Christian Leadership Foundations 5 - FaithSample

DISCERNING A FAITH VISION

Leadership Devotion

The church in Antioch was the first Gentile church. By Acts 13, the church was well established with a strong leadership team that is probably listed here (13:1) in order of importance, making Barnabas the senior pastor and Saul the youth pastor (just kidding about Saul). While Jewish converts to Christianity already had a solid foundation in Scripture and godly ethics, Gentile converts would have required significant teaching and discipling to understand and practice their new faith. The leadership team in Antioch had their work cut out in this fledgling church full of Gentile converts.

At least 13 years had elapsed since the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost and the birth of the Jerusalem church, but the gospel had not spread all that far. Some foreign individuals (like the Ethiopian treasurer in Acts 8:27) had become Christians and would have shared the gospel beyond the east coast of the Mediterranean. Still, as far as we know, no churches had been planted. In some ways, Christianity had a relatively slow start, but all that was about to change.

As the church in Antioch was worshipping and fasting, the Spirit told them to send off their senior pastor (Barnabas) and probably their best teacher (Saul) on an evangelistic and church planting mission to Asia Minor. Note that the church did not have a vision for church planting. They didn’t try to work out the best way to share the gospel of Jesus throughout the pagan world. They were actually in the middle of a worship session when God’s revelation came, telling them to do something that had never been done in 13 years. When they heard God speak, they fasted and prayed some more and, in faith, sent off their most gifted and godly leaders to evangelize the Roman world.

Sometimes we hear the voice of God when we least expect it, but often God speaks most clearly and powerfully on significant issues when we are worshipping, fasting, and praying together (like here). I’m not sure how God spoke to the church. Maybe it was through one of the prophets, but they knew God’s voice and responded with faith in God’s revelation. They put Barnabas and Saul on the next boat to Cyprus, forever changing the world.

To Contemplate

Have you experienced the Spirit speaking in a corporate context? How did this happen?

Leadership Reflection

We have seen that vision is not necessary for Christian leaders. Our calling involves receiving God’s revelation, believing it, and pursuing it with faith. That’s the way biblical leaders did it. They were men and women who sought God, heard his revelation, and then (mostly) held on to what God said, pursuing it with faith until God fulfilled his promises.

Of course, vision and faith may look the same. The key difference is that vision comes from seeing the future, whereas faith comes from hearing God. To draw it all together, I will call this revelation from God a “faith vision.” It’s a revealed vision from God in which we have faith, and consequently, we pray, plan and lead towards it. A faith vision is a revelation from God about his will for the future.

Now all this sounds straightforward. Getting a faith vision just involves a Christian leader receiving God’s revelation. This is what happened in Scripture repeatedly, but we are usually not told exactly how biblical leaders received their revelations. Or, if we are told, they often came in unusual ways like visits from angels or God speaking from a bush. Not many of us are familiar with these types of revelations from God. Once we get beyond clear biblical teaching, knowing what God wants for the future can be quite challenging, especially in a culture that emphasizes thinking and doing over listening and waiting. How does God reveal his faith visions?

Generally, we accept that God reveals himself in two ways: through general and special revelation. Special revelation divides into two subcategories – biblical revelation and direct revelation. This then leaves us with three ways in which God reveals his will:

• General revelation is what God reveals about himself and his will through natural means. It comes through observation of nature, reflection on history, reasoning, personal conscience, research, the wisdom of others, etc.
• Biblical revelation (a form of Special Revelation) is what God reveals about himself and his will through his special authoritative revelation in Scripture understood in its context.
• Direct revelation (a form of Special Revelation) is what God reveals about himself and his will by speaking through his Spirit. This could be through prophecy, visions, dreams, inspiration, enlivening of a biblical passage, miracles, words of knowledge, experiences, convictions, etc.

Let me illustrate. I believe my ideas on leadership are driven by Scripture (biblical revelation). Still, many are also in keeping with well-researched leadership principles (general revelation) and certain Scriptures that have been enlivened by God’s Spirit and have taken on importance to me beyond what Scripture demands (direct revelation).

However, biblical revelation always takes precedence over other forms of revelation. We need to constantly check that our hopes, dreams, and plans are consistent with biblical revelation.

Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish between human vision (our ideas for the future) and divine revelation (God’s word for the future). As we lead others, we will sometimes ask, “Is this my idea, or is it God’s?” On minor, short-term issues, it may not matter if we are not sure we have heard God and therefore don’t have a strong faith vision. As long as the vision/direction aligns with Scripture, we can confidently pursue it, knowing we are doing what God wants. If it succeeds, praise God, and if it doesn’t, maybe it was part of our growing and learning.

Knowing we have a faith vision from God makes a big difference because significant faith needs to be exercised in faith visions that require major decisions, big risks, substantial use of resources, or calls involving many people making sacrifices. It is costly when people make great sacrifices and invest considerable resources to pursue a human vision believing it is from God. The more costly and challenging the faith vision, the more we need to be sure that God has revealed it.

Sometimes faith visions emerge as we follow and obey God. God may give us a clue at the start, but we often do not have the total picture. So we move forward in faith, and gradually clarity comes. The faith vision develops as we pursue God’s will.

While biblical revelation is the most important, many of the big, costly calls from God will be reinforced by direct revelation. Because such calls will require strong faith and great sacrifice, God wants you to know clearly that this revelation is coming from him.

Finding God’s direction is a lifelong journey for all Christians, especially leaders. We are all constantly seeking God and his will. No one has a shortcut to finding God’s faith visions, but here are a few guidelines that may help. (Sorry for the length of this devotion.)

Through general revelation:

• Consult. We often find out what God wants when we pool our thoughts. Wisdom grows as we reflect together. Listen to what others are saying, reflect with mentors, and ask your teammates.
• Be wise. Don’t be rash. Do your research, think through ramifications, toss around options, and weigh possibilities.
• Search for information. Read widely and attend conferences where you will be forced to reflect and confront new ways of thinking. Consult both secular and Christian sources. Keep learning and growing.
• Network. Build ongoing relationships with those who are further down the track than you. Look for those who can challenge and advise you.
• Study. Formal study is good because it pushes you to deliberate at a deeper level. This often brings new insights.
• Look for what God is doing. God is already at work, so check out what he is doing and get on board. You don’t have to develop everything from scratch.

Through biblical revelation:

• Systematically read Scripture. The more you are familiar with the whole of the Bible, the more likely you will be to know what God wants.
• Study Scripture in depth. Find out as much as you can about what the Bible says. The more accurate your understanding of a particular passage, the more likely you will correctly discern what God is saying through it.
• Reflect theologically. Keep bringing together your thinking and Scripture. Ask yourself how Scripture relates to the issues you are facing and your actions.
• Write down significant verses. Keep a record of what God is saying to you through his word so you can refer to it and reflect on it. Memorize key passages if possible.
• Listen to preaching that reveals biblical truth. Find preachers/teachers and podcasters who accurately exposit Scripture and make it relevant for life.
• Look for good biblical/theological teaching and learn from it.

Through direct revelation:

• Be cautious. There are significant challenges in getting direct revelation right. Don’t be in a hurry to say, “God has told me to do this.” Generally, it’s better to begin with, “I feel God may be leading in this direction.”
• Ask God with a genuine and humble heart. James says, “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (Jam. 4:2-3).
• Worship, fast, pray, and listen corporately. God often speaks when we honor him and show our desire for him to be first in our lives, especially when we are doing this in community. For example, Acts 13:2 says, “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”
• Read Scripture and write down Holy Spirit enlivened words. These words do not necessarily have to always be in context or entirely related to the passage's message in direct revelation.
• Wait in the places where you are most receptive to the Holy Spirit’s voice. There are sometimes places where we are more likely to hear God. For me, it’s when I’m walking, thinking, and praying. Make sure you spend time in these places.
• Carefully weigh prophetic words. While prophetic words can be wide of the mark, some are spot on. You don’t want to miss God’s direct revelation when he speaks to you through prophecy because there are some prophetic charlatans.
• Expect confirmation on big calls. If God asks you to pursue a costly call, he will usually reinforce his revelation in several ways.
• Check out any significant revelations with wise mentors. Because it’s so easy to get direct revelation wrong, it’s good to check it out with those with a wisdom gift.