Wanna bet?
Posted on 02/24/2014 7:02:22 AM PST by Gamecock
I spent my early years in ministry immersed in the language of vision and mission. Somewhere along the way, it was decided that if a church was going to be successful then it must have both a mission and vision statement. If you were really good you had purpose, vision, and mission statements. It was no longer acceptable to simply understand that your church was around to do what the church had always been around to do: preach the Word, administer the sacraments, and make disciples of the Lord Jesus. That would not do. The pastor was now cultural architect (that is an actual title a pastor in California has taken). He must be a visioneer. The shift seemed rather seamless. Who, after all, was going to dare speak out against vision and mission?
The process is simple. A church has a pastor. The pastor receives from God a specific vision and mission for his church. The church follows the visioneer.
For this arrangement to work however the congregation has to understand at least two things: 1) God speaks to our pastor directly, and 2) God gives our pastor a mission unique to our church. These have become the assumptions. They are simply not questioned.
I have explained to the church I serve as pastor that our mission has nothing to do with my going off somewhere and getting a word from the Lord. God does not give me visions. Actually the mission of the church is not difficult to discern. God has made it quite clear in his Word. The church is sent into the world to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of the Lord Jesus in the ways that he has prescribed (Matt 28:16-20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:6-11).
There is simply not a category in Scripture for a pastor who receives, by way of revelation from God, a particular mission for his church. It is not there. So why does this notion continue to flourish? There are at least three reasons:
1. A misunderstanding of how God speaks. The visioneering pastor and his church operate under the mistaken notion that God speaks to us outside His Word. As a result the pastor is able to act under a sense of Divine fiat - "God told me." 2. Ignorance of the Scriptures. Too many church members (and pastors) do not know the Bible well enough to know that this approach to vision and mission is not found in the Bible. 3. A preference for the sensational. The visioneering pastor and his church risk missing the blessing of God's ordinary means of grace. The desire instead is for a divinely spoken vision. Within this way of thinking is the prideful assumption that there is something special about my church.
Combine unbiblical ideas of a pastor who receives visions from God with slick fashion, cutting edge marketing, and shameless self-promotion and you have a cult-leader in the making.
A recent info-graphic produced by Elevation Church includes the following statements:
1. We serve a Lead Pastor who seeks and hears from God.
3. We serve a Lead Pastor we can trust.
7. We serve a Lead Pastor who pours into us spiritually and professionally.
16. We serve a Lead Pastor who goes first.
This is frightening stuff. We have a Lord who came not to be served but to serve (Matt 20:28). And yet at Elevation it is plain that "Pastor Steven" is the boss who expects to be served. It gets worse. Elevation even produces coloring pages for the children which carry the caption "We Are United Under the Visionary" displayed over a depiction of Pastor Steven. The coloring page goes on to say, "Elevation is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will protect our unity by supporting his vision." I have not read language like that since the last thing I read about North Korea. Why would a church allow such cult-like manipulation?
Notice how it is connected to the language of vision. "God gave Pastor Steven a vision. Who are you to question it?" Indeed. Who are any of us to question the man who receives visions from God?
I ask my Southern Baptist brothers and sisters: Is this what is meant by church autonomy? Is there no mechanism in the Southern Baptist Convention that can provide oversight and correction to such abuses?
I raise these issues because I care about the purity of the church and the integrity of the pastoral office. I have no question that the cult of visioneering can produce results. It can attract crowds. It "works." And if it were not so blatantly unbiblical and dangerous for the souls of those who follow I suppose it would be fine.
Just kidding
Hopefully this doesn't catch on.
It’s Monday ... I’m trying to get as much amusement out of it as I can.
I agree.
I have worshiped nude.... but I was alone with God at the time.
Worshiping nude in a crowd? That is just icky.
I sing hymns in the shower.
And when someone turns on the washer you suddenly discover that you can hit the high notes in "It Is Well With My Soul".
Oh, yes!
Oh, I think there would be a crowd for her, too. People are weirdly fascinated.
Sadly, we have folks who say they have become preachers, yet; they do not preach from the Bible. Perhaps being popular is more important to them then the Gospel. We have a number who wish to be inclusive, PC, MC, etc. Paul clearly was very direct and blunt at times.
If I took my clothes off on stage any day, it would have quite the opposite effect at my age. There would be a record stampede to the exit!!!
Excellent article. Many wise words. Thank you for sharing it.
My first comment is... God likes a flat organizational chart! Each person is to have their own direct connection to the Boss through His son. Never, ever surrender your will externally to another human being as if you do, you do not have the authority over your will to surrender it to God.
It appears that my purpose is to assist each person to use the Bible as their operating manual for their life as it is God’s scavenger hunt tool given to us as a guide to finding His hiding place.
Per above, “I raise these issues because I care about the purity of the church and the integrity of the pastoral office. I have no question that the cult of visioneering can produce results. It can attract crowds. It “works.” And if it were not so blatantly unbiblical and dangerous for the souls of those who follow I suppose it would be fine.”
Very good points... what are the fruits of the process. Is the harvest full or empty.
While it is sometimes very subtle, the question I ask is “Does the pastor get his power from the people who worship him or from his worshipping God. There is a big difference.
I once observed a Buddhist master who had such power that when he raised his hands, I could feel the wind from his energy on my body far away from him. (indoors)... Later that day I watched him more closely with a crowd of people. He asked that everyone pray for him. What I saw happening was him collecting the prayerful energy of all the people who were worshipping him. He concentrated all their energy like a magnifying glass does sunlight and focused it on the woman who was in charge of the conference who was standing right next to me. What I noticed was that it was NOT Divine Energy. It was a high volume of a low frequency energy. It appeared as though he were doing miracles, but they were not real.
I caught this woman as she was falling off her feet and shielded her from his energy. I reflected it right back at him which made him very angry. The human body cannot take high volumes of low frequency energy. It’s like using a thin wire for high voltage current. It fries! Shortly thereafter, this master died. It was an excellent learning experience for me. Always strive to grow closer to God and turn only to Him for my strength.
The very first time I observed a charismatic pastor manipulating people into the false born again experience, it made me physically sick to see this happen. I walked out into the cold freezing rain and turned to God and asked, “Why was I led here to see such a horrible thing.” The voice replied to me loud and clear, “This is how satan will lead my people astray.”
“Can one imagine Jesus having a “vision” statement?”
Jesus gave us His vision. We just tend to ignore it.
How does a Tax-Chick have any free time at this time of the year... Probably the same as me, creative procrastination from doing corporate tax returns!
“We are united under the visionary”
Sounds like something Joe Goebbels would have come up with.
Do the church members all extend their right arms when they Amen?
I’m retired from tax work. I kept having babies at the wrong time!
LOL... too funny. That was one rule when I hired staff.... No babies in tax season!!! I was able to get absolutely wonderful employees that way as they would work hard in tax season and then want the summer off to spend with their children. It was a win-win situation.
I have children with birthdays on March 27, March 30, April 2, and April 6.
My mother, OldTax-lady, gave up her practice in Florida recently because tax season was also houseguest season. Also, her clients kept dying and she would get depressed.
Too Funny.... What a daughter won’t do to sabotage her mother trying to delegate..... LOL
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