Welcome to 2012 – the year to end all years and perhaps end the world as we know it – that is if you believe the Mayans or other doomsayers. No matter what the outcome it IS a NEW year, and it is full of opportunities to live life to the fullest. I hope that what we talk about today will inspire your life and direct the fullness you hope for in 2012. We are going to talk about vision today, and in particular the vision I, as your lead pastor, believe God has given me to share with you. If you have been at Creekside a long time you will obviously know some of what we will talk about today. Hopefully it doesn’t take much observation to know what we are about, why we exist and how that plays out in our activities and beliefs. But there is a general rule of thumb in all organizations, businesses or groups that seems to be proven true over and over again – “vision leaks.” And we will address that during this morning’s message.
We start with this from the Bible, and I’m going to read it for you from several translations just to emphasize the importance and nuance of these words -
Proverbs Proverbios 箴 言 29:18a -
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish…
18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint…
18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.
18 Where there is no vision, the people are discouraged…
18Donde no hay visión, el pueblo se desenfrena…
18 没 有 异 象 （ 或 译 ： 默 示 ） ， 民 就 放 肆 ；
When there is no forethought, when the future is unclear; when divine guidance is uncertain or ignored; when direction is questionable or unknown – people go crazy, become disillusioned, discouraged, unfocused. Sometimes it means a dream or a cause or a group DIES from a lack – lack of vision, lack of drive, lack of purpose, synergy, etcetera. Someone has to receive the vision, flesh it out and explain it to others. Others have to understand and accept the vision for it to grow and come to fruition. The fact is, though, that a lack of vision causes all kinds of problems.
Sometimes there is no vision to start with – it is a total LACK of vision: no plan, no dream, no problem to solve or solution to offer. When this is the case there is nothing to get excited about and nothing to accomplish. Sometimes there is just NOTHING to grab onto. Where there is no vision there is no leadership. Where revelation and insight are missing – people get bored and even discouraged.
But sometimes the lack of vision is caused by people’s lack of acceptance. Not all people will be inspired and enticed by every vision, revelation or plan out there. They don’t like what they’ve heard so they don’t join in. Or, if their “in” already, they move on to do whatever it is that fits them and makes them happy. This happens in companies, families, organizations and churches. People move on to the path that benefits them the most or meets their felt needs. When people don’t accept vision they SHOULD move on. We are all bent a certain way, believe certain things and have plans for the future; and it doesn’t always mesh with those around us. That’s okay. It’s a part of life. And, as we all know, life has its seasons.
Sometimes there was a vision, a great cause or purpose; there was a mission to fulfill, a problem to solve, but over time strength and enthusiasm fade. People are overworked, overcommitted; leaders often get pulled in too many directions and soon the clear objective and driving force of an organization, family or business leaks dry. It’s the responsibility, the job, of those in charge to remind the group why they exist and what the future holds. You can’t plug the holes of vision completely, but as a leader you can continue to pour into the people around you and refill them…and you must…vision leaks.
This applies to families. This applies to your work as a manager or project leader as well. No matter who or what you are in charge of, even yourself, you must remind and be reminded of your purpose and goals, your vision and mission. You must recharge yourself and rest from the busyness of life; refocus your heart and mind on God and His will for you and yours. Because there is this natural tendency to fade out slowly when there is no effort to push forward and grow – spiritually, emotionally, physically and corporately. The second law of thermal dynamics cannot be overcome with complacency – the universe is moving from order to chaos, the law of entropy dictates the decay of all things. So, it’s up to the leader to push forward and refill the leaky bucket in whatever context you find yourself.
