Friday, August 31, 2007

Communicating Vision


Remember when Ronald Reagan was President? Well, you can if you’re over 30. One of the nicknames given to him was “The Great Communicator”, because he had a natural gift of being able to say what needed to be said in such a way that we as a nation heard and understood (whether we agreed or not). The ability to communicate clearly and effectively is crucial for anyone in a leadership post, whether it’s at home, at work, in government or in church.

Fortunately for us God has communicated Himself to us in a way we can hear and understand. He gave us a book, the Bible that reveals His will. He gave us His Son, who came to earth in human flesh to reveal His desire to bring us back to a relationship with Him. He gave us His Holy Spirit who lives in every believer to guide and teach us. God’s all about communication, isn’t He?

One of my great frustrations is how ineffectively I communicate as a pastor. Part of my calling and responsibility is to deliver the goods in such a way that we get it. So I’m always looking for better ways to do that. Too much is at stake for the message and the vision to get muddled.

Soon I’ll be using Sunday mornings to teach from two sources – the Word of God and my heart – where God is leading us as a church family. He’s taken us to so many amazing places on our journey over the years, but it doesn’t end here! There’s a next level to where He wants us to ascend.

We’re getting the Sunday morning thing down pretty well. From the welcome to the worship and everything in between our weekly gatherings are going so well. We like being the people of God in the “house” of God. But I’m not sure we all understand why we do what we do. And I think it’s important that we have that understanding.

But we’ve got to be so much more than a Sunday morning gathering, as vital as that is to our health. Exciting things are happening the rest of the week, many that I’m sure I don’t even know about. And those things, like healthy, growing and reproducing Connection Groups are the early steps toward this next level of being the people of God in the world. But it’s got to be much more if we’re going to reach our community with the Gospel.

So I’ll be communicating these things over the fall months. Please listen! Read my weekly emails. Visit my blog. Listen to the messages on the pod cast. I really am trying to make the vision plain, as the Word says. And I’m trying so hard because I believe it’s urgent that we blaze some new trails and without fear follow Christ out of the safety of the fortress and into the enemy’s terrain.

He promised that the gates of hell couldn’t hold us back. Let’s find out if He was serious.

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