My friend Tim Bailey - who knows how to find a mean convenience store in Honduras (really Jared's fault) - blogs about discovering vision versus creating it.
This line alone makes the whole post worth it: "A vision from God will always be a picture of the world and its redemption, not a picture of a wonderfully 'effective' church." This may be slightly overstated, but not much. It's a good reminder that the end game isn't a better and more fulfilling church for its own sake.
Could we say "A vision from God will always be about God's glory - in the world, in the church, in community and in individuals"? That could include the world's redemption, the church's effectiveness and even what happens when the world is not redeemed and the church is not "effective". Just a thought.
Well put, Ken.
Discover versus Create? I affirm Bailey's comments on discovery and some of his diagnosis that underlies his loaded terminology. I for one would not want to be labelled as someone who is trying to create God's will. The softness of the term discovery in this context rings true to our souls.
Yet this all still begs the question, "what is the process of discovery?"
Do we join hands around a circle and sing "kumbyya"?
Is it listening to God?
Is it riding the spiritual wave?
Is it doing mission as Bailey implies?
Could it be that God reveals himself in different ways, in different contexts, through different kinds of people? Could it be that for some God uses the process of planning as the process of discovery?
I concur that our emphasis should be on the mission of making disciples that God has clearly given to the church. I concur that the church is not the end of that mission. I affirm that we should start with society, our communities, our regions.