The King's Business

TROWEL & SWORD

The King's Business

Rev. John Rietveld

The buzzwords in the business world in the late eighties and early nineties were words like vision, mission statements, business plans and so on. Social commentators and business analysts suggested that part of the reason that the HIH Insurance Company collapsed was that it did not have an adequate or sound business plan. Their negligence will cost Australian taxpayers dearly.

Does God have a vision, a business plan, a mission? Yes, He does. His vision is that planet earth be filled with women and men who image His glory. That’s what Genesis tells us. We human beings, in our arrogance and self-centredness, chose our own destiny of delusion. Did that stop God’s vision? Did He give up? No, He sent Christ to call us back to our genuinely human vocation. He inbreathed His Spirit into the Church at Pentecost – a new creation, a new beginning. He gave us His Word as a guide.

THE VISION IS CRYSTAL CLEAR.

So the vision is spelled out in black and white: “Disciple the nations!” “As the Father has sent me, so I also send you!” “Preach the gospel to all nations.” The vision is no different than Genesis, for it is the fulfilment of the Father’s plan. So Paul can say: “I am not ashamed of the gospel!” “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.” “If any man is in Christ – new creation.” It really is very hard to miss the obvious, isn’t it? It’s not hard to see. It’s not as if you need to be a rocket scientist to work it out.

THE BUSINESS PLAN IS EQUALLY CLEAR.

How is the Church supposed to go about achieving this vision? Is there a plan? Yes! “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Start where you are, move outwards, even to those very difficult (and even hated) Samaritans, and even further still. A plane flight to New York, Amsterdam, or Colombo – where is the end of the earth? Tasmania? Iceland? A 10 minute drive to Brunswick, Fitzroy, Mt Druitt, Redfern, Glenelg – where is Samaria? Your workmates, uni friends, business colleagues, neighbours, even members of the family – where is Jerusalem? It’s not as if the directions are fuzzy. “You shall be my witnesses.” That’s pretty clear too. This is what Jesus did for me – that’s all witnesses can say, because you can only witness to what you have experienced. And your witness points to God’s witness, to His Word. And His Word points to His Son. And His Son, and only His Son, is life.

Strange as it may seem, there are many people and many churches that have neither vision nor plan. In the CRM “Refocussing Leaders” course, pastors and church leaders are challenged to spell out three things as clearly and precisely as they can. You might find it helpful for your own life, and if you are a leader, for your church as well.

1. MY PURPOSE.

What does God require of us, what does God want us to do as individuals? Leaders are asked to work through about 15 Scriptural passages or verses, and they can even add their own favourites as well. We want to be grounded in and based on God’s Word, not just our preferences. We want to be aligned with God’s plans. And it’s interesting that about 60 pastors and leaders over the last 5 years all come up with pretty much the same thing. What God requires of us is that we be followers of Christ, remaining in Him, and testifying to what God has done in Him. Different leaders, different denominations, yet the same conclusion every time. Why not try the exercise in your cell-group or Bible study? List the texts, read and study them, write out your insight next to them, and see what conclusion you come to.

1.a THE CHURCH’S PURPOSE.

Now if you are a leader in the church, it is worth asking the same question about the church – what is God’s purpose for the church? As a leader, that’s not only a good question – it is an essential one. It will help you focus the work of the church, determine the direction of the church, resource the structures of the church, and so on. You’ll be doing what HIH did not do – having a clear sense of policy and direction. You’ll be able to keep focussed on the important things. So the question here would be: “What is the purpose of our local church here in this place?” Or to put it differently, you and every other leader will be able to spell out clearly at every home visit, session meeting and to every visitor and new member at your worship service: “Our church’s purpose is to.....! That’s what we focus on, that’s what we train for, that’s what we are committed to.” You’ll be able to ask it at every session meeting: “So how are we doing? How can we improve? What do we need to put in place to be more effective for Jesus?”

2. MY VALUES.

The second thing we ask leaders to articulate clearly is their core values. First we spend quite some time helping them to tell their life-story. What has God shaped in your life? Who has modelled leadership, faith and relationship to you? List their names. What did they teach you? What have been the areas of pain, failure and struggle in your life? So what are the things that you will fight for, passionately? (Values). What are the things you will stand against, strongly? (Values). You see, we do not understand each other until we have heard the stories of the work of God through each other’s history and circumstances. We actually go away on retreat to do this exercise of telling our life story, and there have always been tears as well as prayers of joy and deep gratitude. Again, you might like to try this exercise as a cell-group or Bible study.

