Engaging our Vision

Imagine a church where everyone gets along all the time. Imagine a church where every need that you have is being met one hundred percent of the time. Imagine a church where the worship team never misses a note. Imagine a church where struggles do not exist. Imagine a church where the preacher gets it right all the time. Now open your eyes. In the words of my grandmother, “Keep on dreamin’ baby!”

We don’t gather, worship, and serve in a perfect church. And the number one reason is because you are here – I am here!. However this should not stop us from imagining what it can be. Barbara Brown Taylor writes about the importance of imagination in faith. Faith is in many ways putting imagination into practice. Faith fuels the imagination, and imagination fuels faith. We Christians believe in a God that we can’t see. When we let God work in our imagination, we don’t see God, but we see what God is doing in the world. When we let God work in our imagination, then we feel God’s presence in our lives, even during the most difficult moments of loss and grief. Letting God work in our imagination doesn’t mean that we lose touch with reality. Faith fueled by trust and imagination means that we use our whole brains to be more fully in touch with reality. It means that we’re not limited to what our senses tell us.

When our imagination is fueled by faith, then we see new possibilities of living and discipleship. It was a lack of imagination that kept the rich young ruler from selling his possessions and following Jesus. It was his lack of dreaming of what the future could be that kept him from experiencing a taste of that future for him in the present. Because he could not see beyond his check book, he failed to see what a future was available to him. If he had only trusted the words of Jesus and surrendered to Jesus he could have experienced an exciting life of faith. Instead he walked away disappointed, defeated, and discouraged.

The future of our congregation does not depend on buildings or state of the art equipment. Our future rests on our ability to imagine new possibilities and to show a different way of living to a hurting world. We have the best story going. We have the story of God, who created all that is and has revealed himself to us. We have the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have the story of the Holy Spirit who is present with us right now. Imagine a church community where the number one priority is to tell the story. Imagine a church community where the focus is on living by God’s story. Imagine a church that takes serious Jesus’ command to love our neighbors. Imagine a church where we listen for the direction of the Holy Spirit. Imagine a church that is passionate about living the Jesus way.

If this sounds impossible for us, it’s because it is. We can’t imagine or bring forth a new community by ourselves. The disciples were convinced that this radical way of Jesus was impossible. Jesus agreed it is impossible. He also reminded them that God can do what humans cannot. For God, all things are possible – even moving a church to live the Jesus way.

What is a Jesus way? First, focus on people, community, and building relationships. We are more concerned for people than we are organization. Secondly, the Jesus way is mobile. The church goes to the people. There will be no more sitting back and expecting the people to come to the church. We take the church to the people. Third, ministry is done everyday. Ministry doesn’t just take place on Sunday by the clergy or certain individuals but every baptized believer sees him or herself as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Fourth, we will not be tied to tradition. Tradition is good if it keeps us balanced. But when it interferes with the Jesus way, it must go. Fifth, the Jesus way is the way of grace. We must be people who take seriously the means of grace. The practice of those means must be a daily part of our lives. Imagine a church where there will be a focus on people and their relationships with God. Imagine creating a community of believers who share a sense of call and vision for ministry. Imagine a church that will strive to be of the Jesus way in all it does and says. Imagine what we can be!