I believe that we are at a pivotal moment in the history of our church. At this moment, we are faced with a decision on who we are going to be as a church, and what our identity will be.
The question posed to pastors for years has always been, "Where are we going?" Now that question has been replaced with, "Who are we becoming?" Higher Calling must decide as a community on who we want to be. My choice is to take the road that is less traveled and pursue the dangerous path of outreach into a world that desperately needs Jesus.
So what defines us on this journey? Our mission statement has been the same since our founding, "We are dedicated to helping people discover and experience God's higher calling for their lives through the pursuit of God's purposes." That says a lot about who we are as a community. We are not a country club, where a select few get together and share quality time every Sunday morning. We are not a psychology department that seeks to understand the inner workings of the human psyche; we do not believe that the answer to life's most pressing issues is found within the mind of people. We also are not just a charity organization, simply trying to do good works in the community.
No, we are part of the Body of Christ. Never forget the church is not here for you! We are the church, and the church is here for the world. Our mission is people. All people, everywhere. And our message to them is Jesus. We believe and affirm that God has a high calling for everyone in Jesus. He is the one who is our creator, our leader, and He is the giver of life to the human spirit.
We also have a plan, and our plan revolves around teaching people that God has a purpose for their life and true meaning and fulfillment is only found through seeking that purpose.
The real question remains, "Who are we becoming?" There are two choices to be made. We can choose to take the path of least resistance where we focus inward and choose to ignore the needs of the world around us. We can choose apathy over action, comfort over compassion. Or we can choose to grab hold of the vision that God first put in front of His followers; a vision to go into all of the world, telling people the good news about Jesus. It is a call to a life of adventure and danger, a life that challenges tradition and shakes off the chains of legalistic religion. It is what you were made to do! This all awaits you, but you first must choose to take this path or settle for something far less. What do you choose?
If you are ready, let us together venture deeper into this vision, and the values we must uphold if we are to be a church that seeks God. I will be posting on this and other items throughout this week. I hope you participate!
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