...CommentsThe Pastor's Vision
2Cor. 7:14-18
March 05, 2000
Greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina. At the present time you are in the midst of worship and so are Charlotte and I. I want to say to you that there is no place like home. There is a sense of freedom that one experience that is like no where else. The great thing is that as the people of God we can come into His house of worship anywhere and feel at home. I am praying for you as I hope you are praying for us here. My prayer is that you would be attentive to the preached Word and that you would minister to the needs that are around you in Antioch and our community.
The last several pastor's visions have been hard hitting. We have been talking about the state of the church in today's world. If we are to deal with the reality of who we are as Christians we must consider our significance. If we are going to know our significance we must come to the value of the gospel as good news. Lastly, if we know our significance and value the gospel as good news then we must rely on the Holy Spirit as an invisible ally. Our greatest challenge is in lining up with the will and purpose of God. The areas where we see the church out of sync are our leadership and our goals. Oh no, is what I can hear already! Yet, I am persuaded by the Spirit of God (the invisible ally) this is something we must deal with. Too long we have fought on the inside about power. I for one am tired of the same oh, same oh.
Let us start with this point. If you want to lead in the body of Christ then you need to have a call and a hunger from God. First you should hear from God that he has work for you to do. The problem with this is that we have become spiritually lazy. We run around saying. I already have too much to do. If you don't answers God's call then who will. Secondly, you should be consumed with wanting to know the God of your calling. The problem with this is that we have become satisfied with mediocrity. I just need to know enough to get by. It you don't know what God says, who will you tell others? Unless we require more of the leaders, we will get the same oh, same oh. Then the body will be murmuring all over again. We must remember we will only be as good as our worst leader, because our worst leader is the weak link in the chain. Therefore, it behooves us to produce great leaders. Years ago I asked the church to commit to biblical training, this I believe is a start in the right direction.
Antioch, we must turn form our old sins and submit to God's will. God's will is that leaders love Him, study His bible, and pray to him for guidance.