A Piece of My Mind: Visioneering
by Pastor Brad Hill
Visioneering. That is what we will be doing for a while. What is “visioneering”?
“Visioneering is the course one follows to make dreams a reality. It is the process whereby ideas and convictions take on substance.” (Andy Stanley) A great and compelling vision infuses the mundane and the minutia of life with meaning and purpose. A vision from God for this church places the church right in the flow of his Master Plan. Without an inspiring vision, we just wander. In the language of postmodernism, we live “wiki-lives” of randomness that lack an overarching metanarrative. Think of it this way. Are you simply filling sand bags or are you saving a town from a flood? A laborer who was shoveling rubble into a wheelbarrow and carting it off was asked what he was doing. “I’m building a skyscraper” was his answer. Now that’s vision! Paul wrote that, “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). The SCC Vision recognizes that the church is His workmanship, we are created in Christ Jesus, and we are created for the doing of good deeds. But which good deeds is he calling us to do? What kind of church needs to be created to do those particular deeds? Vision prioritizes our values and it brings those things most important to the surface. Vision imparts purpose and purpose energizes and mobilizes! A vision from God comes with a moral imperative, we will be convicted that these things should be done, must be done! Visioneering takes time. We will clarify and prioritize values. We will assess our assets, gifts, and strengths, all in a climate of prayerful watching and waiting. As we do this, the vision will mature. As we wait, we also mature in preparation for the vision. “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
THE THREE FORUMS ON SCC LIFE AND MINISTRY were blessed with great attendance and vigorous participation! In “Reflecting: Shaped by the Spirit” we saw how the Lord sustained the church through many changes over the decades. In “Refining-Inspired by the Spirit” we “asset-mapped” the church and saw more clearly how God has already given the means to fulfill His will for the church. The desire for increased diversity and intergenerational engagement was apparent. In “Revisioning-Keeping in Step with the Spirit” we started to feel the shape of things yet to come. These round-table discussions generated a lot of “data” (all of which is available, including summaries) but the greatest outcome was simply that we had opportunity to hear each other’s heart for the Lord and His church. On a personal note, I am deeply touched by the passion SCC has to love the neighbor and the ‘hood for the sake of Jesus Christ.