vision

It was recently shared by a well respected leader and one time church planter that if he had it to do all over again, in our current cultural context, he would want to focus on communicating a compelling vision for a new church.  Elaborating on this, it was described as an ability to communicate why a new church was needed and why it was different from other forms of "church" already being offered. 
We find ourselves right in this place early on in the formation of a "new" church.  I confess a level of skepticism in this process.  At the same time, I recognize the absolute necessity of it.  The skepticism comes from the tendency of church culture to spend more time in competition with itself rather than on our call to reveal light in the darkness, sent on mission from God the father, leading others to  Jesus the son, and enabled by the supernatural strength and guidance from the Holy Spirit.  That's a big enough calling in and of itself.  If we focused on that, we'd more likely see those walking beside us as fellow travelers rather than competition in a race.
So my prayer for us is this ... a compelling vision is the vision that God has for our church in this community ... to learn about Gods love and plans for us in new and compelling ways, to connect with others and develop relationships that are beyond the "hi, how you doin", "I'm fine" interchanges that we are used to...and through it all, to love and serve the community we are placed in as if Jesus himself were wearing our shoes.
We are not looking to enter a "church" competition and compete against anyone else's vision.  It'll take all the energy and focus we can spare to follow the one laid out for us.