A year or so ago our church had a "vision casting" service on New Years Eve. For those that actually stayed awake and were able to concentrate there were alot of really interesting things that were said. In the whole process of thinking and praying about what "vision" God had given me for the ministries that I lead at our church I came to really understand the difference between "mission" and "vision" for the first time in my life.
If someone were to ask 10 carpenters to each make a dining room table and gave them a certain amount of money and a certain amount of time each of those carpenters would create a table that was different from the others. The task of making a table would be "mission". What those tables actually looked like would be "vision".
The "Mission" of the Lord's Churches is obvious Matthew 28:19-20 etc. The "Vision" is not always so obvious. In my experience almost all of the church splits that I have ever known have not been about "Mission" but in the area of "Vision". Different people have different ideas of what the end product should look like. Most of the time the differing opinions are neither doctrinal issues nor moral issues but usually "vision" issues. In a desperate effort to justify their divisions to "the brethren" I have literally seen people jump through incredible hoops trying make it look like it was about doctrinal issues when in fact it was nothing of the sort.
Even in denominations most splits and divisions are over "vision" issues and not "mission" issues. In the association of churches that I fellowship with there is a growing differences of opinion concerning what starting new churches should look like. There really isn't a doctrinal or moral issue at stake its mostly just a preference of which terms should be used, which methodology should be followed and a lack of trust from those that have never done it that way before.
It is interesting to note that the word "division" with the prefix "di" actually means "Two Visions". In this group of churches neither of the "visions" for how to start churches is necessarily unscriptural they are just different. When such a situation exists the key to avoiding a division is to have "morphing" take place. "Morphing" is when two visions are turned into one. When "morphing" two pictures you lose parts of both pictures but a new and interesting picture develops. The problem is that it takes humility on both sides in order for morphing to take place, both sides have to give up something. Most of the time its really just pride that has to be given up....to actually admit that there is more than one way of doing something.
I grew up in Canada a country where interacial marriages are almost the norm. Something that I came to realize in most cases is that the more diverse the parents race often times the more beautiful the children were. Do you think that this is a coincidence.....No! God is trying to teach us something. The more diverse the differences between two people, two visions, two groups etc.....when they are willing to "morph" the more beautiful they can be. When a couple comes together and a child is created each parent gives DNA to the process. Some is used from one parent and some is used from the other. It is Gods way of making something beautiful out of two seperate entities. I believe that if there is a willingness to morph among our churches that God can take the city churches and the country churches and make something beautiful, the older generation and the younger generation and make something beautiful, the small churches and the large churches and make something beautiful, the mission methodology and the church planting methodology and make something beautiful. The bible says "submit one to another". If we do this then we can be morphed into something very very very beautiful. I pray that this would happen in our churches!
If someone were to ask 10 carpenters to each make a dining room table and gave them a certain amount of money and a certain amount of time each of those carpenters would create a table that was different from the others. The task of making a table would be "mission". What those tables actually looked like would be "vision".
The "Mission" of the Lord's Churches is obvious Matthew 28:19-20 etc. The "Vision" is not always so obvious. In my experience almost all of the church splits that I have ever known have not been about "Mission" but in the area of "Vision". Different people have different ideas of what the end product should look like. Most of the time the differing opinions are neither doctrinal issues nor moral issues but usually "vision" issues. In a desperate effort to justify their divisions to "the brethren" I have literally seen people jump through incredible hoops trying make it look like it was about doctrinal issues when in fact it was nothing of the sort.
Even in denominations most splits and divisions are over "vision" issues and not "mission" issues. In the association of churches that I fellowship with there is a growing differences of opinion concerning what starting new churches should look like. There really isn't a doctrinal or moral issue at stake its mostly just a preference of which terms should be used, which methodology should be followed and a lack of trust from those that have never done it that way before.
It is interesting to note that the word "division" with the prefix "di" actually means "Two Visions". In this group of churches neither of the "visions" for how to start churches is necessarily unscriptural they are just different. When such a situation exists the key to avoiding a division is to have "morphing" take place. "Morphing" is when two visions are turned into one. When "morphing" two pictures you lose parts of both pictures but a new and interesting picture develops. The problem is that it takes humility on both sides in order for morphing to take place, both sides have to give up something. Most of the time its really just pride that has to be given up....to actually admit that there is more than one way of doing something.
