This statement, from Proverbs 29:18 (“Where there is no vision, the people perish”) is used over and over to put forth a corporate church vision by “church leadership” asking everyone to fall into line and support “what God is doing” in the church. I have used this verse myself in just this way.
How freeing to the Body of Christ to discover that every believer can reach for the vision and calling that God has placed in his/her own heart and fulfill the destiny of a life shaped and sent by the Creator.
Yet, I am finding that the verse is still applicable. If believers do not seek out and open themselves to God’s vision for their life, they often do become rudderless and begin to drift in their spiritual life.
Sometimes, as people transition out of more structured churches where the corporate vision is provided by leadership, they do not transition into a sense of personal vision and do, at times, become spiritual drifters.
This is a conversation we are introducing at some of our churches this year. Having transitioned out of a corporately assigned vision, have we transitioned into a personal vision for our lives and spiritual family… or have we found ourselves adrift? What, if anything, do we want to do about this?
