Get It: Passion, Mission, Vision

Some leaders flounder around in their churches, and wonder why their ministries lack dynamic effect in the lives of their people. Many of these leaders love the Lord and  want to serve Him. But there’s something missing. Maybe it’s Passion, Mission and Vision.

See if the following squares with the Scriptures: Effective leadership in the local church requires more than godliness and gifting. An effective leader sees himself accurately, knows what to do and why, and gives himself to getting it done.

Why and for what? If the leader is walking well with the Lord, the leader’s Passion, Mission and Vision is about the Lord. It’s about the fame of Jesus and the glory of the Lord. After all, what does the leader have that he has not received? (1 Corinthians 4:7) If the leader is proud about his gifting and accomplishments, then he may as well boast about the color of his hair or the fine function of his kidneys.

Bottom line is that the effective leader knows what drives him (Passion); knows what he’s called to do (Mission); and sees a picture of the fulfilled future (Vision).

Passion
It’s what excites, sparks interest, raises energy and leads to intense desire to pursue. It is zeal and enthusiastic devotion.

Psalm 119:139 -- My zeal has consumed me . . .

Psalm 69:9 -- . . . zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

Isaiah 26:11 -- Oh Lord, your hand is lifted up and yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame . . .

John 2:17 -- His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house will consume me.’

Romans 10:2 -- . . . they have a zeal for God, but not according with knowledge.

Mission
It’s what I am to do; it’s a specific project and work; it’s the battles—internal and external—that must be fought and won in order for the mission to be accomplished.

Examples:
• Abraham’s mission: leave the city of Ur and settle elsewhere
• Pharaoh’s mission: keep the Hebrew people in bondage
• Moses’ mission: free the Hebrew people    
• Nehemiah’s mission: rebuild the walls of Jerusalem   
• Esther’s mission: save the Jewish people from extermination

Vision
It’s a picture of a fulfilled future; it’s what something looks like when it’s up and running and completed with excellence. When the mission is achieved, here’s what it looks like. Accomplishing the mission leads to fulfillment of the vision.

Examples:
• Abraham’s vision:  a son and a great nation
• Pharaoh’s vision: more pyramids
• Moses’ vision: God-honoring and free Hebrew people
• Nehemiah’s vision: Jews in Jerusalem who bring honor—not reproach—to God’s name.
• Esther’s vision: God-honoring and free Jewish people

One Way to Shrink the Church

One church drifts as numbers slip month after month. Another sees visitors who never return. (They’re One and Done People.) Another church has zero traction, so it sits in comfort in the same place . . . and gets visits from Christians who flutter from one church to another as they cycle through the community. The churches have no energy . . . no converts . . . no baptisms. Drift, drip, decline.

Besides the obvious nasty sin problems that infect leaders and others in the church, there’s one problem that’s easily seen and lays directly at the feet of the preaching pastor and the church’s other key leaders. It’s failure to cast Compelling Vision.

The church’s vision—the picture of the preferred future—is easy. Jesus gave it to us. The church is to make, baptize and teach disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). I sat with two senior pastors this week who have read the latest how-to books about vision and techniques to grow the church. Yet one church is stagnant and the other is in a spiral of decline.

Maybe there’s some value in the vision books, but vision isn’t a mystery. The trouble is that the vision some pastors are selling isn’t very compelling. Their vision doesn’t move people to dump their little distractions to pick up devotion to Jesus Christ and his church. So, when the guy who sleeps late on Sunday morning and hollows out a seat in front of his TV set asks, Why should I show up at your church?, no one has a compelling answer. Even when that guy does show up on Easter or Christmas, there's no compelling reason for him to come back on any ordinary Sunday.

The preacher and the church’s leaders need a fire in the gut that sparks intensity in the church. Christ is better than football, movies, bars, sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. He’s better than a cool job, the fancy house, the hot car and the perfect lawn. He’s better than religion . . . and all that’s connected to it. Problem is, some preachers and church leaders have no fire, no unction. Maybe they're so beaten down that they've lost their first love. They’ve become spiritually flabby, leading to a comatose drifting and the eventual death of the local church.

What drew people to John the Baptist’s ministry? Hear from A.B. Bruce from the book The Training of the Twelve: If the followers of John were at all like himself, they were men who hungered and thirsted after real righteousness, being sick of the righteousness then in vogue. They said Amen in their hearts to the preacher’s withering exposure of the hollowness of current religious profession and the worthlessness of fashionable good works, and sighed for a sanctity other than that of pharisaic superstition and ostentation.

It’s that same intensity that drove Paul. Everything is minuscule in comparison to the value of knowing Christ . . . Philippians 4:8.