Creekside Community was begun with a prayer that God would move in the hearts of His people on the west side of Katy. The year was 2000, and there was almost nothing but farms in this area. Each week I would drive the 7 mile x 2 mile circuit of 1463, 1093, Katy-Gaston Road and Katy-Flewellen, praying that God would bring churches to this area as it grew. It never occurred to me that we would be a part of that prayer. But you are, and I am, we are together. In May of 2008, as I was driving and praying, I clearly heard a Holy Spirit of God say in my spirit, “You are one of the people you have been praying for. I want you to start a church.” I questioned God, out loud. But the answer came again, “You are one of the people you have been praying for. I want you to start a church.” Needless to say it was a strange thing to ponder. I already worked for a church in Katy. I was happy and successful in that ministry. But I will admit I was restless, having sensed for some time that God might be up to something.
So after talking and praying with my wife for many months, and after speaking with my pastor, we began the process of figuring out exactly what this church would look like, how it would function and, most importantly, what the vision would be. As 2009 began, God planted in our hearts this vision: to create a church that unchurched, dechurched, skeptical and seeking people would love to attend. We didn’t want to be grandma’s church. We didn’t want to be “First” anythings church. We wanted to be a church for people who didn’t “do” church. We’d been around church all our lives, but chose our closest friends more from the community than from the organized religion. And that’s the kind of church we wanted to start. A place where relationships were primary, where community was foundational and where anyone could come and explore their faith at whatever point of their faith journey they find themselves.
About a month later, in March of 2009, God clearly added a mandate to this vision. Katy had grown from a small town of mostly white and hispanic people to a large city of 300,000+ with 220 people groups and 70 languages being spoken. And God said, “You need to reach across those ethnic lines, cultural lines, socioeconomic lines and any other barrier that keeps people from knowing that I love them.” This was definitely a catch – I’m white, my wife’s white, we’re middle class – but we do love people. We agreed this mandate to reach out was from God and so incorporated it into our vision statement:
“Our vision is to create a multi-ethnic, cross-cultural church that unchurched, de-churched, skeptical and seeking people from any walk of life would love to be a part of.”
This has been our drive from the beginning. There were meetings, development, coaching with mentors; fundraisers, departures for our former church and much prayer and sweating. This was a new adventure. This vision did not carry with it any guarantees – success, provision or continuance. This was a pivotal moment in many lives to do a new thing, to follow a possibility and to fulfill a vision that we believe came from God. And out of those time together we developed together a mission to focus us and values to drive every decision we would make in the future.
“Creekside Community Church exists to lead people to grow in their relationship to God, others and the world around them through Jesus Christ.”
We are not just a church about knowing God, though that’s of utmost importance. We are not a church that’s just about developing successful and inclusive relationships, though that’s important, too. We decided to be a church that takes the Truth and the example of Jesus Christ’s actions and teachings and incorporates those into ALL our relationships, to be open to people who are different from us and to serve people with the love of God in any way possible. This is how our values became these:
1. Seeing people that others might not see, and intentionally building authentic relationships with them.
2. Serving God and the community, local and abroad, in real and tangible ways
3. Sharing the story of God’s love through relevant Bible teaching and the stories of God’s work in real peoples’ lives.
If you have been here for any amount of time, you know that we continually strive together to see this vision, this mission and these values lived out – individually and collectively. I am so proud of your contributions to our community – food, clothing, shelter, financial help and accountability; spiritual community, celebrating and sorrowing together, walking a journey of faith at different paces but together. We cannot lose sight of these great characteristics. We cannot become inwardly focused and self-satisfying. It would be the demise of all God has planned for you and through you. We cannot afford to think, “what about me? what’s in it for me?” The Kingdom of God has always been about others, it’s always been about serving; it has always been about following God’s will no matter what the cost. This is the price of vision.
A few of you have been with us from the beginning – the very first meeting to discuss this possibility. There were about 25 of you from this group. Yet today, you are 85 people strong. You’ve invited your friends and family to join you in serving God and this community of Katy. You have served countless hours doing missions work for the poor, for orphans, for the elderly and the disabled. Your belief in this vision and love for God have taken you to India, Africa, Belize, Honduras, Brookshire, Richmond and next door. There have been 32 people decide to become followers of Christ, 20 people baptized publicly as a witness to their faith and more than half of us meet almost weekly for fellowship and study of God’s Word. You inspire me to keep on going. You challenge me to push ahead and become rather than sit still and stagnate into a “normal” church. YOU are the church – the body of Jesus Christ. You ARE Creekside Community, a group that welcomes all comers, helps those less fortunate than themselves, lives out the life of Jesus in the world around you. You do not lack vision or passion at all. And I’m proud of you.
