At its most recent meeting, your session adopted a new vision statement for our church:
At First Presbyterian Church, we are seeking to
experience the presence of God;
live as Jesus Christ lived; and
love others as God loves us.
I cannot tell you how excited I am about this Vision Statement. For me, it covers all the bases. We will retain an amended version of the current Mission Statement, which provides steps to reach this vision. From these we will implement clear strategies and goals. Consider this new three-fold Vision Statement.
EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF GOD
First we are seeking to experience the presence of God. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus promised to always be with His disciples. Sometimes we forget that promise and live as if He is not intimately close. We want to remind ourselved that God is with us. And we want to provide opportunities to experience that presence. Certainly this can (and hopefully does) happen in worship. But this can also happen in Bible study, in service to others, in community, or in quiet solitude.
At our session meeting, there was some thought to add the word "powerful" before "presence," but then that would limit the scope of God's presence. At times, God's presence might be experience as powerful. But at other times, it might be peaceful or holy or awe-inspiring or comforting or even terrible.
The danger of this idea is that we humans might begin to worship "the experience" rather than the Creator. This is evident when people begin to measure their spiritual maturity by the number and depth of spiritual experiences they have had. So we must maintain a healthy balance of opening ourselves to God's presence without defying the experience.
LIVE AS JESUS CHRIST LIVED
Scripture tells us that we are to be holy as God is holy. Jesus commissioned His disciples to teach others to obey all that He had commanded. Notice, that Jesus does not say, "Teach others what I have commanded." He tells His followers "to obey" Obedience is evident in actions, not simply knowledge.
One of the complaints I hear from those who dislike church is that Christians don't follow Jesus' teachings. Unfortunately they are absolutely correct. Really. Who can live as Jesus lived? That's why we say that "we are seeking to" do so. When I was young, my church handed out buttons that had this printed on them: P B P G I N F W M Y. This stood for, "Please be patient; God is not finished with me yet." We are all in a state of becoming.
While we recognize that no one is perfect, we must also take seriously Christ's call to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. And we cannot follow in His footsteps unless we know where He has walked. So Bible study is vitally important. As the apostle Paul says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your minds." The Holy Spirit works through Scripture to transform our lives and helps us to live as Christ lived.
LOVE OTHERS AS GOD LOVES US
As the Father loved the Son, so the Son loved His disciples and He commanded them to love one another. This love is illustrated in His acts of compassion, healing, of serving others, of setting captives free, of washing feet, of restoring sight, of laying down His life for others.
Jesus reminded His disciples to love others as they wanted to be loved. There is no greater example of perfect love, than Jesus Christ's love for us. We love others as God loves us when we follow the example of Jesus Christ. We exhibit God's love when we reach out to the unlovely and unloved, when we fight for the cause of the oppressed and the exploited, when we give voice to the long-silenced.
An important distinction to make at this point is what "love" is. One of my favorite quotes is Dan Allender's: "If Christ had practiced the kind of love [the church] advocates nowadays, He would have lived to a ripe old age." Perfect love is bold and strong. Perfect love seeks the spiritual, emotional, mental, physical best for others.
I am excited about this new Vision Statement. Solomon warns his readers in Proverbs, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." As one church leader pointed out, the proverb warns that the people perish, not the pastor. The vision is vitally important for the health of the community. Or, as Rick Warren warns, "Where there is no vision, the people find another parish." Having a vision and goals brings new life.
I hope you will consider this new Vision Statement and how it might apply to your life. I believe that every member of this church should be involved in three ways: 1) in worship; 2) in one regular Small Group Bible Study; and 3) in one service ministry to others. As a church, may we consider how we are seeking to make this vision a reality in our lives, in our congregation, and in our community.
May God richly bless us even as He blesses others through us!
In His Love & Service,
Lance
