A Church With Vision

During this time of ministry transition my wife and I have been attending a different church each Sunday. It has been very informational and beneficial for me to experience church from the pew rather than just from the platform. This Sunday we attended a church down in Lancaster with some friends. Three qualities really reached out to me during our morning there:

VISION! This church has vision! That was so clear and so exciting. The pastor had a very clear vision for his church and he was doing a tremendous job of presenting that vision to the church as he painted a picture of the future that was producing a passion in that local body today. I loved how he made it clear that their church did not exist simply for them - it existed in order to make an impact in their community and in their world. From a future satellite campus to missions work all over the world - this church was focused on reaching people for Jesus. I loved it because I thoroughly believe that evangelism must be the engine that drives the church.

CREATIVITY! From the moment you hit the entrance to the parking lot of this church you were immediately drawn into the theme of the morning due to the creative displays and settings both outside and inside their campus. There was much to see, hear, touch and experience that made you grab hold of the theme of the morning which was to "Do Something!"

AUTHENTICITY! This place was real! Nothing stuffy! Nothing fake! The pastor was very much a "down to earth" guy with an authentic and transparent personality and speaking style. He was the type of guy you were drawn to and captivated by his presentation. These three elements, vision, creativity and authenticity, made this a place of worship that had a purpose. They weren't just meeting to do church. They were going somewhere. They honestly believed that the church was the hope of the world and they were determined to make their fullest impact on it as a local body. How refreshing.

Now I have to be honest and say that I was a bit uncomfortable with the two "messages from the Lord" that two individuals in the congregation gave during the worship time. They would most likely say that they have the gift of prophecy and that God had given them these messages to declare. As a result, they spoke out loud to the congregation as if God were speaking to them (i.e. "Thus says the Lord," or "I am the Lord your God."). I find it interesting that in a very informal and culturally relevant church, both times they prophesied it appeared that God gave them these messages in a "King James" style of language with a lot of "thy's, thee's and shalt's." Personally, I do not believe that the gift of prophecy today includes receiving direct revelation from God. I believe that when it comes to direct revelation, the Bible contains all that we need to know to do all that God wants us to do.

But aside from those two short interludes, it was a wonderful service. I believe that God has great things in store for this local body. It was great to spend the morning worshipping with them. After all, the local church really is the hope of the world because it is the church that has the only message, the message of Jesus Christ, that can change someone's course for eternity!

Be sure to check out my other blog entitled "Hope For Hurting Pastors" at www.hurtingpastor.blogspot.com. You can also email me at skdistler@gmail.com