It has been a while since I have posted on this blog. So I thought a great way to start it off would be to post our vision and mission that was just published in our first newsletter.
Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. We get so
caught up in the details of our own lives, families, jobs, and every other
thing we involve ourselves in that it is no wonder we need help keeping things
in focus. Most of us don’t come up with personal vision/mission statements, but
businesses and churches have used these to keep themselves on track in the
midst of rapidly changing circumstances. But these vision statements, even the
most relevant of them, are only as good as our own understanding of them and
the focus they draw us toward. And, it doesn’t matter if the most creative writer
puts together the most clever vision statement if no one knows it or considers
it.
Vision/Mission statements give us a common goal, something to
strive for. They should consistently remind us of who we desire to be and what
we want to do. They can be simple summaries. For example, Google's mission is
to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and
useful. Or, they can be complex documents. Ben and Jerry’s vision and mission
is complex enough that it couldn’t be summarized in one simple statement, but
is 3 parts dealing with corporate strategy and their own impact on the world
around them. The common thread is that these statements are tools to help unite
everyone that is part of the organization to move in one common direction.
So, what direction, what goal, what mission is the heartbeat
of The Way? What kind of people are we striving to be? Worshippers, we want to
be worshippers. But, even that isn’t clear enough, because we are already
worshippers of something. We want to be worshippers of the right thing, and we
want to worship in the right way, and we want our worship not just to be about
us, but we want it to affect others for their good. To put it as concisely and
clearly as possible, The Way is striving to be a people who worship and lead
others to worship the one true and living God.
The problem with being concise is that sometimes it leaves too
much unsaid. If we all understood what is behind that concise statement that
would be fine, but even as I write, I recognize that there are too many
questions to leave it at that. Why do we worship God? How will we worship God?
What will our lives look like as we do this together? What motivates us to do
this? So, in an effort to help every member of The Way join together for a
common purpose let me try to answer these questions.
It starts with the Gospel. Apart from the message of Jesus
Christ coming, dying in our place for our sin, and raising from the grave on
the third day, none of this would matter. Honestly, we wouldn’t have any desire
for it anyway. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the central theme and motivation
of everything that we do. We are not striving to be a people that worship in
order that we might impress God with our good works. It would never work; our
works would never be good enough. We would always be lacking and trying to make
up for our failures and inability to truly be good. But, because of Gospel, God
accepts us by His grace through faith.
So, we live with our vision in mind, because of the Gospel.
It is the answer to why we strive to worship. It is the motivation that leads us
to worship God. It is the result of God’s message of grace that we don’t live
by these rules to gain God’s approval, but...
- Because of the Gospel, we love God and want to honor Him with our lives.
- Because of the Gospel, we are able to recognize not only how desperately we need God but also one another.
- Because of the Gospel we are able to “consider others more significant than ourselves and look not only to our own interests but also the interest of others.”
- Because of the Gospel we are able to see that the world’s greatest need is not physical but spiritual.
- Because of the Gospel we want the world to know the Father that sent the Son, Jesus who came and died, and the Holy Spirit that brings life.
So, Because of the Gospel...
We desire to worship and lead others to worship the one true
and living God
We desire to be a family that lives unified and authentic
lives together for God’s glory
We
desire to be a community that selflessly serves one another as God enables us.
We desire to be a people used by God to share His message
and grow His kingdom
Worship
God, Live Authentically, Serve Selflessly, Share Eagerly
Worship God
We all worship something, but there is only One that is
truly worthy of worship and that is the triune God, who created all things. We
begin with worship, because it is from misplaced worship that all things truly
begin going wrong. We are striving not simply to set aside a time of worship,
but to make worship a lifestyle. We feel a strong conviction, to give our lives
to God repentantly, faithfully, and without holding anything back for His honor
and Glory. Ultimately, as we develop the other points of our mission statement,
they are all done with this purpose of worship in mind and truly become
expressions of our worship.
Live Authentically
Our relationship with God may have been the most important
relationship damaged when mankind fell into sin. However, it was not the only
one that was damaged. Interpersonal relationships felt the results of the curse
as well. However, as believers we are not only restored to a right relationship
to God, but we are brought into His family by way of adoption. As we live lives
that honor God we recognize that it will require us to love one another by building
relationships that move beyond the superficial, but allow us to develop
accountability, encouragement, and opportunities to speak truth into each
other’s lives.
Serve Selflessly
God’s intention was never for us to live life alone. We were
designed to need one another. We were created to be dependent on Him and other
people. As He has built His church, He has given gifts and abilities to each
believer, so that His grace is demonstrated in its various forms. As we serve,
we honor God and see the needs of this family met.
Share Eagerly
The first responsibility of all people is to worship God.
The unfortunate reality in our fallen world is that God is not worshipped. As
we build a family that devotes itself to worship, we recognize that to truly
worship is to find ourselves obedient to His commands, including those that
call us to go and make disciples. Therefore, beyond building deep relationships
and meeting one another’s needs, we approach the world to teach them of the
power of the Gospel and to demonstrate it actively.
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