Visioneering -1-

One of the main reasons I wanted to start blogging was to get my ideas and vision and whatnot for church planting out on the web for all to see ("all" meaning the 20 people who will read this). So two months into this thing, I guess it's about time.

Purpose and Mission

I see my personal purpose in life as reaching the next generation for Christ. Basically, I want to give people all the stuff I never had. I want to invest myself in others, mentor them, find opportunities for them to use their gifts, encourage them, and turn them into the kind of people who will do the same things for others. Basically, I want to do everything I can to make people successful (though in more of the spiritual and relational sense as opposed to financially).

Another mission of mine is to treat everyone like they matter to me, because they do. I crave personal time and attention, yet nobody has it to give. I want to be the kind of person that if I can't personally help you do something, I will send you to the person who can. People matter to me, because they matter to God. Bill Hybels claims this too, but not in the same way that I do. In such an impersonal society, the church needs to be much more intentional and proactive in connecting people to other people, and providing an environment for friendship to bloom and flourish. Bottom line for me, mission is NEVER about tasks, but it is ALWAYS about people. It's a shame that in so many churches people don't have time to connect because they're too busy doing stuff. Thank God for bean counters, but they better be counting beans with others for others.

Lastly, but most importantly, I want to have and to instill in others a passion for Jesus. Jesus is worth getting excited about. He's big enough to build and govern the universe, yet close and personal enough to give total attention to us whenever we call (and many times when we don't). Jesus loved me personally enough to save me out of a sinful lifestyle, he promised to be with me through the tough times and work in them for my good, to give me the ability and desire to do good on earth, and finally to rescue me from death and take me to be with him forever when my life is over.

These values and philosophies govern much of what I do (I wish it was all, but I am not perfect yet). Wherever I go, whatever I do, I take these principles with me. It makes me sad that so many others don't have these values, but God uses all kinds of people at all different stages of maturity. I praise God for the diversity in the universal church and look forward to every opportunity I may have to be a partner with Jesus in building his kingdom in this world.