Posted on 02/24/2014 7:02:22 AM PST by Gamecock
I spent my early years in ministry immersed in the language of vision and mission. Somewhere along the way, it was decided that if a church was going to be successful then it must have both a mission and vision statement. If you were really good you had purpose, vision, and mission statements. It was no longer acceptable to simply understand that your church was around to do what the church had always been around to do: preach the Word, administer the sacraments, and make disciples of the Lord Jesus. That would not do. The pastor was now cultural architect (that is an actual title a pastor in California has taken). He must be a visioneer. The shift seemed rather seamless. Who, after all, was going to dare speak out against vision and mission?
The process is simple. A church has a pastor. The pastor receives from God a specific vision and mission for his church. The church follows the visioneer.
For this arrangement to work however the congregation has to understand at least two things: 1) God speaks to our pastor directly, and 2) God gives our pastor a mission unique to our church. These have become the assumptions. They are simply not questioned.
I have explained to the church I serve as pastor that our mission has nothing to do with my going off somewhere and getting a word from the Lord. God does not give me visions. Actually the mission of the church is not difficult to discern. God has made it quite clear in his Word. The church is sent into the world to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of the Lord Jesus in the ways that he has prescribed (Matt 28:16-20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:6-11).
There is simply not a category in Scripture for a pastor who receives, by way of revelation from God, a particular mission for his church. It is not there. So why does this notion continue to flourish? There are at least three reasons:
1. A misunderstanding of how God speaks. The visioneering pastor and his church operate under the mistaken notion that God speaks to us outside His Word. As a result the pastor is able to act under a sense of Divine fiat - "God told me." 2. Ignorance of the Scriptures. Too many church members (and pastors) do not know the Bible well enough to know that this approach to vision and mission is not found in the Bible. 3. A preference for the sensational. The visioneering pastor and his church risk missing the blessing of God's ordinary means of grace. The desire instead is for a divinely spoken vision. Within this way of thinking is the prideful assumption that there is something special about my church.
Combine unbiblical ideas of a pastor who receives visions from God with slick fashion, cutting edge marketing, and shameless self-promotion and you have a cult-leader in the making.
A recent info-graphic produced by Elevation Church includes the following statements:
1. We serve a Lead Pastor who seeks and hears from God.
3. We serve a Lead Pastor we can trust.
7. We serve a Lead Pastor who pours into us spiritually and professionally.
16. We serve a Lead Pastor who goes first.
This is frightening stuff. We have a Lord who came not to be served but to serve (Matt 20:28). And yet at Elevation it is plain that "Pastor Steven" is the boss who expects to be served. It gets worse. Elevation even produces coloring pages for the children which carry the caption "We Are United Under the Visionary" displayed over a depiction of Pastor Steven. The coloring page goes on to say, "Elevation is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will protect our unity by supporting his vision." I have not read language like that since the last thing I read about North Korea. Why would a church allow such cult-like manipulation?
Notice how it is connected to the language of vision. "God gave Pastor Steven a vision. Who are you to question it?" Indeed. Who are any of us to question the man who receives visions from God?
I ask my Southern Baptist brothers and sisters: Is this what is meant by church autonomy? Is there no mechanism in the Southern Baptist Convention that can provide oversight and correction to such abuses?
I raise these issues because I care about the purity of the church and the integrity of the pastoral office. I have no question that the cult of visioneering can produce results. It can attract crowds. It "works." And if it were not so blatantly unbiblical and dangerous for the souls of those who follow I suppose it would be fine.
Mom would spend her days entertaining the houseguests, nights trying to do all the returns, and then get sick. She’s in her 70s!
....”We Are United Under the Visionary” displayed over a depiction of Pastor Steven”....
Well that’s clearly cult style...but the question is who is pushing elevation of men over the centrality of Jesus Christ and His Gospel Message?
I think we are fast reaching the time where Jesus said truth would be hard to find, for that we see the void being filled with all manner of men seeking power and self glory...but worse are people willing to mount them up....and with this comes agendas of men salted with just enough of the Gospel to make it palatable to “itchy ears”.
Congregations are far from studying Gods word on their own.....as with politicians....congregations are spoon fed today. People want the “appearance” of being religious without the commitment or relationship to the man Jesus Christ.
...”if I took my clothes off on a stage every Sunday. It would “work.”....
Well, many attending church walk in looking like that today....so this does give some evidence the condition of “the flock”.
Not according to those who were there and witnessed this display of grief. They were confounded by the reality of these expressions....and the absolute allegiance to their “Dear Leader”.
These people are fully conditioned from childhood on. They “believe” what they are told despite the evidence contrary to what they are told.
Even those who have escaped N.Korea have difficulty adjusting to simply making decisions for themselves on the basics. Older people especially have trouble adjusting to freedom. Younger people have special accommodations to reacclumate them, but even they struggle greatly.
....“This is how satan will lead my people astray.”....
I agree....I see it often today in the various churches I have visited. People are seeking “experiences” they can feel with their senses.
In reality much of what is happening in these experiences is not of God’s Spirit. Jesus told us this would come as people “left the faith or denied Him”.
It’s not so much the leaders as the people today are “ripe” for deception.
“It’s not so much the leaders as the people today are “ripe” for deception.”
As the economic and political turmoil begins, people will begin to fall. As they fall they become fearful, and as they become fearful they look to someone else to protect them just as people are now turning to the government in fear and surrendering their individual rights in exchange for the illusion of safety.
That is when people become very ripe for deception. It is what set the stage for Hitler and many other charismatic dictators to take power over people.
While this will happen, people’s eyes will soon see they have been deceived and the fear will return stronger than ever. Things will then begin to happen which are beyond the control of man. Only at that time will the empty vessel, with no where else to surrender, turn inward and find God.
Everything is happening exactly according to His plan.
“Even those who have escaped N.Korea have difficulty adjusting to simply making decisions for themselves on the basics. Older people especially have trouble adjusting to freedom. Younger people have special accommodations to re-acclimate them, but even they struggle greatly.”
I agree. I spent a lot of time with people who lived in the GDR (East Germany) and listened to their stories of how the missed the security they felt before the wall came down.
They also explained to me the feeling of despair when they learned that all the propaganda they believed about how great their country was, was just an illusion. It was a great society identity crisis, especially for those who were in the favor of the old government who now found themselves on the outside.
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