John Louk

I am often asked about the vision of the church or sometimes about my vision for the church. This often leads to confusion when I respond that I do not have one. Surely the pastor must have a vision for the congregation? Well, no. Let me explain. When it comes to vision the most quoted text is Proverbs 29:18 in the King James Version: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” There is a distinction, however, between vision (something people produce) and revelation (something people receive from God). A better rendering of the Proverbs verse is, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (NIV). This is the sense of several new translations: “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint” (ESV). “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild” (NLT). “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed” (The Message). The point is, God does not ask us t...

Our Fall Stewardship Campaign challenges us to honor all of our membership vows. This is not simply a financial campaign. Rather, we are challenging the entire congregation to renew all of the practices that form us as disciples of Jesus Christ so that we can transform the world. As members we confess Jesus Christ as Savior. At the same time we promise to serve him as Lord. Many people are thankful to accept Jesus as Savior. Fewer, however, serve him as Lord. If Jesus is Lord, then Jesus is the Master, the Boss of our lives. We do not get to pursue our own personal agendas. We pursue God’s agenda for us and for the world. We need help doing this as it is so contrary to our nature. There are several practices that help form us as disciples of Jesus Christ. We promise to practice these habits as members of the church. We affirm that we will be loyal to Christ through the United Methodist Church and that we will faithfully participate in the ministries of Salem Church by our pra...