. What problem is our church attempting to solve? Is there something that will not get done if we don’t do it? If we don’t do what we do, is there a group of people that won’t be reached? We need to begin by talking about why Yates exists at all. What is it God has called us to address together?
The emerging clarity of vision is a “solution” to that question, and when we couple a problem with a clear solution to which we are spiritually and emotionally connected, it is captivating. Consider what Frederick Buechner wrote: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Where in the world does our deep gladness intersect with the world’s hunger? Let’s meet up there, where God is already working.
We will also need to locate urgency. We must answer two important questions: Why must we do this and why must we do it now?
When we talk about the vision, it must be in a way that’s clear and compelling. God has given us wondrous diversity in our churches. God’s vision for Yates is unique, personal, and—I believe—much closer than we may realize. Consider the ways some other churches have clearly, concisely and compellingly spoken to the questions and ideas I’ve laid before you this month:
Glad Tidings (Omaha, NE): For saints and seekers. For individuals and families. For those more or less fortunate. For young and old. For red, yellow, black, and white. For blue collars, white collars, and no collars. For Omaha locals and foreign refugees. At Glad Tidings, the good news is for all people.
City on a Hill (Melbourne, Australia): We not only want City on a Hill to be famous for being all about Jesus, we want the person and work of Jesus to be famous in our city. This fame begins in our own lives, and extends into our homes, workplaces, universities and city.
Brainerd Baptist (Chattanooga, TN): To see God through Christ deliver individuals from the bondage of sin, disciple them into faithful followers of Christ, and deploy them as leaders to the nations for the glory of God.
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (Ft Lauderdale, FL): To rescue and replenish a world lost and broken by sin, thereby “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
Willow Creek (South Barrington, IL): We believe all people matter to God and that Christ’s message and ministry through the local church is the hope of the world.
NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC): To continue growing, impacting lives and using technology and the arts to reach 100,000 people for Jesus Christ.
Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York, NY): To build a great city for all people through a gospel movement that brings personal conversion, community formation, social justice and cultural renewal to New York City and, through it, to the world.
These are their stories. Each one is compelling.
What story will Yates tell about what God will do in and through this church? We will only know as each member of it remains prayerfully, openly and fully engaged as we discern and live out the vision that will catch us and draw us forward.
Grace & Peace,