A New Vision Statement
I have questioned the legitimacy of things like vision statements for churches in the past, but if our church had to have one, it would be something like this:
"We follow the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."
The neat thing about this statement is that I stole it from someplace very familiar, yet often overlooked. More than likely, given the context of where I found the phrase (I added the "We follow" part), most people gloss right over these wonderful words and miss their meaning and power. "The God who gives life to the dead..." of course speaks to the resurrection, both of Jesus and of ours as his children and heirs. But I would add that it also speaks to the little "resurrections" that are happening all around us, every day, as God's Spirit is re-forming and re-shaping us into his image. This has echoes of the "already, but not yet" of God's kingdom, of which we are experiencing the first fruits of new life but are still looking for the fullness of the life to come.
However, it is the second part, "...and calls things that are not as though they were," that really brings out the kingdom colors in this phrase / vision. God's kingdom, where his will is done on earth as it is in heaven, is and always has been about turning nothing into something. Story after story in the scriptures, both Old Testament and New, are about God accomplishing his purposes through people and events that would typically be thought of as absolute disasters, or at least, longshots to produce anything worthwhile. I could name a few examples, but the list would grow so quickly it is not worth even attempting. Open the Bible anywhere, and you see where all hope is lost, death is certain, unending suffering is guaranteed - things that do not exist become as though they did.
This is the mission heart of God. And this is where he is calling his people to follow.
By the way, the phrase is from the Apostle Paul, Romans 4:17.
"We follow the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."
The neat thing about this statement is that I stole it from someplace very familiar, yet often overlooked. More than likely, given the context of where I found the phrase (I added the "We follow" part), most people gloss right over these wonderful words and miss their meaning and power. "The God who gives life to the dead..." of course speaks to the resurrection, both of Jesus and of ours as his children and heirs. But I would add that it also speaks to the little "resurrections" that are happening all around us, every day, as God's Spirit is re-forming and re-shaping us into his image. This has echoes of the "already, but not yet" of God's kingdom, of which we are experiencing the first fruits of new life but are still looking for the fullness of the life to come.
However, it is the second part, "...and calls things that are not as though they were," that really brings out the kingdom colors in this phrase / vision. God's kingdom, where his will is done on earth as it is in heaven, is and always has been about turning nothing into something. Story after story in the scriptures, both Old Testament and New, are about God accomplishing his purposes through people and events that would typically be thought of as absolute disasters, or at least, longshots to produce anything worthwhile. I could name a few examples, but the list would grow so quickly it is not worth even attempting. Open the Bible anywhere, and you see where all hope is lost, death is certain, unending suffering is guaranteed - things that do not exist become as though they did.
This is the mission heart of God. And this is where he is calling his people to follow.
By the way, the phrase is from the Apostle Paul, Romans 4:17.
posted by Mike Bishop at 8:14 PM
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