Small Group World

08.30.10

Visionaries, God-Inspired Visionaries, and Taking Jesus to Every Street and Cul-de-sac

Throughout Christian history there have been Visionaries and there have been God-Inspired Visionaries. Visionaries are people who dream man-accomplishable dreams. God-Inspired visionaries are leaders who see in their mind's eye God-sized, humongous, unsettling, seemingly unattainable obligations. But unlike your run of the mill visionaries, God-Inspired visionaries are unable to consider that the vision God has given them is unattainable. In fact, when others discourage, discount, or try to dismantle the dream God has given them, they move forward undaunted, like a lion already in full pursuit of her prey completely aware that she will run it down and be successful. I spent the weekend in Tracy, California with some God-Inspired Visionaries.

Church leaders from various denominations, differing doctrinal ideologies, trained in seminaries with contradictory considerations have come together with a God-sized vision, to see 1,000 small groups started and accomplishing biblical community in a town of 80,000. I am dreaming this dream with them. Why? Because the passion of God-sized visionaries spills over on anyone who gets close enough to experience the intensity and intentionality of dreamers of this caliber.

Many senior pastors and small group pastors are simply visionaries. They envision having a healthy small group ministry for their church. They organize for it, build teams made up of individuals from their own congregation to make sure the machine runs smoothly, and get paid to do so. They do what the job description says and the Personnel Committee or Elders celebrate that they have a well-oiled small group machine for their one congregation.

Would it be that more small group pastors and senior pastors could become God-sized Visionaries, willing to join other church leaders to take on the entire community, the community where those far from Christ live, on streets and cul-de-sacs, in towns and villages, and urban areas and rural farmlands?

A few characteristics that will be necessary…

A willingness to go on the adventure of a lifetime
The courage to discount the dissenters and traditionalists
An awareness that you will win the war but will be covered with the scars of the battle
The ability to journey beyond ordinariness and settle in the land of extraordinariness
A passion so cavernous that you will sacrifice more than those in your circle of relationship believe healthy or right

We can bring Jesus to the world through small groups but only if we can kill our competitive nature, agree that all believers are the church not just those attending my church or those who make up my denomination, embrace a unity of spirit setting aside secondary doctrinal concerns, make Jesus the centerpiece of the message, and become God-sized Visionaries.

I'm praying that there will be more God-sized Visionaries like the senior pastors, small group pastors, and volunteers I spent the weekend with in Tracy, California. Why? What is now "small group ministry" just might become a movement!