Chan Willis – C.P.C.

                                                                                                                                                January 24, 2009

“Seeking God’s ‘Vission’”

Genesis 28:10-17; Luke 8:16

            I could just hear what was going through your minds as you read the sermon title:  “Gee, you think the office could have caught that typo.”  Or, “I think Chan needs some MORE time off, if he can’t even spell the word ‘vision’ right!”  Well, believe it or not, I intended to spell ‘vision’ with two ‘s’s.’  Let me explain.

            As I wrote about in the January Lamplighter, The leadership of your church has come to the realization that if we are to more faithfully serve our risen Lord and fulfill His purposes for C.P.C., we need to intentionally seek His will.  We need to be open to what God’s plan is… not merely our own human perspective and ‘the ways we’ve always done it’ at church.

            And so, at a Visioning Retreat held out at the Watkins’ farm in December, the deacons and elders and I began the process of considering just what was important to us as a church.  We are using as a tool for this self-analysis materials developed by a highly-regarded authority in church growth and transformation, Tom Bandy (whom I mentioned in this month’s newsletter).  Mr. Bandy believes that before the church can fully meet its potential of ministry, it should first have an accurate sense of who it is… what its true identity is.

            He uses phrases like “Core Values”… “Bedrock Beliefs”… “Motivating Vision”… “Mission Focus”… “Core Message.”   These are terms that we will be exploring over the course of the next few months.  And yes, I said ‘WE.’  For this process of assessing ourselves today so that we might more effectively move into tomorrow must be something more than simply a ‘leadership exercise.’  If you and I… who together make up the “Church”… are to grow into spiritual health and maturity, we ALL must be assessing who we are, where we are in that journey.  Each one of us must evaluate our present condition to determine the best way to move into the future. 

Let’s face it:  we probably put more effort into making sure our cars are ready for a long trip than we do for ourselves in this journey of life!  We check the oil, transmission fluid, windshield washer fluid.  Tires; spark plugs; front-end alignment, brakes.  We will also make sure that we have maps… oh excuse me, our GPS… and money or credit cards.  And finally, there is that issue of filling the gas tank.  All because we want to make sure that we and those we love make it to our destination safely.   Friends, shouldn’t we take at least as much effort to check out our own personal condition for this ‘road trip’ of life?  Do not you and I want to make sure that we… and those who we love… make it to our eternal destination safely?

Which brings me back to that word ‘vission.’  Two of the words that Tom Bandy makes frequent reference to are “vision” and “mission.”  Webster defines a ‘vision’ as a “supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation; unusual discernment or foresight.”  Bandy describes God’s vision as a “… ‘song in the heart’ that elicits incredible joy… and motivates and aligns everything the congregation does…” And so, for us, the church, “vision” is  Seeing through God’s eyes the joyful purpose for our lives. 

“Mission” comes from Latin ‘missio’, ‘to be sent.’  This ‘sending’ has a specific task to be accomplished.  In Bandy’s words, an “audacious, practical goal that demands the single-minded commitment of congregational participants.”  Therefore, the church’s “mission” is that objective for which you and I are sent.

Vision and mission.  Seeing and sending.  Beginning and end.  Knowing where you are going and why you are going there.  And I see those as inextricably linked to each other.  Vision and mission.  Or… “vission.”  We can have that wonderful ‘song in the heart’ that gives us such joy, but if we don’t have some sense of how to share that song, how much value is it, really?  In the same way, we can be committed to a goal that we truly believe will honor God and inspire people, but if we don’t first seek the mind of Christ, then our plans will be mere folly.   We must be seekers of both God’s vision and mission:  His “vission.”

In the course of upcoming weeks, we will be considering different passages from Scripture that will challenge you and I to consider how in tune we are to God’s ‘vission’ for our lives… and our church.  This week we have read the story commonly referred to as “Jacob’s Ladder.”  That vision in which Jacob has a vision from God with angels going up and down a number of ‘stairways,’ or ladders.  What does this mean?  Well, this will be our first exercise in ‘vision casting’ as a church… you tell me!  You go and re-read this passage, and think about how it applies to your life. 

For me, I must say my first mental image is of a video game, like Mario brothers, with little characters going up and down ladders.  But the part of the verse that jumps out at me is in verse 14, where God says to Jacob that “All peoples on earth will be blessed by you and your offspring.  (and) I am with you…”  Perhaps Jacob is being reminded that He has been blessed by God in many ways, and therefore he is to be a blessing to others.  Much as we too have been ‘blessed to be a blessing.’  Maybe God is telling us we need to be mindful of how we as a church can be a blessing to others… not because of any special qualities of ours, but because God is saying to us, “I am with you.”  That as you and I scurry up and down those ‘ladders of life,’ trying to serve God and family, we should remember that God is at the top, looking down on his children… smiling at our oft-well-intentioned, sometimes misguided efforts.

As  you give thought to Jacob’s vision for you, be reminded also of Jesus’ words in Luke:  that a lamp is not to be hidden, but displayed in plain sight, “so that those who come in can see the light.”  Our mission, the reason we are sent, is in part so that others may see in us the light of Christ.

Today we have ordained and installed two more leaders in the church, Karen Key and Jack McLean.  They, along with those with whom they will serve, have been called by God, through the voice of this congregation, because we have seen in them “the light of Christ.”  As they seek God’s ‘vission’ for this church, and for themselves, it will be a journey.  One that they embark upon with no small amount of ‘fear and trepidation.’  ‘Who am I to serve as an ordained leader in God’s Church?’  Well, as they… and we… seek to better understand the answer to that question “who am I?”, let us prepare ourselves for the ‘road trip.’  Let’s study the ‘road map’ known as God’s Holy Word.   Check out the ‘tires’ of your faith, where your trust in God meets the ‘road hazards’ of life; keep yourself ‘fueled’ and ‘oiled’ in prayer.  And please, don’t forget your “G.P.S.” … God’s Place in your Soul… the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit will truly bring you back ‘home.’

As together we travel on this journey of faith, let us never forget God’s words to Jacob, and us:  “I am with you.”  No matter what ‘potholes’ you may hit along the way, hold on to the truth that… in the words of singer Steven Curtis Chapman… “there’s no better place on earth than the road that leads to heaven.”  AMEN?