The Necessity of a Vision

10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." 12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The apostle John had a vision. It was a vision of Christ standing in the midst of the churches. And as he stood there he spoke to and about each of the churches in Asia Minor (Turkey) and these seven churches are symbolic of the whole church in all ages. I do not wish today to focus on the problems and possibilities of those churches but on the presence of Christ speaking to them and guiding them. And I want to emphasize Christ in the midst of the Church (Chapel on the Hill) speaking to it and guiding it into the future.

John had a vision for the Church. May I remind you that the vision is not always present? In I Samuel the text says, The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”

And in Proverbs: 29:18 The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

I wish to use these ancient texts to talk with you about a Vision for the Chapel on the Hill. What do you see now? And What do you see as a possibility in the future?

In invite you to imagine John on the Isle of Patmos where he was exiled. It was the Lord’s Day, the day of the resurrection. He heard a voice. He turned. He saw the Risen Christ – hair like wool, eyes like fire and feet like brass. And Christ spoke to him, “I am the one who was dead and now am alive and I have the keys of death and hell.”

When John looked he saw him standing in the midst of 7 golden candlesticks and he had 7stars in his right hand. Jesus explained that the lampstands represented the churches in Asia Minor and the stars represented God’s Special Messengers to those Churches. The number 7 in Jewish numerology is a perfect number and symbolizes the whole Church, then and now.

I have chosen to talk with you about this primal vision of Christ in the midst of the church. It is the core of the church’s life and it is the foundation for our vision of the Church today. “Christ in the midst, Where two or three are gathered together in his name.”

Where there is no vision for the Church, the people perish – the people within and the people outside the church. (Proverbs 29:18) I don’t think the churches that John wrote to got the message. They had no vision. They perished. A few years ago a friend and fellow teacher Catherine and Justo Gonzalez and Nan and I went to Turkey – Asia Minor where the churches were. We visited every one of the sites where these churches had been built – Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, , Pergamus, Thiatira, and Laodicea. Except for Ephesus and Smyrna there was nothing but a pile of rocks. Without a vision a church perishes.

When a church lacks a vision, it falls into a maintenance mentality, it loses its missional passion and bad things happen to it:

• A church without a vision is generally fixated on the past. All its glory and strength lie in the past. Like the Dodo bird it is flying forward looking backward.

• A church without a vision is blind to its new reality. Things have changed in 22 years ‚Äì people, businesses, mentalities, needs, but the maintenance mentality is trying to maintain what has always been.

• A church without a vision tends to sacralizes the past. It is not only what we did, it is what God wanted us to do and it is God‚Äôs way. So making the past as blessed of God, they get God on their side and resist change.

• Finally, a church without a vision ministers with an illusion. It tends to believe that if we do what we have always done, but do it better and more of it, things will change. But the truth is that ‚Äúif you keep doing what you have always done, you will get more of what you have already got.‚Äù

It seems to me that this all stacks up to suggest that the maintenance minded church needs a new vision, a fresh vision of the Risen Lord in its midst. And it needs discernment of what He is calling the church to be an do now.

The first thing and the most important thing is a Vision of Christ in the midst of this Church – The Chapel on the Hill is and must always be a Christ-centered Church. You see him in your heart; you see him in the faces of the members and leaders; you hear him speak through his Word; and you can trace the markings of his hand in all that has happened in your life together. Without Christ at the Center this Chapel has had dozens of chances to go under and disappear. Remember, He is at the Center.

As a part of this central vision, the most important vision for the future is your vision of worship. How does the Risen Christ wish to be worshipped today? There are all kinds of worship – sacramental, traditional, charismatic, blended. The kind of worship is first to the glory of God. That is why we are here to glorify God. But the next thing is that it must minister to the people, that is, help them to worship and receive God’s blessing.

What is your vision of worship for the next 5 years, a form of worship that will honor God and meet your needs for fellowship, healing and power to minister? Now as you think about this vision, will it meet the needs of people other than you, those outside the church, those that don’t today come to the Chapel? Is it a God-Vision or a maintenance vision?

Another aspect of this Central Vision of the Risen Christ is the fellowship of the people. You are members of his Body. You have been baptized into Him. By the Spirit you have been joined to one another. This is the foundation of our relationships – we are joined together not because we all have education, culture or social status. We are joined in Jesus Christ who has claimed us.

Over the next 5 years how do you see this fellowship taking place? Is the fellowship that we now have including all the people in the Chapel? Do they feel wanted and loved? Do helping hands go out to them? What about those who come once or twice and do not come back? Does our fellowship have lots of openings in it so that they can find their place among the members of the Body of Christ on this hill?

Are we here at the Chapel willing to look at this fellowship and change? See, just because you are on the inside and full of delight and joy over the fellowship does not mean that a visitor will. Who is excluded from the Worship and Fellowship of the Chapel.

In your vision for the Chapel, how do you see Christ serving others through you? I must confess that I do not know all the ways that you have served this community through the years – more than I know for sure. One thing about the Body of Christ, it was a serving body. He healed the sick, cast out evil spirits and he fed the hungry. What could be more practical, down to earth ministry that helping people with their basic needs?

Without a vision for the service of others, a church gets focused on itself and its own needs. I have no doubt that there are people in this community that struggle to make ends meet every month; there are people who are lonely, in pain and grief. Have a vision large enough that you can reach out to these people and be the hands and feet and heart of Christ to them.

Now as you are visioning, I invite you to think of this Chapel on the Hill in southern Wisconsin reaching out with long arms to people in other countries. I saw some work in Mexico in February that would challenge you. I visited Mereida. Our host took us to a food ministry where people gathered food from the large market not saleable but not yet ruined. They packed it up and took it to villages where people were hungry – 4,000 tons of food every year. And the budget was $50,000. That ministry could use your hands, your heart and your money.

Have a vision large enough to make a difference in a hurting world.

I do not know what the Risen Christ who stands in your midst would have you do specifically, but I do believe I know that these 4 arenas are near his heart – worship, fellowship, service and mission to the world – and these are the centers for your picture of the future. If I release my imagination just a bit,

• I can see the Chapel drawing a larger and more diverse group of worshippers together every week ‚Äì the people who are here and those who are yet to come.

• I can see the Chapel being a place of great inspiration for all the members and inspiriting them to go out into the community and bring new persons into the church by their witness and their service.

• I can see the Theatre making a difference to the lives of more and more people.

• I can see groups of people in this Chapel going on mission to Mexico or Central America giving of themselves and their time to relieve the hurt in the lives of the poor.

• I can see this Chapel becoming a center for other non-denomination church where conferences and workshops begin to spread what you are finding.

I can’t begin to tell you how important a Vision is for the Chapel – A vision of the Risen Christ calling you, sending you and going with you into the world of human need.

A Vision will give you a direction in which to move; A Vision will initiate movement (can’t see it and sit still); A Vision will bring cohesion to the Body of Christ. See how important a vision is?

Now I must ask you, “What is your Vision for the Chapel on the Hill? Will you pray for a Vision of the Risen and Living Christ and his will for this Chapel. Will you share your vision and join with others in discerning God’s Big Vision for us?