It's about vision

The idea of vision is so overused in many church circles today but still accurately reflects the driving force behind Journey. Perhaps the greatest example of vision in the Bible comes from the book of Nehemiah. He had one of the poshest jobs on the face of the planet, running the kings summer palace. He had it made, especially as a non-native outsider who controlled the day to day affairs of the, let me repeat, SUMMER PALACE.

Imagine how great a life it would be to set up shop and have full control in Club Med. However, he threw it all away. Nehemiah was a Jew and his home town, Jerusalem, was in ruins. A few people had returned to the city but were ultimately unable to rebuild their defenses or their city because of raiders.

Nehemiah had a vision that the city would be restored to its former glory. He believed completely in something that could be, should be so completely that he left his job to travel to a worn torn region to fight the raiders and rebuild a destroyed city. The incredible part of the story is that he did it and in only 52 DAYS!

Imagine what it would take to believe so tenaciously in something that you would sacrifice everything because of a vision that you couldn't live without seeing it come to completion. Who hard would you protect it, defend it, and guard it against people that would seek to turn your vision into something else. It seems all to common for something that started out being a passionate dream to become a hijacked nightmare.

We are passionate about reaching out to the disconnected and unchurched people of Chattanooga. We are dedicated to programming that is streamlined and effective. We believe in the need to impact our communities through service and sharing grace. We base everything we do on the Bible and the belief that it is God speaking to us, today. We live our lives in community with each other encouraging, supporting, and learning from each other. We believe in the power of a changed life reaching out to someone else to share the love of Jesus Christ.

There are a lot of negotiables in church, but none in vision. We believe this is the calling of the church and the calling of Journey. So we will passionately defend, protect, and live out that thing that we believe could be and should be in the lives of people in Chattanooga.

Comments

[Charlie]

Great post! I want to sign up to be in that army.