The Vision is Jesus
An Inside Look @ The City Church
We just had ‘An Inside Look @ The City’, an information meeting about The City Church. The turn out was very encouraging – about 130 people including children. We ordered only 100 bento sets and they were consumed in minutes.
I have been asked the question, ’so what is the vision of The City Church’ many times. Initially I found myself trying to make up some cool sounding slogans but felt really convicted about my lack of authenticity. To be really honest, we do not have all the systems in place. We do not have a vision and/or a mission statements. All God had said was ‘Transforming families’ and that will be our focus for now.
Now that is the mandate but the vision is Jesus!
It’s All About Jesus
The church must be built by Jesus, be built on Jesus and be built for Jesus. Systems and processes do not and cannot transform communities and people, only Jesus can. A Christian does not change the world by looking cool but by looking like Jesus, living for Jesus and co-laboring with Jesus. It is all about Jesus!
Mark Driscoll wrote in his book ‘The Vintage Church’:
‘Jesus died and rose to reconcile sinners back to God as Christians and to one another as the Church. Jesus is the head or preeminent authority over the Church. Jesus is the apostle who plants a church. Jesus is the leader who builds the Church. Jesus is the senior pastor and Chief Shepherd who rules the Church. It is ultimately Jesus who closes churches down when they have become faithless or fruitless.’
During His earthly ministry, Jesus ministered as prophet, priest and king. Following His ascension back to heaven after His death and resurrection, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to enable and empower Christians to continue His ministry on the earth. However a church becomes imbalance and unhealthy when any one of these aspects of the church is either neglected or over emphasized at the expense of the others.
Jesus the Prophet
As Prophet, Jesus preached and taught Scripture with authority and has now commissioned preachers filled with His Spirit to proclaim His Word. The prophetic nature of the church requires that the essential truths and demands of biblical Christian faith be declared, defined and defended. The result will be a church that is biblically rooted. This aspect of the church will resonate with Christians who are deeply committed to the study of the Scriptures and the conformity of our lifestyle to the standards presented in the Bible. But when her prophetic nature is inordinately emphasized a church becomes cruelly fundamental, religious and legalistic.
Jesus the Priest
As Priest, Jesus cares for people and deals with their sin compassionately and calls His people to join Him in these ministries of mercy. The priestly nature of the church requires that the new life that Jesus gives to His people be visible when the church both gathers and scatters with Jesus. The result will be a church that is grace centered. This aspect of the church will resonate with Christians who are deeply committed to such things as loving community, living worship and practical ministry for the well being of the church. But when her priestly nature is inordinately emphasized a church becomes compromising and liberal.
Jesus the King
As King, Jesus demonstrated His rule over creation through miracles while on the earth and today leads His people into all nations and cultures as missionaries, demonstrating the power of the Gospel in both words and deeds. The body of Christ continues the mission of Jesus as an outpost of His soon coming Kingdom. The result will be a church that is culturally connected. This aspect of the church will resonate with Christians who are deeply committed to such things as evangelism, church planting and overseas missions. But when her kingly nature is inordinately emphasized a church becomes cowardly, non-confrontational and seeker friendly.
The City Church – An Extension of Jesus
At The City Church we hope to be an extension of Jesus in His fullness to the world…
As prophets, we will declare the whole counsel of God in Scriptures (Acts 20:27), that we may all be diligent to present ourselves approved to God, as workers who do not need to need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truths (2 Timothy 2:15). We will preach Christ, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ (Colossians 1:28).
As priests, we will sympathize with the weaknesses of our fellow men, extending mercy and grace to help in their time of need (Hebrews 4:15). We will present the good news to the poor, heal the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives and set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18). We will stop for the Zacchaeuses, hear the shouts of the Bartimaeuses and reach out to touch the lepers in our society. We see a Christ-centered, grace-filled community where people of diverse backgrounds are accepted, living lives that are free and whole.
As kings, we will be missionaries first in our culture and eventually to the uttermost parts of the world. We will be culturally relevant but not culture-led. In fact we seek to be counter-culture, providing lost people an alternative and attractive way of life with Jesus and His people. We do not need to be like the world to win the world. On the other hand, we will be against the world for the sake of the world. We are not subjected to the rulers of the world’s system. We are a people who served another King and His name is Jesus (Acts 17:4)!