Purpose, Mission and Vision Explained

By Ken Row

This is a bulldozer. Its purpose is to move dirt. It was designed to move dirt. It functions best when it is moving dirt. It doesn't spread concrete well at all.


Right now, the bulldozer's mission is to move this particular pile of dirt.


The vision is a new hotel.

Shepherd or Fisherman?

By Ken Row
Shepherds focus on the flock they have. They tend to it and oversee reproduction. Any increase comes from the members of the flock.

Fishermen focus on the catch they do not yet have. They vary their bait, fishing spots, and methods according to the type of fish they seek to catch. Any increase comes from the haul.

In the Old Testament, God focused on shepherding. Ps 23:1 sums it up: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."

In the New Testament, Christ mixed it up.

He said he was sent for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt 10:26, Matt 15:24), but he told Peter he'd make him a "fisher of men". He demonstrated knowledge of shepherding through the parable of the one lost sheep and the allegories like being the one door to the sheepfold and being the Great Shepherd whose sheep know his voice (John 10). But He also demonstrated fishing expertise through the two different times he helped Peter and company bring in super-huge hauls of fish.

Many churches today are strictly shepherding churches. Most growth comes either through members having kids who grow up to become members or through livestock trading (aka Church-hopping).

Some churches seem to be strictly fishing churches, gearing everything towards the seekers.

I wonder which busines Christ prefers us to be in -- shepherding, fishing, or both?

Comparing Purpose to Actions

By Ken Row
When I pastored, my church's purpose statement was "Reaching, Teaching, and Keeping People for the Kingdom of God."

Some of my mentors recommended keeping the purpose before the people, so I kept it as my lead powerpoint slide every worship service and mentioned it from time to time during preaching.

One thing I never did, though, was do a year-end evaluation of the church's actions against its purpose statement.

I never asked the question, if someone were to analyze the church finances and calendar, what would they deduce the church's purpose to be?

Looking back, I think they might have deduced the church mainly existed to worship together, listen to sermons, pray for each other, and occasionally have a pitch-in dinner.

With the new year approaching, it'd be a good time to take a hard look at your church's purpose statement.

Using my own purpose statement...

What do we need to do in 2009 to reach more people?
Are there different people we could target?
Are there new methods to implement?

What do we need to do to teach more people?
What should we change to keep from simply re-teaching the already-taught?
Can we do more on hands-on, experiential teaching and less lecture-driven, head-knowledge teaching?

Who do we need to do to keep more people?
Why do so many teens leave the church at adulthood?
Why do our young preachers head off to other denomination's schools?

Changing My Perspective

By Gabriel Espinoza
Reference: Prov 23:7a; Mt 12:36

The domino affect: our thoughts affect our words. Our words will affect our faith. Our faith will affect our actions. Our actions will affect our destiny. But it all starts with a simple thought!

#1 Our thoughts affect our lives.
We are what we think! Therefore, we greatly need to change our mindset to reflect the mind of Christ. Paul declares that we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), but he also says that we need to renew our minds (thoughts) to always align them according to God and be transformed (Rom. 12:2).

Can you imagine what God thinks? It’s more than what we can imagine! But we can have those thoughts in us, because we have the mind of Christ.

#2 From our thoughts, we speak.
Jesus says, “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart” (Matt 15:18). What we speak reflects our inner thoughts. The Spirit produces renewal in our words when our thoughts are being changed. Our thoughts change by the confrontation of His Word in us. We ask the sinner to change (repent), but have we changed? Have we aligned ourselves according to God’s thoughts? Why, then, have we stagnated and deviated from the purposes of God in us, in our ministries? Are we stuck or are we moving forward?

#3 Our words affect our faith.
When conquering the Promised Land, ten of the spies felt the land was a great land to live in, but didn’t have the courage to fight the giants. Their words of discouragement affected the people of God. The spirit of fear and unbelief was operating in their words.

Every day is a moment of opportunity to conquer our promise land and impact the lives of many! If our words affect the way we believe, what words are we speaking? Our own words or God's promises?