Certainly John and Paul were unafraid to cast a withering exposure of the worthless distractions in life and in the religiosity of their culture. Most thinking people long for something more. They sigh in their spirits and say, There must be more than this. And there is. It’s Christ. And the ones who get that picture embrace the amazing privilege of worshipping and serving the great Savior in His church (Colossians 3:23-24).

It starts with an enduring fire in a few. They’re unafraid to cast a Compelling Vision of something more in this life. That’s a key responsibility of the preacher and all of the church’s teachers and leaders.

The Battle of Power, Control and Positioning

The Civil War included complex personal relationships among the leaders and other soldiers. Just like church.

We who are ignorant of the realities of war might think it’s only about setting up strategies and taking the fight to the enemy and determining a winner. Church is supposed to be about the fight to bring glory to the Lord by sharing and living the gospel. Unbelievers turn from fighting Christ as enemies to loving Christ as His sons and daughters and serving as devoted soldiers in His church. But there’s often a lot more going on behind the scenes.

In the church, the good and the right involves following godly leadership and taking ground that strengthens the church for the Lord’s glory rather than for man’s glory. The worst in the church involves relational politics, human weakness and sin. At its sinful root, it’s about Power, Control and Positioning. It always hurts the cause, whether the cause is the church or a war’s battlefield.

Look at the relationship of three Union generals: Ulysses S. Grant, Ambrose Burnside and George Meade. It’s late July in 1864, three years into the war that ultimately would cost the lives of 360,250 Union soldiers and 258,000 Confederate soldiers. The Confederate army, which started the war with less than half the number of the Union army, benefited from the many brilliant generals who chose to lead the Confederate cause rather than the Union cause. By the summer of 1864, the Confederate force was significantly weakened but still dangerous.

The Union army wanted to take the city of Petersburg, Virginia, because it served as a rail hub that supplied the Confederate capital of Richmond and the Confederate army. The two armies maneuvered into positions east of Petersburg. Then came The Battle of the Crater. The Union and Confederate armies were dug in, the closest lines about 400 feet apart. A colonel under General Burnside birthed the idea of digging under the 400 feet that separated the two lines and packing the end of the tunnel with about 8,000 pounds of explosives. Then detonate the explosives to create a huge breach in the Confederate line, which would allow the Union army to flow through and ultimately take Petersburg and abruptly end the war. That would have been terrific for Burnside and his legacy. It would have been good for Grant, who was now the head of the entire Union army. It wouldn’t have done much for Meade. Power, Control and Positioning.

But there were relational and political problems among Grant, Burnside and Meade. Burnside desperately wanted to gain a major battle victory so he could redeem his reputation. Nineteen months earlier, Burnside let his 30,000 troops sit out the Battle of Fredericksburg, which contributed to the horrific Union defeat there. Meade rightly absorbed much of the blame for the Fredericksburg defeat, but he was bitter that Burnside failed to join the fight. Grant lacked confidence in Burnside, no matter how ingenious the tunnel plan.

Burnside sold the plan. Meade mocked the plan and argued for basic changes. Grant approved the plan, but ordered Burnside to choose a different division to lead the Union’s assault that would follow the tunnel explosion. The original division—composed of black men who had never been under enemy fire—had trained for the assault for several weeks. Burnside, unwilling to decide which of his other divisions would lead the assault, drew lots among his divisions. The lot fell to a division unfamiliar with the plan and led by a drunken commander. The division received no advance briefing on the plan’s tactics.

Of course, the thousands of soldiers under Grant, Meade and Burnside never knew of the behind the scenes maneuvering over Power, Control and Positioning that so deeply affected the results and led them to their deaths. The tunnel plan was executed, the explosives blew and immediately killed nearly 300 Confederate soldiers, creating a crater 30 feet deep, 170 feet long and 70 feet wide.

But The Battle of the Crater was a disaster for the Union. Many of the division leading the Union charge fell into the crater instead of charging around it. As a result, nearly 3,800 Union soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. Many were killed as they struggled to escape the 30-foot deep crater. Two weeks after the battle, Grant removed Burnside from leadership and dismissed him from the army.

Power, Control, Positioning. Grant retained his Power, maintained his Control as he maneuvered himself and focused on Positioning the image of himself as head of the Union army. Meade maintained all three. Burnside lost it all, lost Power, lost Control, lost Positioning.

When Power, Control and Positioning take hold in church leaders, they focus on themselves and how to build themselves at the expense of other leaders in the church. They do things to one another that look less like the church of Jesus Christ and more like a competitive corporation or The Battle of the Crater. So their work is terribly tainted and hurtful . . . yet often is tolerated by Christ . . . for a season. Maybe a very long season.

The good and the right in the local church focuses on godly, sacrificial leadership to take ground that strengthens the church for the Lord’s glory rather than for any man’s Power, Control and Positioning. This is not a dreamy and unattainable La-La Land for the local church, but a real pattern set by Christ that we must constantly pursue.

