Part of the mission of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps "to the ends of the earth" (The Acts 1:8). Among the methods to realizing this mission are by sharing with one another as a family, praying with and serving each other.
The Pastor's Desk, May
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary vision is "the special sense by which the qualities of an object (such as color, luminosity, shape, and size) constituting its appearance are perceived through a process in which light rays entering the eye are transformed by the retina into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve." When I started writing this I went to Merriam-Webster expecting that to be the first definition of vision, a very scientific and analytical understanding of what vision is. It was not the first definition. In fact, it was the fourth definition. The first definition of vision listed is actually similar to the definition I had planned to juxtapose against themore scientific definition. It says that vision is "something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy; especially : a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation." We are in the process of trying to find that kind of vision here at Bethany. While we do not necessarily need it to arrive in the forms mentioned above, we are looking for a "supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation."
We have appointed a Vision Task Force, which will be the driving force behind grasping God's vision for us as a church. That does not mean that every one of us will not play a role in the visioning process though. We should participate by praying for the Task Force, and asking God to provide them the strength and wisdom it will take to grasp that vision and to communicate it to the congregation. We can pray for God's care for this church, and that God will grant us both a vision of our future and the excitement and energy to make the vision a reality. We can pray that God will help prepare us as individuals and as a congregation for whatever the vision may bring. If, as a congregation, we take this process seriously and wholeheartedly pursue God's vision for our church then we will have a very exciting future as a congregation.
The Spirit is already stirring here at Bethany. God is active in who we have been, who we are, and who we will be as a church, and all of that will be taken into consideration as we go through this process of grasping a vision. God's vision for us will be distinctive to who we are, which means that the core of this church will be used as a part of the vision and as a means to reach that vision. We will continue to rely on being a warm and caring family of faith, which puts an emphasis on relationships. We will continue to work together as we grow in Christ, learning to be better disciples. We will continue to emphasize our outreach work to our immediate community and throughout the world. Some things will certainly change as we turn all of our efforts to making God's vision for us a reality, but we will continue to be the Bethany Christian Church we know and love.
Pastor Ben
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This page last updated on Monday, 03 May 2010
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