Could you imagine a soccer game with no goals? How about a competition on Top Shot with no targets? What about basketball with no hoops? It would be hard to win with nothing to hit. The same is true for us as a church. We want to have a vision, a target, because if we aim for nothing, that's exactly what we'll hit...nothing. So as a church we want to clarify the "wins". We want to know what we are shooting for as a church so we know if we are accomplishing the vision (aka winning).
You might hear us say that we are all about relationships, not religion. For us that means that we don't want to just do some religious activities or have some religious thoughts. We want to be a church filled with people who are in a relationships with God and they are living it out. That is why we say we want people to take first steps & next steps in their relationships, especially with God.
Jesus did clarified the wins. He was asked what is the greatest thing to do in life. His answer: Love God with all your heart and love others as yourself. In his last words on earth, Jesus gave a goal for all of those who follow Him. He called us to go make disciples. Jesus said it's all about relationships - with God and others and those far from God. So the bottom line for us is to help people experience those 3 key relationships: with God, with people far from God, and in a relationship with others where we can be in a mutual relationship to live life together and encourage each other to look beyond ourselves.
So we have this vision of relationships not religion. We want people to take first steps & next steps to look beyond themselves. We want people to be in a relationship with God, with others on the journey and with those far from God. Every place has a mission statement these days - some are on a plaque on the wall. I've heard this question: Is what's on the wall matching up with what's going on in the halls? It does no good to clarify the wins if we don't actually live them out. I love seeing people plugged in B90X right now & those who pick up Journey Bibles. I love seeing the baptism videos. I love seeing volunteers grasp the vision and give up time to serve. I love seeing people invite others to church. I meet new people every week. I love seeing marriage restored. I love seeing people make an impact serving in our community and all the way to Kenya. I love seeing that because we know we are hitting the target. There are lots of good things we can do as a church but we never want to lose site of those 3 key relationships. It's all about relationships, not religion!
For more thoughts on clarifying the win, check out practicalspeaking.org. A lot of our thoughts are developed from the leadership of Andy Stanley and his team. If you want a copy of 7 Practices of Ministry, ask one of staff to hook you up and take your next step as a leader.
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