Out of the story time we come to understand our values – the things we feel strongly about, the things we will work towards and stand up for. Those values are written down, and in understanding ourselves more clearly, even more clearly do we see the sustaining grace of God. We begin to “own” our own story – the good, the bad and the ugly – and we see the relentless grace of God that underpins it all.

2.a. THE CHURCH’S VALUES.

If you were to ask what the church’s values were, there would be a number of ways to get at it. You might, for example, ask session for a copy of their session agenda for 12 months or so. Those agendae would spell out where they spent their time, and what was considered important. Another way would be to survey visitors over a period of time, and ask them: “In your experience in this church, what has stood out for you? What have you experienced?” Each congregation, like each family, has its own distinctiveness. Yet another way of getting at it is to sit the leadership down, and ask each member to write down the things that are absolutely essential to their church, then to prioritise them. (It may surprise you that often evangelism does not figure in that list).

One very useful workshop for leaders to undertake in order to understand the church’s values is the journey wall. Putting butcher’s paper all around the hall, you ask the oldest members to write down on “Post-it” notes the pastors they had, the events they remember (both good and bad), and start drawing out the history of the church. Everyone writes down what stands out for them in their journey with the church. The newest and latest members will relish the stories of the older ones. The older ones will be able to tell of their commitment, their tears and joys, their celebrations and disappointments. You get the “life-story” of the church. You see what God has done. You see grace at work. And yes, you also see human failure, and it may call for churches to spend time in repentance (some have actually done this!) And then you understand the values. And you can plan to move towards the future.

3. MY PERSONAL VISION.

Who am I? How do I function best? What am I good at? How has God knit me together in my mother’s womb and throughout my personal history? When I understand God’s Biblical call on my life, His grace-shaping through my personal history, I also need to understand my uniqueness, so that I can see what He would have me do at this moment in history. The men of Issachar understood their times, and they knew what Israel was to do (1Chron.12:32). The gift lists in Scripture remind us that we are all different, and as Hybels reminds us, that’s not about right or wrong. And so leaders are asked to wrestle through this question, and to answer it clearly for themselves: “What has God called you to do? What can you bring that no-one else can? What are you called to that no-one else is? Where do you see that God is leading you and developing you?”

When football teams purchase players, they play them to their strengths while developing their potential. When companies employ a new CEO or manager, they look for particular strengths to forward their particular interests. When universities employ academics, when hospitals employ nurses, when schools employ teachers – each looks for the right “fit.” They want the best out of those they employ. They want the right person for the right job. So does Jesus. But what happens when churches call pastors? How do they get God’s best from him? It is clear the “one size fits all” kind of approach simply does not work. While every role in life has its difficulties and challenges, we get the best from people when we play them to their strengths. A “Discover your Gifts” course is the place to begin here.

3.a. THE CHURCH’S VISION.

A big church, a small church, a city church, a rural church, a very young church or an old church – each will have it’s own particular character and will need to develop its own vision in its own context. As Calvinists we believe that the Sovereign God has called us to where we are. We are committed to His purposes for us in Christ. But precisely how we go about that will differ from place to place and church to church. Church is not a place we go to – it is who and what we are. So what is a “vision”? It is what we see God has called us to. It is being aware of the community in which we live.

One particular denomination started a church plant in a fast growing region that was divided by a highway. On each side of the highway was a reasonably new housing development of several thousand houses. They went to the ABS and obtained census data that showed, to their amazement, that on one side of the highway there were no families with children, while on the other side most families had a number of children. Guess where they (successfully) planted their church? What do you, as a leader see when you look at the region around your worship centre? What is your church’s vision to reach people there? How can you build relationships with those who do not yet know Jesus? How will you train people for it? Where will you place people?

The other half of the church’s vision is knowing the congregation. What gifts has God placed here? What are we especially gifted to do and achieve in our community? It would probably be unwise to start a youth outreach program if the majority of the congregation was elderly. But it is a necessary part of the church’s vision to see God’s people employing their gospel gifting in God’s gospel kingdom plan of the Son. In our book of forms it states that the elders are to discuss with members “the privileges and responsibilities of serving Christ.” That means not only a personal relationship with Christ – it also means that they are alive in the work of the kingdom.

The King’s business is a life and death business. It is wise to have a good business plan – both for our personal lives and for the church. God’s covenant promises in Christ guarantee He will go before us, walk beside us, stand behind us and dwell within us. Yet though we know that the King’s business will not fail, there are Biblical narratives that remind us that we live by faith and by faith alone.

Esther was challenged by her uncle Mordecai: “Girl, if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will come arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to a royal position such a time as this?” (Esther 4:12). We too are royalty, and we are on the King’s business.

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