Write it down!

“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.” Habakkuk 2:2-3.

When God inspired me to help Churches articulate the Vision and document the same, this was the verse that was overpowering and inspiring me to take this forward to help Church leadership, youth and congregation members so that they understand the real purpose of their existence and pen their vision down.

Once the Vision statement is articulated and the Church roadmap is drawn listing out the milestones, it gives the sense of purpose and satisfaction. God in the Bible always quantifies, measures and gauges the work including our intention. We are capable of so much, but because we are not defining the ministry/organization purpose and the strategy to achieve it's goal, we are unsure about the progress or the impact our work  actually makes.

Unless people are convinced of their sincere calling and commitment for the ministry it will just not be possible for them to put their vision down. They will manage to exist and survive but without a purpose. Zig Ziglar puts it this way, “An out-of-focus purpose can’t inspire us, but a crystal-clear lens on God’s purpose for us rivets our attention and gives us energy to keep going until we reach our goals.”

We need to write our vision down in clear and compelling language so that it grips our heart. A clear vision statement frees us from confusion so that we can ‘run' forward steadily rather than wander, stumble or go backward. But the fulfillment of our vision is in His timing, not ours. Seldom does anyone move in a straight line from the conception of a dream to its fulfillment. We may experience ups and down, delays and disappointment. But this cannot stop us if we keep our eyes fixed on the purpose and on the One who gave it to us.

Personally, I had challenges too working with no expectations, sometimes supported sometimes never considered at all, but because of the strong passion towards my vision I am still by the grace of God able to move bereft of resources.  If your Church vision is compelling nothing will stop you to integrate the Holistic model of connecting Church with active evangelism and ministering to the poor. Do you have a clear compelling vision?

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Sheep and the goats- Holistic perspective!

The holy book, the Bible is holistic in nature and addresses all facets of human life. We cannot by any chance separate the physical from spiritual. If you have to notice, the number of laws in the old testament addressed all areas of life that included, health areas (Physical), laws concerning relational well-being (Socio-emotional), to know the law and execute it correctly (cognitive), and finally revering God and establishing a spiritual connection (Spiritual).  

I am compelled to remind you on the two edicts Jesus gave. 1. The Great Commission (Mat 28-19-20) 2. The Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31). In 1 Cor 9:16 Apostle Paul states, “woe is me if I do not preach the gospel”, this is the mandate given to all. We cannot escape as individuals or the Church and try to accommodate the gospel at our convenience. Apostle Paul reminds us that we are accountable for the souls of the one’s whom we are leading to God (Hebrew 13:17).

The second edict is the Great commandment, which says love God and love others. What did Jesus mean when He said to love others? He had to help us by narrating a story about, “the Good Samaritan”, about the good works. In Mathew 5:16 “. .that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven”. The sharing of the gospel and sharing of the resources are our obligation, not a choice. Somebody put this so beautifully, “If you practice the great commission and share about Christ you are an irritant, and if you practice great commandment and talk about the love of Christ you are interesting, but if you do both great commission and great commandment together you are irresistible.”.

Have you tried to figure out what Jesus was trying to tell us when He explained in detail the parable of ‘Sheep and the goats”? The details of the parable described in Mat 25:31-46 is trying to caution us that we do not fall short of this action but learn to live out effectively. God arranges and puts the sheep on the right and the  goats on the left and commences the allegations - You did not feed the hungry, you did not take care of the strangers, you did not clothe the naked, you did not take care of the sick, you did not take care of the people who are in prison and the consequences God had to lay was sending them to eternal damnation. 

Bryant Myers in his book “Walking With the Poor” states, “To think properly about human transformation, we must see the world of the poor and the non-poor in light of the whole Biblical account.". Let us understand this clearly, in the holistic judgement of God we are worthy enough to suffer eternal damnation just because we as individual and Church are not prepared to take care of the poor and the needy nor willing to take care of them because we thought the resources is not meant for them. We cannot escape from this crucial responsibility." Quite a point to ponder, isn't it?!

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