For the next few minutes I want to talk about our future. And, though I cannot predict the future and I do not want to presuppose on God’s plans, I believe God places ideas and desires in a leader’s heart for a reason – to challenge and inspire. So indulge me as I lay out for you some thoughts and goals for the next year, five years and beyond. All of these thoughts and plans come from your pastors praying, planning and trying to hear from God. Who knows what the process will actually look like or what the timings will be. But here we go!
This April, we will celebrate our two year anniversary. This is a prime moment in the development of an entity like this. As we celebrate that anniversary as a church I believe we can see our average attendance grow from the current 80ish to 100 or more each week. This is a number of critical mass for the growth and success of churches. We would love to create 2-3 more LifeGroups that meet together, eat together, study God’s Word together and share real life together. I see our volunteer base expanding as we begin to split Kids Connection into more age specific groupings, expand our greeting ministry and continue more missions work in our community and abroad.
Some people are uncomfortable with talking about numbers of people or dollars, but it is a necessary measure of any company or groups growth. We count people because people are what matters to God. He called us to reach people. Jesus reached people. And, if we are not doing that, then we are not accomplishing the vision, mission and values God has given us. We reach people as we serve them and as we invite them to join us in serving others. That implies we do serve and will serve in the church and in our community. It implies that we find value in what we are learning, who we are meeting and what God is calling us to. Inviting others to walk their own journey of faith with us means we are willing to be a little uncomfortable at times, go through the tough conversations and treat one another with mercy and grace: to treat people as Jesus would.
In years 3 – 5 we should plan to take a new step of faith together – finding and purchasing land, developing and opening a preschool and perhaps having a worship space along with that. Purchasing is another uncomfortable thing to talk about when referencing church. Skeptics think that religious organizations are only out to get their money, but for us the reality is, we want to do everything in our power to reach our community with God’s love. Every organization needs money to operate. Non-profit does not mean it doesn’t cost to build or operate. And I am convinced that a biblically based, non-profit but profitable, preschool that can potentially serve up to 50% of it’s students at little to no charge, would be a blessing to those in our communities less fortunate than ourselves. I’m convinced that a 10-12 acres of land and a modest facility available for community events, sports outreach and job training/growth would serve the community in a valuable way. I also believe that helping other like minded groups to establish new churches, serving around Katy or other parts of the world, will expand the Kingdom of God by spreading the love of God in exponential ways. To do this we will need to see our participation to increase to 300 or more, our staff to become full-time in their services here and our giving to grow to support the vision, mission and values.
Charge ahead 10-15 years: I’ll be older, some of you will be WAY older, but hopefully our enthusiasm for God and His community will not have waned in the least. We need to be willing to grow ourselves up to 1500 people, serving thousands more than that around the world, providing food, clothing and shelter on a grand scale. We need to be willing to fund and start churches and missions to reach around the state, just like those who supported us in the beginning. We need to have the foresight, fiscal responsibility, strength, determination and development to continue ministry that far outlives us. Wouldn’t it be neat if our grandchildren learned from us and lived their life serving God and others?! Wouldn’t it be awesome if our church became so diverse in nature that we no longer thought about ethnicities, socioeconomic groupings and colors of skin. Wouldn’t it make living so worth it, if we were to look back in 2025 at 15 years of age, and say, “It was all worth the effort, it was worth the discomfort, it was worth the sacrifices – look at all the people who NOW know that God loves them!” People can forget our names and never give us credit for any part of this adventure, but let’s not let them forget the God…who…loves…them. We live for His fame. Amen.