#4 Our faith affects our actions, and our actions our destiny.
As in the story of the Promised Land, God had taken the action to give them that land. It was a done deal. This land is a symbol of God’s plans and desires for us in the present. The way to this land is not easy though. There is a battle to fight and challenges to confront. The enemy will try to sow thoughts of fear and put up many obstacles, so we can then speak the words “this can’t be done”. Then our actions reflect our words, and finally, our destiny is altered from what God intended us to become.

Can you see what God sees? Imagine what He imagines? The Spirit wants to sow His dreams in us, so that our thoughts, faith, actions and destiny will be affected according to Him who called us. Does God see you staying where you are right now, or is He saying “there’s more!”?

Where does a great ministry start? In your thoughts!

Living A Passionate Life

A passionate life is more than a philosophy—more than a pie-in-the-sky wish for happiness painted in the imagination. It is not a problem-free, fairy tale existence, and it does not promise wealth or fame.

Rather, it is a lifestyle chosen deliberately, designed purposefully, and lived responsibly. It is raising the bar on what you intend to accomplish. It is moving through each storm of life without hesitation and arriving in the sunshine wiser and stronger. It is continuously learning, loving, and growing.

A passionate life is a fulfilling life. It allows you to say, "This is important. It is what God has given me to bring to the world, and I'm going to give it everything I've got!"

A passionate life means taking full responsibility for your choices, actions, and experiences. It means moving forward from this day without self-imposed limitations, complaints or regrets.

Living a passionate life is living an enthusiastic life. Combine action and passion, and you will get enthusiasm. It is easy to share enthusiasm because enthusiasm is contagious.

Share your enthusiasm for life with someone today—a friend, co-worker, family member, or someone you've never met before. A passionate life is an inspiring gift that can brighten the world for many generations.

© Copyright 2006 by Steve Brunkhorst.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

From Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration
http://www.AchieveEzine.com

Somethin's Cookin' in the Cave, part 4

By Charles Scott
In order to handle your cave, relationships must be connected – the study of Scripture is a study of relationships. It is not good for man to be alone. God and humans walked together in the cool of the day. You will come to a part of your Bible that features a bunch of genealogies – they are in the Bible to show you there is power in divine connections. The Word of God says that Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes. She laid Him in a feeding trough – that was where the animals ate, where the cows slobbered, where the donkeys spit out seeds, where the livestock came for dinner – but before she put Him there, she wrapped Him. She covered Him.

You must have people in your life who will cover you. You see, there are elements that contaminate, penetrate and destroy. The world is a place where the elements are animalistic and they are trying to prevent your destiny from being birthed. Mary knew her Son's destiny – He would save His people from their sins – she knew there was animal stuff that could hurt Him, hold Him, and hinder Him, and so she covered Him so He could grow into His destiny. She was so consumed with Him fulfilling His destiny that she covered Him. We too must protect our destiny. We must protect the future.

Remember that when God is with you, nothing can touch you! When God is with you, you will survive. You will have some tough times, but you will survive. You will be put in rough places, but you will survive. The world was against me, but He rocked me in the cradle of His arms – I will survive. There were times when I thought I would lose my mind, but He held me in the shelter of His everlasting grace – I will survive. There were times when my heart was broken, but He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." We will survive.

Somethin's Cookin' in the Cave, part 3

By Charles Scott
In order to handle your cave, you must be thankful you have somewhere to be. We are sensual beings living in a natural world, moved and motivated by feelings. Most of us are motivated by feelings more than facts. How many times do you hear, "Let me tell you how I feel"? "I FEEL" has become the anthem of society. The emphasis on feeling makes the issue bigger than it really is. Feelings magnify the minute into the enormous. Feelings will blind you to blessings. HEAR THIS: You can know something but not feel it.

Mary laid her Son in a manger because there was no room for Him anywhere else. There was no place for Him – He was rejected; he was a Man of sorrows, but there is no record of complaints, no record of grumbling, and no record of fussing! Someone is dreaming about being where you are while you complain about it because it is a cave – at least you have some place! Mary went to the inn because it had what she thought she needed. It had all the accommodations, all the linens, and all the right conditions to birth a baby. She was rejected – but know that rejection cannot stop your destiny! Your purpose is not controlled by circumstances and situations.