Posts tagged ‘vision casting’
Convincing people towards multicultural worship?
Convincing versus sharing the vision
In preparation for the “Sharing the vision” seminar, a multicultural church conference, that we had at Aldrich church we had a planning meeting. Almost everyone involved in preparation for the event was there.
We went through introductions, logistics, etc. Then, people got a chance to talk about how their role would play a role in the seminar. One person’s sharing time caught my attention and that was Cecilia Williams.
What she said was this:
We don’t want to convince people about multicultural church because it’s already in the DNA of the scriptures.
(She currently serves as the associate pastor at Sanctuary Covenant Church here in Minneapolis, MN)
Frustrated when sharing the vision?
I’ve heard the frustrations of many friends when sharing the vision of multicultural worship. But now that I think about it the reason probably comes from a lack of patience and trying to convince people.
Have you ever been part of a home “party” where the hosts were trying to get you to buy something. And it wasn’t enough that they tricked you into coming their house, but now they’re calling you and emailing you.
I tried to avoid a lot of that when I’ve been involved in those kinds of businesses, but that’s almost how they train you to GET BUSINESS and share the vision.
What’s going on there? People are trying to force their convictions on others and we know how ineffective that is.
Why? Because it’s not our job to do that. We can’t forget about the Holy Spirit.
Then what is our purpose?
I’m reminded to be salt and light. Matthew 5:13-16 which says…
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Lesson…
Don’t try to convince people they NEED to do multicultural worship or multicultural church. But we do need to model the vision, learn how God it’s always been on His heart through the scriptures, and live it out.
This also means intentionally spending time with those people to do all that.
How have you spread the vision of multicultural worship/church? How have you fallen short when trying to spread the vision of multicultural worship/church?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
Check out our sister website on digging into the scriptures about multicultural worship/church:
Multicultural.Worship.Training
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Revisiting the vision and revising the plan
Failed Vision?
I have to be honest and say that I’ve had a rough summer. The last 2 months have felt like a real discouragement.
Everything I had hoped would happen over the summer didn’t happen. In fact, it felt like ministry was a lot harder.
I thought that the summer time would be easier to make new connections with churches, pastors, and worship leaders. But, in reality, it was harder. In fact, I had a hard time reaching the people I had previously made connections with.
The distinction between vision and plans
Andy Stanley writes in his book Visioneering, “A vision is what could and should be. A plan is a guess as to the best way to accomplish a vision.”
Obviously, when we’re prayerfully seeking God’s face to accomplish His vision for our lives we don’t expect to fail. But you and I know that things don’t always turn out the way we expected. And that’s okay.
The good things coming out of the summer
A lot of great things did come out of the summer. I have felt for a long time that I needed to get more in-depth in my study of the scriptures. And I’m doing that with a friend from church.
Our hope is to come out of our year long study of 1 and 2 Corinthians with a bible study for the multicultural church.
Also, I had the tremendous opportunity to mentor someone on our worship team to get ready to lead at his college.
Finally, I met a wonderful pastor by the name of Jesus E. Ruiz from Peru. I was at a pastor’s meeting and when he heard that I did multicultural worship he wanted to get together.
Lesson..
Another quote from Andy Stanley’s book says “Be stubborn about the vision. Be flexible with your plan.”
When it seems like things are turning out the way you expected take some time to revisit the vision. Then be sure to prayerfully consider a new plan.
What have you done when life got hard? Did you abandon God’s vision for you or did God refuel you?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
More blog posts about casting vision:
What’s your reason for doing multicultural worship?
But how God? How?
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Are you a complainer?
Read Philippians 2:14-16
Dangers of “Venting” when casting vision
Whenever you’re doing ministry there’s a good chance of you getting frustrated.
Maybe the worship team isn’t listening to your suggestions. Maybe you haven’t gotten a day off in months. Maybe you’re not achieving your goals fast enough.
Recently, I was “venting” to my wife about our church’s leadership team. Many of my frustrations come from my heart’s desire to move faster than they feel comfortable doing, which means I’m trying to hurry God’s plans.
To be honest, I didn’t want to pray about what I was feeling and I didn’t. However, my wife did pray for me and my heart. She also prayed that the worship team meeting that I was supposed to go to later that night would be beneficial.
Now, what if I brought those frustrations to the meeting? Would it sound like I was casting vision or complaining?
Casting vision without complaining
People who are casting vision know the importance of laying out those problems/frustrations while at the same time bringing solutions.
I remember John C. Maxwell, a leadership guru, saying that he had a policy in his office…nobody could bring a problem into his office without accompanying three solutions to that problem. That has stuck with me for many years.
You see, when you’re casting vision about multicultural worship you certainly have to state the problem. I mean…why should your church move to a multicultural worship service? Why should the church do it right now?
Before casting vision to your team, ask yourself these follow-up questions:
What are some practical steps that the leadership of the church can move forward with multicultural worship?
What is the time frame for transitioning the church?
What are some creative ways you can be casting vision consistently?
What will you do when worship team members just seem to go it?
Lesson…
This blog post is to help you understand, once again, you need to ask yourself a lot of questions while you’re casting vision to your team and, in some cases, before you cast the vision.
Be encouraged and ask God for the solutions you need as you journey on with multicultural worship.
What are some ways you’ve fallen short of casting vision effectively at your church?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
Blog posts related to casting vision:
What’s your reason for doing multicultural worship?
Sharing Your Vision
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.