Vision Is

I squeeze in to join seven others brainstorm on how to develop the master design for a hypothetical church plant. As all of us begin to offer helpful suggestions, my pastor blurts out that “Every Present Dead Frog Must Wiggle.” Needless to say, we all laughed and were dying to know what he meant by such an odd phrase. After explaining the helpful acrostic that he made up in order to help us remember the core values in our theoretical model, we appreciated his clever mind.

Although fun, trying to establish the official vision statement for our make believe ministry wasn’t easy. The instructors stood nearby continuing to stress the importance of a unified mind. They taught that a clear vision is essential in the construction and success of any God given dream. After hearing this point reiterated, it reminds me of all the many different ways life naturally distracts me from accomplishing my goals.

It is easy to leave a three day event where you have been solely focused on learning how to mold an idea into reality and feel aggressively inspired to make it all happen the next day. I face this challenge every time I go and am surrounded by strong men and women who have dedicated their lives to Christ. But what has a tendency to happen is the same problem that any church plant faces, life and people!

We are taught to own our vision and be owned by it and to share our vision until it is a shared vision. These points are excellent but when there are others who disagree with my specific direction, I always go back to Christ in prayer and check the redemptive purposes in what I am doing. My pastor’s catching phrase reminds me to evangelize, pray, disciple and be discipled, fellowship, minister, and worship. If I am incorporating all of these in all I do, I am on a healthy track towards meeting my mission's main objective. May the Lord help me guard my vision with my life and from it, help others find rest in Jesus Christ our Lord.  

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

Mathew 13: 31-32