20/20 Vision

Just now as I was thinking of some creative and clever title for this blog post, several mental images came to mind as I rolled the word "vision" around in my head.

An optometrist and ophthalmologist will check your eyes and work with you to enhance your vision so that it's as close to 20/20 as possible.

When the term 20/20 crossed my brain waves, the phrase, "Hindsight is 20/20," came sprinting right after it.

Then, I thought of the evening news show 20/20, which of course brought back memories of watching Barbara Walters interview famous, important people.

On a much more "spiritual" note, my pastor's sermon from this weekend came to mind, seeing as how he was sharing the leadership's vision for our church community in 2013 and opened with the verse, "Without vision people perish." (Proverbs 29:18)  Pastor Michael was talking about much more than how well we see (or don't see) with our eyes; he was referring to the emotions and desires of your heart which spur you to live/act in a specific way such that you can accomplish your goals.  

In businesses and corporations, the president or CEO's vision is often posted on the walls, and the corresponding mission statement is drilled into the employee's heads so they can accurately portray the company's vision to customers as they interact with them.  In order for a corporation to be successful, the vision must be passed on from the president to every single individual involved with the business in any way, shape, or form.  Otherwise, customer service will be rotten, people won't want to shop there or use their products, and the business will ultimately fail.  

I have no idea what the exact vision and mission statement are of Hy-Vee (one of the main grocery stores here in the Kansas City area), but I know the employees at our Liberty Hy-Vee certainly live up to the company's slogan, "A helpful smile in every aisle."  One of the reasons we choose to buy groceries at Hy-Vee is because of their outstanding customer service.  I can always find someone to help me, and when I ask where an item is located, the clerk doesn't just tell me what aisle to look in.  Oh no, he stops whatever he was doing and personally takes me to the exact spot in the store where the product is, and then proceeds to ask if there is anything else he can do to help.  More than once I have gotten to the register and the cashier scans my carton of eggs only to discover that one has cracked somewhere between the dairy section and the check-out line.  Without hesitation, the person bagging my groceries runs back to get me a fresh set of eggs.

You don't usually think of fast food restaurants and excellent customer service in the same sentence, unless the word NOT is present.  However, Chick-fil-A certainly surpasses all other restaurants of its kind - at least in my book.  Again, I don't know what the specific vision and mission statement of the company are, but I do know that if I walk into Chick-fil-A, I will hear the phrase, "my pleasure" said with a genuine smile at least 20-30 times in the half hour it takes us to order our food, eat our meal, have some fun in the playplace, make several trips to the bathroom, and finally head out the door.  In the 2-3 years that Chick-fil-A has been in Liberty, we have frequented the eating establishment several times, often using multiple coupons at a time to get our entire order for free.  Once, I went to get a refill on my free large pop and proceeded to dump the entire 32 ounces on the floor (trying to hold a squirmy toddler and the cup at the same time turned out to be a bad idea on my part).  Without batting an eye, glaring, sighing, or shaking his head, the manager promptly cleaned up my mess and refilled my pop - again.  When I apologized profusely and thanked him for being so kind as to use the whole roll of paper towels on my behalf, he answered, "My pleasure."  Of course.  Just as we choose to buy groceries at Hy-Vee, we eat everything chicken from none other than Chick-fil-A largely in part as a result of their superior customer service.

Back to matters of the church, though.  While the church is most definitely not a business, or at least shouldn't be, we can learn from successful companies such as Hy-Vee and Chick-fil-A who have done an excellent job of communicating the vision to the employees who then in turn live out that mission each day at work, earning the respect, loyalty, and money of customers like our family.  And so, our pastor shared the leadership's vision for our DC community/family.  This way, everyone can be on the same page, working together towards a common goal, and hopefully be more effective in accomplishing what we believe God has called us to do throughout 2013.

With that being said, our pastor finally introduced our theme for the year: DISCIPLE.  

The foundational passage for this vision comes from Jesus' extremely familiar statement in Matthew 28.  These were, in fact, Jesus' last words here on earth before ascending into heaven.  Therefore, I am quite certain they were of utmost importance for His disciples then -- many of whom died, giving their lives to fulfill this great commission.  I am also absolutely positive His words are just as crucial for believers today, who are committed to loving Jesus passionately and living boldly for Jesus all these thousands of years later.

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, 

going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  

When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

Jesus came and told his disciples, 

"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  

Teach these new disciples 

to obey all the commands I have given you. 

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

I love how Pastor Michael and the leadership at DC have the same vision for our church as Lawrence and I have for our lives right now.  He must have read my blog.  :)  

Or, much more likely, God is at work and doing something really cool.  He's pretty good at that.  

