I am a thinker. This is a gift that I didn't know could really be categorized as a gift. I mean, who would care about what I think? However God is showing me that there is a reason why I think the thoughts that I think . . . there is a reason why I see things the way that I see things . . . it is only I that can explain the things that I perceive in the vision language I am familiar to explain to others. I see things from angles that no one else can see. We each are thinkers. We each have the vision that God has given us, purposefully, and uniquely. We each are special in our own special way.
The above is an important thing to know. Stop letting that spirit of Belial make you think that you are not worthy of who God has made you to be. You are a child of the King! You are not worthless instead you need to understand that you are Priceless!
With that said I was having some thoughts on what someone had said at a recent church meeting that we had. The meeting was a good, positive meeting about growth, unity, and having the mind to work for the Lord. It was an atmosphere where we as members were sharing some ideas about how we can be more productive with achieving our mission and goals.
It was suggested that we start doing corporate prayer. I thought that it was a wonderful idea, especially since I thought that the older saints were already doing it. This is something that should be at the heart of every church: you ought to pray together, on one accord, for one common purpose. The vision should be clear and the belief in that vision should be strong. This is how prayer becomes strong. This is what makes pray works.
My next thought was, also corporate fasting should be consistent. Again, I thought that this was something that we were accustomed to doing. So I started to think to myself, that perhaps people don't really know what corporate prayer is.
I'm a side church dipper. I don't suggest that people do this but I visit other churches all the time. I try to be very involved in my church, but since I'm real hungry for this life, I like to be fed. I just get to talking to people and they invite me to different events, conferences, programs, and bible studies.
I feel that we all are part of God's family as believers and it is ok to fellowship. Let us all talk to each other and help each other grow in the Lord. I denounce that spirit of separation when we talk about denominations. I'm a believer in the truth. We are many members, apart of one body.
With that said, I am familiar with what they call "Corporate Prayer." I have joined many a corporate prayer/fast with a church group, or organization with a single focus and a single vision. I understand these terms Vision, Mission, Goals and Purpose. But I have a feeling that a lot of our churches may not be so familiar.
So real quick, in my own words, from my personal perspective:
Vision
Vision is a picture of the future, that has not came to fruition. It is something that God has giving you to encourage you to work towards it. Vision is something that you feel passionate about achieving and it something that you continuously work towards regardless if you see the full picture or not. Your absolute vision does not change because it will be the conclusion of you achieving your purpose. Vision only changes as you get a better understanding of who you are. Hence, as you grow and mature through your journey, you are getting a clearer view of your vision.
Mission
Your mission is the work or action plan that you are going to follow in order to achieve your vision. A mission usually provides a service to other people. A mission is often strategically written out and followed through a systematic series of meeting goals. Your mission is tied to your vision. Your mission may change if you find a better way to work towards your vision.
Goals
Goals are like mile markers that set you in the right direction for realizing your vision. Working on your goals should allow you to work on your mission. Achieving you goals show proof that you are indeed working for something greater.
Purpose
Your purpose is the reason why you are here on this earth. Each person has a specific job to do. Each person has a specific work to contribute to God's vision. We are on a mission to win souls for the Kingdom of Heaven, that is our work. Our purpose then is how we use our gifts and talents to contribute to said mission. Anything that goes away from this idea, is not on purpose and therefore is good for nothing. We all have purpose.
So when we talk about "corporate" we are just using business language for something that God has written in his word. Corporate means that you have a group of people, working together to achieve goals for a common mission in order to achieve the company's vision. A company is usually broken up into different teams or departments in order to be more organized and efficient in achieving specific goals. For example with in a company you may have, marketing department, human resources, sales, financial, Technology etc. . . But they all are working together, being on one accord and working towards the common goal of achieving a vision.
Hence, Corporate Prayer is: praying together as a group, on one accord, having a common goal in mind that helps work towards that group's vision.
So what does this mean for the church?
Quick story about corporate prayer. About ten years ago, the inside of my church was destroyed in a flash fire. We had to leave our church until we raised enough money to pay for the repairs. 5 years after the fire, we still were not in our church. Some of the older saints got together and started to pray for the completion of the repairs so that we can get back in to our church building. We were 30,000 dollars away from our goal and had exhausted all our resources. Well they prayed, faithfully and consistently. Miraculously, the money just started flowing in. You see this is an example of corporate prayer. Everyone was praying for a common goal that tied back into the vision for the church. We needed to get back into our church so that we could continue to minister to people. Helping them to find Jesus Christ.
Another story about the power of prayer was when my sister was buying her first home. She fell in love with a house that she felt was perfect for her. She got the pre-approval, put a bid in and it seemed like everything was lining up. But as she was going through the end of the process, everything was going wrong. The sellers wanted to pull out, the bank didn't want to finance the house, the realtor was being negative, paperwork was not going through, the credit report was changing, and all these things were pointing to the deal falling through. But then we got some friends and family together, we went to that house, we made a circle and we started to pray. We claimed that house for her in the name of Jesus. Now at this point the realtor was saying that the deal did fall through and they had canceled the closing. But we prayed anyway, believing God for the vision that he had placed in my sister's heart of being a home owner. She is happily married, living in that home today!
Paul tells us in Philippians 2nd Chapter that we all should be working together for a common purpose. We should be praying with one mind, on one accord. We should always be thinking about providing a service and helping others. Our work should not have anything to do with lifting up ourselves, but instead being a service to the Kingdom. This is part of our purpose as Christians:
"Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. . ." Philippians 2: 2-5
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us," Romans 12:1-6
So, yes. We are many members in one body. You can think of your individual church this way, or you can look at the whole body of Christ that way. Regardless of how you look at it, we all should be working together towards a common goal. Everything that we do should be in harmony with one another for building up the Kingdom of Heaven. Everything that we do should be together, therefore everything should be corporate.
What we have to do now, is just get more organized and make sure everyone is on the same page. Each individual needs to get it together, get on your team or department that God assigns you to. Get to where you are supposed to be and start using your gifts to work on the mission in order to fulfill the vision. We have to take action in doing God's will. I thank God that he is getting my church home into his order of business. We are becoming a Corporation!
Remember, We need you. You are priceless!
God bless you on your journey to finding your purpose.
until next time
Good book to read about vision and writing out your own personal vision:
The Principles and Power of Vision by Dr. Miles Munroe
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