Philippians 2:3-11.

A Question from Jesus to Change My Thinking

Thinking about some questions Jesus asked . . . to change my thinking. How about His question in Luke 17:18: Was no one found to return and give thanks to God except this foreigner?

Jesus was walking to Jerusalem to die. One the way, 10 lepers stood at a distance outside a village and called out for His mercy. Jesus responded to them, even though He must have been wrestling with the thought of the cross of Jerusalem. But He wasn’t too troubled to help them. Jesus’ response to the lepers—Go and show yourselves to the priests—was in keeping with the instructions of Leviticus 14:1-32. On their way to the priest, all 10 were healed. But only the lowly and foreign Samaritan turned back to thank Jesus. How sad is that. How sad it is when I fail to thank Jesus for obvious works of grace and mercy.

But how right it is when I remember to thank Him. Jesus was bothered by the hard hearted nine who didn’t return to thank Him. And He warmly responded to the one who did thank Him. Seems odd to think of the manly Jesus as so sensitive that He could be hurt by the thanklessness of men. Of course, that’s part of what makes Jesus so endearing.

Things to do with the question Jesus asked:

• Be quick to ask . . . be quick to thank.
• Thank Him for the common things of life . . . eyes that see, ears that hear, feet that walk, fingers that type, and so on and so on and so on.
• Don’t wait to lose the thing before thanking Him for it. I hurt my back a few weeks ago, just a minor twinge. But I realized how much I couldn’t do because my back hurt. The first time I ever thanked Jesus for my back was when it wasn’t working right. And I made certain to thank Him again when it felt better.
• Rejoice and be thankful in suffering. Two reasons:
  1. Because the life of Jesus is made obvious to others when we endure trials well. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11. Afflicted, not crushed. Perplexed, not despairing. Persecuted, not forsaken. Struck down, not destroyed.
  2. Because trials produce deep devotion and excellent character. James 1:2-4.

I have a friend who, when I ask him how’s he’s doing, almost always answers, Better than I deserve. He has it right. The lepers didn’t deserve healing, but Jesus healed them. Jesus didn’t deserve the cross, but He went anyway. I don’t deserve eyes that see or feet that walk or a million other benefits the Lord gives. But He gives them anyway. At least I should give Him a simple Thank You. Maybe also commit to letting Him build in me a thankful spirit. Acts 14:16-17.

You Have License to be Great

License is a big problem in the church these days. License is the flip-side of legalism. They’re just different sides of the same sin coin.

License people often say: Don’t put rules on me. If the Bible doesn't say it’s wrong, then it's OK. So I can do what I want. When license people influence the church, they lead others to a spiritually sloppy, flabby lifestyle marked by self-indulgence and compromised personal holiness. And they weaken and sometimes divide the church.

Legalists have lists of do this and don’t do that, such as no movies, no dancing, no long hair, no short hair, no facial hair, skirts only, no alcohol. Some Christians are pleased that they're not legalistic. They might want to think about whether they have a problem with license.

There’s a scene in the movie Gods and Generals that illustrates the point. In the scene, General Stonewall Jackson asks another officer, Do you use tobacco? The officer’s response, Not in any form. Jackson replies, Neither do I. I’m afraid I might like it too much.

The Christian who thinks primarily of satisfying personal pleasures loses sight of the need to first please the deeply personal Lord (Isaiah 66:12-13), who bought him with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), who demands first place in the heart and soul and mind (Matthew 22:37).

It seems a lot of Christians think very little about whether the Lord is pleased with the worldly entertainments they bring into their minds, the seemingly innocuous physical pleasures they enjoy, or the many words that come out of their mouths. The second half of 1 Timothy 6:17 tells us that God richly provides us with everything to enjoy. But the deeper purpose of that enjoyment is to do good for others, to be generous and share blessings with others. It’s not a free pass to shallow living. I should be concerned about any freedom that diminishes my devotion to the Lord. I am in bondage to things—or people—when they consistently overwhelm my freedom of body, mind, heart or soul. God gave us all things to be richly enjoyed, but they must not displace my closeness to Him.

Paul had it right when he discussed Christian freedom in 1 Corinthians 6:12  and 1 Corinthians 10:23. It's simply not wise to indulge every available freedom because not every freedom is good or best. A truly free Christian is guided by what is edifying and whatever builds up. My freedom must not make me a slave to my pleasures. Am I a slave to my freedom? I'm a slave to anything that I absolutely must have. Maybe it's a TV show, a hobby or a sport, or a specific food or drink . . . perhaps coffee or some other pleasure. If I can’t be contented without it, if my body, my mind or my heart absolutely demands it, then maybe it’s time that I learned to be contented without it . . . because I should live free in Christ, not enslaved to my fleshly appetites.