In the summer of 2011, after coming home from Ponca, where we witnessed God work in amazing ways in the lives of the boys and girls from Liberty, we were burdened with the need to DISCIPLE these kids now that they were back home.  Many of them had learned about Jesus for the very first time while at camp; others have grown up going to church but made a first-time commitment to truly live for Him at home, in school, everywhere.  Ponca is just one week out of the year.  That "camp high" can only carry them so far.  What happens come September, October when the fire is starting to burn out, when they face opposition, when they get frustrated or discouraged or have questions?  Who is going to come alongside them and teach them, encourage them, answer their questions, and walk with them to help grow in their faith so they can keep standing firm in doing what's right no matter what anyone says about them?  Who is going to mentor them?   Who is going to DISCIPLE them?

God started to whisper in our ears, "Maybe you should think about doing that."

Last summer, when around 100 boys and girls from the Liberty area made the six-hour bus ride to Ponca Bible camp over the course of 6 weeks, we felt the urgency for this need for discipleship increase all the more.  God was done whispering.  Now, He was shouting.  Screaming in our faces, "YOU!  YOU!  YOU!  Yes, YOU!  Go and make DISCIPLES!"  Like Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, and Dolvett Quince keep on their team members on the show Biggest Loser, at times quite aggressively, God didn't back down from the vision He was instilling in our hearts and minds.  He wouldn't let it go.  He was serious.  He meant business.  He told us again and again, in several different ways, "The harvest is ripe.  And I am sending YOU out into the fields.  Now.  Go.  Make DISCIPLES.  Train up these boys and girls to KNOW Me, to LOVE Me passionately, and to live boldly for Me, making ME known in their families, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, in their churches."

It was as if God had taken the mission statement of Ponca, "To know Jesus personally and make Him known," and grown that vision in our hearts to reach the kids (and their families) here in our community.  Every single day of the year, not just one week at a time when we invite them to spend 6-7 days at Ponca.  Besides, as Lawrence's former students grow up and go to different weeks of camp, we can't possibly be at camp with each and every one of them.  As much as we would love that, having 2 small children doesn't really allow us that privilege or luxury.  And so, we set aside the last two weeks of July to serve at Ponca so that we can be with the newest "recruits," those students who are going to camp for the first time.  Not only does this help the kids feel safe and comfortable as many of them are away from home for a substantial amount of time for the first time, it also alleviates the fears and concerns of the parents who are nervous to put their kids on a bus that will take their "babies" six hours away, with no real opportunity to even talk to their son or daughter on the phone for the next week.

As God's vision for us became clearer and clearer, we couldn't ignore what God was calling us to do.  With much excitement and anticipation, mingled with fear and uncertainty, we put our house on the market so we could move into the area where Lawrence teaches school.  We strongly believe that as we interact with his students, their friends, and other kids in the community, we will be able to introduce these boys and girls to Jesus, mentor and DISCIPLE those who have already trusted Him as their Savior, and thus make an eternal impact in their lives and everyone who comes into contact with them as they in turn "make Jesus known."  Or as Jesus put it, "go and make disciples."

While we have been able to take some of our ideas from paper and make them a reality -- like the Ponca and Beyond Bible study we have started for 4th-6th graders -- we envision so much more that we can do only as we live in and among and beside these kiddos and their families.  We are definitely excited to see God work through the Bible study, as new boys and girls are coming almost every week, but at the same time our hearts are heavy with the needs that we simply cannot meet at this point and time.  And so we keep on praying.  Praying for God to work and bring about a buyer for our house.  Praying for an opportunity to buy a new house in the Kellybrook area, in just the right location, and at just the right price.  

Waiting is hard, to say the least.  We cannot, however, ignore the vision God has given us.  As I said in my previous blog post, we will "fix our eyes on Jesus," believing that He is guiding and directing our each and every step.  We will "run with endurance the race He has set before us."  We will "press on" until we cross the finish line.  And all along the way, we will be doing our very best to "know Jesus and make Him known."  We will be living out the Ponca vision and the mission God has laid quite heavily on our hearts.  As we are going about our daily lives, we will be striving to make disciples.  Disciples who will in turn make more disciples. 

We may not be able to see clearly now all that the journey ahead of us entails, but we are trusting God to reveal His plans to us, one day - one step - at a time.  And when we look back at everything God has done, we will sing His praises and marvel at the way He orchestrated every single tiny little detail to fall into place at the exact right time in the exact right way.  Only then we will understand what He was up to and appreciate these times of waiting, realizing how they were a necessary part of His intricate and beautiful and perfect plan all along.

As they say, "Hindsight is 20/20."

So is God-sight.

Oh Lord, may we fix our eyes on You so that we can see things they way You do.  Restore our vision.  Such that we daily live out the "great commission" Jesus gave us all those thousands of years ago.  May we "go and make disciples" today and every day!