Disney’s Lion King is one of my favorite movies. There are many reasons, but one is its recognition that life operates in a cycle of birth, growth, maturity, death -- which leads again to birth. These are very Christian themes and very much a part of Easter and Spring. This cycle of life is also very real for a church, or any organization and institution really. Every institution goes from birth to growth to maturity. At this point a decision – conscious or unconscious -- happens. If you are not careful you move on to maintenance, then decline and death. Many of our institutions, sacred and otherwise, have turned the corner and are existing in the realm of maintenance and decline. Look at the Elks, Rotary, Eastern Star, The Grange, even alumni associations and non-profit arts groups and, of course, religious organizations.

I am not interested in dissecting the “why” of this, at least not here. What I am interested in is how an organization might bend the arch back in the direction of growth. It all starts with another look at "why." Why do we exist? Why do we do what we do? Why should anyone want to be a part of us? Why does what we say and do matter to those around us? “Why?” is the basic question that needs to be answered and needs to be addressed every time we notice ourselves hitting maturity or slipping into maintenance. This all has to do with vision and mission. For a church it is answering the questions “What is God’s vision for us and our church?” and “How will we bring that vision to life?”
 
I do not mean the generic kind of vision statement to which any church or well-meaning organization could say "yes." I mean an authentically derived vision that comes from deep listening for God’s voice, from intimate wrestling with scripture, from a serious process of discernment that goes to the depths of the heart and soul of what a church is and what it is meant to be and how it reflects the character of God. This isn’t a statement that is drafted and word-smithed by a leadership team at a one-day retreat. This is discovered over several gatherings that don’t have a specific agenda except to explore what God’s vision for your church might be. It usually works best to let the vision sprout out of Bible study, prayer, work and discernment. Adding as you go along, subtracting as needed, and always seeking the Spirit’s leading. You can never be 100% certain about the vision that emerges but you can be certain that it will be close.
 
Once you have this vision – you might not want to say it is your final vision, but you must start somewhere and if the group working on it agrees that it reflects best what has emerged from your work it will be enough -- Once you have God’s vision then you need to figure out your "what" and "how." That is, you need to state your mission as beloved and faithful children of God. The mission is what you will be and do over the next 1-3 years to move your church closer to the vision God has for you. The vision is a dot on the horizon and the mission is the steps you can take right now to move you closer to that dot. As you go along course changes will be inevitable as you cannot possibly know the terrain that lays ahead, the skills, resources, and materials that must be brought to bear to make the next step. So, every year you must check for course corrections and to see if you need to move in one direction or the other to keep that dot centered and your church aligned with it.
 
The mistake we make is to think that when things are going well we have achieved the full measure of God’s vision for us. John Wesley famously said that we all are moving on to perfection – not that we have arrived there. There isn’t a church or organization that has ever reached perfection, reached God’s vision, God’s dream for all creation. To keep growing and maturing means to keep refreshing our perspective on that dot on the horizon and adjusting ourselves and our priorities to keep ourselves aligned. This isn’t a guarantee for the future, but it is a faithful way to move in that direction.

This is something to think about as we celebrate life from death, as we celebrate Easter, as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection.
 
I wish you a reflective and moving rest of Lent and Holy week. May the blessings of new life and Christ be yours this Easter.

Peace,

 
 Upcoming events in the District Superintendent's Schedule:

Annual Conference 2018

50th AC Session
June 13-16

Submitting Legislation

The 50th Session of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference will meet June 13-16, 2018 in Boise, Idaho.

There are lots of ways to be involved, but the one which is timely to think about now is if you are interested in bringing an issue or action item before the membership for affirmation or action.

Individuals, congregations, or groups within the Annual Conference can submit legislation to be considered at the 2018 session.  Go to www.umoi.org/ac and scroll to the bottom of the page to the "Submitting Legislation" section.  

The deadline to submit legislation is April 1, but if you want developer help (to clarify your proposal and consider factors related to it), it would be better to submit by March 19.

Contact the Legislative Committee Chair, Warren Light, at uowesleycenter@gmail.com for more information.

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