I grew up in Canada a country where interacial marriages are almost the norm. Something that I came to realize in most cases is that the more diverse the parents race often times the more beautiful the children were. Do you think that this is a coincidence.....No! God is trying to teach us something. The more diverse the differences between two people, two visions, two groups etc.....when they are willing to "morph" the more beautiful they can be. When a couple comes together and a child is created each parent gives DNA to the process. Some is used from one parent and some is used from the other. It is Gods way of making something beautiful out of two seperate entities. I believe that if there is a willingness to morph among our churches that God can take the city churches and the country churches and make something beautiful, the older generation and the younger generation and make something beautiful, the small churches and the large churches and make something beautiful, the mission methodology and the church planting methodology and make something beautiful. The bible says "submit one to another". If we do this then we can be morphed into something very very very beautiful. I pray that this would happen in our churches!
.jpg)
12 comments:
This is a very intriguing observation- but I can't help but get stuck on one thing that you mentioned, slightly off topic though. You commented on the beauty of the children of the inter-racial marriages. While in Austin, that very topic came up several times- all ending with the other party declaring that that action is against sound biblical doctrine, and not to say that it's not, but I'm not quite sure that I believe that it is either. I can't recall seeing it before- yet, if we all (jews and gentiles, blacks and whites) are the same to God if we are all His children, then where does the difference come in? Or is it just a personal belief?
I'm enjoying reading your stuff!
Sarah, this is a great question. The only thing that those that are against interacial marriages have is that they say "God forbid the Jews to marry people that weren't Jews".
Here are some arguments for interacial marriage.
1.The Jews were forbidden to marry someone who wasn't a Jew, but this was a matter of faith not race. Rahab was from Jericho and Ruth was not a jew either and they married Jews and were among Jesus' ancestry.
2. The bible makes really only two distinctions Jew and Gentile. Gentiles include everyone that isn't a jew. For most americans that say interacial marriage is wrong is hypocrisy seeing most gentiles are a heinz 57 anyway!
3. The bible says that Col 3:11 "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond [nor] free: but Christ [is] all, and in all."
If we are to be one in Christ which is a spiritual oneness which is the deepest level of oneness inside the church(the bride of Christ?) how can it be wrong to be physically one with someone of another race inside the bond of marriage?
from my years of experience it is very clear that in our culture usually when someone has a problem with interacial marriage it is actually a problem with "white and black" marriages......most of the time they don't have a problem with an Irish and Italian, or British and German, or Mexican and Philippino, or Spaniard and Japaneese etc. marriages.
Great post Bro. great thoughts on the above comment too!
Just one more comment Sarah, How Ironic that it is Martin King Luther Jr Day and we are discussing this. I don't know everything about the man but I will say this......When he said that we need to judge a man by the "content of his character and not the color of his skin" he was right on!
Think about this.....most Christians that are against inter-racial marriage and say they can back it up scripturally many times have no problem with their daughters/sons marrying someone who is an unbeliever. They say "as long as they are a good person and will love her/him"....Well this is in direct opposition to what the Bible says. "Be ye not unequally yoked together". They are so concerned with the outward appearance that they forget what God says matters most!
I knew someone once that said "God put a curse on people who marry blacks because their children will get sickle cell anemia". Well this is just pure ignorance.
If anyone does a little research on sca they will find that when a person who has sca marries outside of their race that they actually decrease the chance of their children having it by 50%. They have a greater chance of having children with it if they marry inside their own race.
Things like this are ignorance and unfortunately there is a lot of ignorance in the world. The bible says Hos 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
The Law says we are to take in strangers(foreigners)....Jesus said "Love your neighbor as yourself".....there's no room for racial prejudice among believers in marriage under the law
Thanks John- I really appreciate the response, all 3 of them, lol. hopefully this is something that is fading away as time goes on- although I have a feeling that it could just as easily get grouped with homosexuality and other things of the sort.
I know what you mean. Know matter how much homosexuals want to deny it.....being "Gay" is a deliberate act, being a minority is not an act.
ah! yes! I hate that! and the sad thing is that most of the ones that I've spoken too, I feel, only believe that it's not a choice because that's what they have been told and so they accept it- if people would try to learn things for themselves, or at least read into what they're being told, not to be defiant, but to actually know what it is that they believe, things would be so much easier
This is great stuff Jon. This understanding of mission and vision is critical. And it is even more critical that folks understand that a healthy church needs a healthy color. Most churches are too pale for their own good.
I still think it is ironic that those who oppose inter-racial marriages and integrated churches will go to Old Testament Law passages to support their position... all while eating a ham sandwich!
This is a really great post man!!!
Post a Comment