Several times a year, we hold what we call the Welcome To Journey Class. It is a key link in our assimilation process for new people connecting to our community. The class is designed to unpack the Journey Church dream, strategy, and structure.
I finally have language to more fully describe the goal of the class. Clearly and succinctly stated: The goal is to help new people understand how they can complement the vision of Journey Church not cultivate their own personal agenda. New churches have a tendency to attract a high volume of people who are simply looking to pursue their personal...uh..."stuff."
The role of the staff and key leaders in a new church is to make sure that no one gets the opportunity to hi-jack the vision. Our Welcome To Journey Class is one more environment in our community where we can paint the picture of God's preferred future and help people see how Journey Church can help them make a difference. It really is about helping people figure out how they can complement the vision.
I love when clarity comes. I love when I finally grab the language to describe it.
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2 comments:
When I read this something about it just hit me all wrong.
When we circle the wagons to protect "our vision" it ends up creating an Us vs them mentality. Even though it is not your intention, I clearly see it in the words you have written. What we many times fail to see is that "our vision" is our own personal agenda. Are we throwing stones at glass houses?.
If we are not careful over time we start believeing it's the congregations fault things aren't going according to plan. "If only they", becomes a mantra that comes out of our mouths.
Our intentions are good and honorable when we start a new ministry, but we are supposed to help people become active in Gods Kingdom outside our walls, not our own kingdom within our walls.
And we wonder why more people don't want to set foot in the door of a church.
Everyone has an agenda according to the needs in thier lives. I think maybe we need to listen more.
I am always amazed at the talents the people in the congregation have and how these gifts can benefit God's kingdom where they live and work. It's in the peoples own daily environment where they need to thrive and we need to help them do it. Just like Jesus did. It's his agenda we must follow.
Thank you for making a difference.
Steven
Steven: I am sorry this post hit you wrong. That is certainly the dangerous part of trying to communicate in purely digital space. There is always a gap.
Our heartbeat for Journey Church is to help followers of Jesus get in sync with the mission of the Church. The purpose of the welcome class is to start/continue that conversation. It is my job to make sure that no one diverts us away from that. I am sure you are all in for that.
What I wanted to say with more clarity was this: If pastors and church leaders allow people's personal crap and/or unhealthy needs/agendas to drive the “bus” it will eventually lead to a lack of ministry effectiveness. I have watched many churches, new and old, become completely impotent because they allow people's crap to get in the way of the mission.
If you heard me say that I want to build “Tom’s vision” or “Tom’s kingdom” then you have heard me wrong. If you heard me say that I do not want to help people see how their personal vision/calling can help churches like ours build the kingdom then you again heard me wrong.
We aren’t protecting a vision. We are empowering people connect to it. We are providing a clear path for people to follow.
“If only they” will never be our mantra for one simple reason: We are leading people clearly.
Know this: People will NOT go where they are NOT lead. Sit with that for a moment. I invested almost 10 years of my ministry NOT leading clearly. It is sad how often I uttered those words. I spent a great deal of time whining about what “they” wouldn’t’ do. (There are a lot of reasons that was the case and maybe one day I’ll unpack that on this blog). Most of it fell on me. I wasn’t leading clearly.
A new day has dawned and I refuse to back off that. We are clear about calling. We are clear (as much as we can be in the moment) about how to live that calling. We’ll continue to help our team and those God adds to it understand how they can get in sync with the vision of Journey Church. When someone is looking to hi-jack the dream to fulfill their own crap, I'll blow the whistle every time.
Thanks for taking a moment to comment on this blog. I love the "conversation" and the push back.
Blessings!
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