The standard of the Christian life is not about what is allowed, it’s about what is good and what is best. It's best to enjoy freedom like Paul who, in the midst of his vast freedom in Christ, also was tightly disciplined. His freedom was used to first bless his Lord and others, not himself. He had a goal and a job to do, as he describes in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27. He was disciplined to his goal to bring glory and honor to his Lord rather than to himself. He enjoyed his freedom in Christ, but was tightly disciplined in self-sacrifice and devotion. Paul was a great man of God. His greatness is attainable to anyone who wants to be great in God’s eyes. That includes even you and me.

Factions, Worship Music and the Lord's Opinion

Thinking more about church discipline and elders removing a person who's causing divisions, or factions, within the congregation. Elders can warn a factious person once, and then twice, and then remove him from the church. Titus 3:10. Nice and simple, but also dangerous and hurtful if applied thoughtlessly and carelessly.

There’s a caveat in the application of Titus 3:10 . . . Be sure that the person actually is causing divisions in the church. Sometimes a person who’s exasperated about worship music simply needs to be heard and edified about the issue and the church’s worship culture. The elders wouldn’t simply warn that person a couple of times and then throw him out of the church. They must discern, they must control their power, and they must not  react out of impatience and expedience. They may be dealing with a weaker brother or sister who simply needs skilled shepherding, as in 1 Corinthians 8:9.

A truly divisive person separates the church according to music preferences and insists on the falsehood that music style is a matter of doctrinal purity rather than personal preference. That person often insists that new music forms inherently are inferior to older music forms. But we know that the Lord likes new music (Psalm 33:3; Psalm 40:3; Psalm 144:9; Revelation 5:9). Conversely, it may be that a person locks onto contemporary music and may scorn old hymns that greatly honor the Lord. A person stuck in either entrenched position often creates factions that split the church.

Before leaping to apply Titus 3:10, elders should ask whether the person who’s fussing about worship music needs to be edified before being warned.

What would elders discuss with that person to discern the crux of the issues? Try these:

• True or False: Music is a language . . . and the Lord speaks a lot of languages, i.e. congas in Africa or Cuba, drums in the U.S.

• OK, you didn’t like that particular song. What if the Lord liked that song? What then?

• Is the complaint rooted in honoring Christ and fulfilling the purpose of the church? Or is there a personal agenda that demonstrates that the complaint is rooted in something else?

• Is this about a biblical conviction or a personal preference? (Help the person see the difference.)

• Maybe that song wasn’t meant to bless you in particular. What if the Lord wanted to use that song to bless the person two rows away from where you sit?

• Hymns written maybe 250 years ago were at that time considered contemporary. If we’re truly going to be traditional in our worship music, should we sing only the psalms of the Old Testament?

The answers to those questions will reveal much about the heart of the complaint. But there are many times when it’s not so-called weaker brothers or sisters who have hurtful convictions about worship music. Elders also are in that mix. I recently talked about worship music with three long-term elders of a local church.

Here’s the gist of the three conversations:

1. Contemporary music is 7-11 music—seven words repeated 11 times over and over again. Yes, sometimes that’s true. But it’s not true about all contemporary music. And besides, there were some very bad hymns written about 250 years ago. We just don’t sing them anymore. And rightly so, because they feature lousy theology or awful artistry. Maybe both.

2. I don’t like contemporary music. I don’t want it. I want music that ministers to me and to people like me. Romans 16:17 warns about those who create obstacles contrary to sound doctrine. The standard of measure should be decipherable lyrics, biblically based lyrics that honor the Lord and competent musicianship (the best the church can offer). If those are present, then the Lord likes it. End of argument.

3. We use traditional music to reach older people and more conservative people. Really? Are you sure you’re reaching people through traditional music, or are you only appeasing people who refuse to embrace other styles of music? If the church is reaching them, that's excellent. But it's more likely the church is appeasing them, which is far from excellent. The church's leaders should focus on offering excellence to the Lord, regardless of music style. Badly handled traditional music is not better than badly handled contemporary music. Both are just bad, and not worthy of our Lord.

Elders arguing about worship music need to ask a simple question: What does the Lord think? God has an opinion. Figure out whether He likes what you're offering Him.

Elders must remember the purpose of worship music and the purpose of the church. They must shrink their personal preferences.

Elders must rightly handle those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to sound doctrine (Romans 16:17). Why? Because such people are serving themselves—their own appetites—and not the cause of Christ. (Romans 16:18). Even people who love Christ, elders too, get stuck in that.

Worship music is about honoring the Lord. It’s about bringing people before the Lord to proclaim His worth. It’s about fulfilling the purpose of the church to make, baptize and teach disciples. It’s about a new song well done. It’s about an old song well done.

Pass the song through the grid of the Scriptures and look at it in the freedom of Christ. He likes that.