What Is the Vision?
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 to operate by vision, that is, by what we think or generate. God’s people live by revelation, that is, by what we receive from God. We are not to project our own agendas or visions. For Christians, God alone sets the agenda. We must seek God’s will and adjust our lives to that.
In the Bible (Genesis 12) we see that God revealed to Abraham that he was forming a people. It was not Abraham’s idea or dream or vision. God revealed it to him! Abraham did not have the power to become the father of a great nation. He did not even have the power to become a father. But God spoke and it began to happen. God began to form a people for himself through a childless couple.
Gerhard Lohfink, the New Testament scholar and biblical theologian from Germany, notes that the Bible does not seem to be concerned with vision or models or strategies. He writes,
Certainly revelation is also what God speaks to us in the Bible. We have a written record of God and his people in the pages of Scripture. God opens that up to us in new ways by the power of his Spirit. As God’s people we remain open to the surprising action of the Holy Spirit.
Discerning God’s will is not always easy. God’s revelation is easier to comprehend in hindsight. In the present, we often take a risk and step out in faith. As we do, sometimes doors close. If so, we simply step back and then step out in faith again in a new direction. As Gerhard Lohfink says, “following the plan of God means trusting in God’s promises.” We may not know what God knows. As the Apostle Paul says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly…now I know only in part” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NRSV). We do trust, however, that God will sustain and lead us.
What a difficult time for Salem right now. We are waiting. We are impatient. We have pulled back from attending worship at 11:45 am. We are questioning our future. The stress and anxiety continue. Yet, now is the time for us to faithfully and patiently wait on God’s revelation. It is so important that we not try to force God’s hand but rather receive what God grants us. Therefore, instead of concerning ourselves with our own strategies, rather than casting a vision we have produced, let us continue to pray for God to show us what God is doing. Let us continue to pay attention to what God reveals to us. And may we be surprised by the action of the Holy Spirit.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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 to operate by vision, that is, by what we think or generate. God’s people live by revelation, that is, by what we receive from God. We are not to project our own agendas or visions. For Christians, God alone sets the agenda. We must seek God’s will and adjust our lives to that.
In the Bible (Genesis 12) we see that God revealed to Abraham that he was forming a people. It was not Abraham’s idea or dream or vision. God revealed it to him! Abraham did not have the power to become the father of a great nation. He did not even have the power to become a father. But God spoke and it began to happen. God began to form a people for himself through a childless couple.
Gerhard Lohfink, the New Testament scholar and biblical theologian from Germany, notes that the Bible does not seem to be concerned with vision or models or strategies. He writes,
The story of the gathering of the people of God from Abraham until today never took place according to a model. It was always the Spirit of God who brought about new initiatives in the Church, often quite surprisingly and contrary to every expectation. God’s plans do not coincide with our human plans. Therefore following the plan of God means trusting in God’s promises and remaining open to things that are humanly unforeseeable, in the knowledge and confidence of being sustained and led. The Bible does not concern itself anywhere with pastoral plans and strategies. Instead, on almost every page it reveals that God does not act anywhere and everywhere, but in a concrete place. God does not act at any and every moment, but at a particular time. God does not act through anyone and everyone, but through people God chooses. If we do not come to recognize that again there will be no renewal of the Church in our time, for this principle of salvation history is true today as well. (Does God Need the Church? Toward a Theology of the People of God, p. viii)
Certainly revelation is also what God speaks to us in the Bible. We have a written record of God and his people in the pages of Scripture. God opens that up to us in new ways by the power of his Spirit. As God’s people we remain open to the surprising action of the Holy Spirit.
Discerning God’s will is not always easy. God’s revelation is easier to comprehend in hindsight. In the present, we often take a risk and step out in faith. As we do, sometimes doors close. If so, we simply step back and then step out in faith again in a new direction. As Gerhard Lohfink says, “following the plan of God means trusting in God’s promises.” We may not know what God knows. As the Apostle Paul says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly…now I know only in part” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NRSV). We do trust, however, that God will sustain and lead us.
What a difficult time for Salem right now. We are waiting. We are impatient. We have pulled back from attending worship at 11:45 am. We are questioning our future. The stress and anxiety continue. Yet, now is the time for us to faithfully and patiently wait on God’s revelation. It is so important that we not try to force God’s hand but rather receive what God grants us. Therefore, instead of concerning ourselves with our own strategies, rather than casting a vision we have produced, let us continue to pray for God to show us what God is doing. Let us continue to pay attention to what God reveals to us. And may we be surprised by the action of the Holy Spirit.
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