Is Your Vision Myopic? Myopic is a curious term. If you witness someone squinting as they attempt to view a photograph or faraway signpost, they may be myopic, meaning that things appear fuzzy when they are not close. As a church leader, I would suggest that many have a severe vision problem, only it is not cured by adopting a clever new mission or vision statement. Today, I am going to attempt to act in the role of a spiritual optometrist and see if we cannot come up with some corrective lenses. I will never forget the first time I got glasses. I come from a large family, and neither my parents nor my siblings ever used glasses. Imagine my surprise, when at age 30, I started to have difficulty reading. I had always boasted of my 20/20 vision and pointed to my parents as evidence that our family had strong eyesight. Gradually, it became more difficult to read in our new apartment not too long after Pat and I were married. I discovered, however, that when I read near a window during the day, I could read easily, so being an expert medical doctor like those I saw on TV, I concluded that the voltage in our lightbulbs was the problem. So, I went out and bought 100-watt bulbs, and that solved the problem well, for about six months. Concerned that I might be having some physical problem, I went to an optometrist who informed me that I had old eyes. What? What did she mean old eyes? I was barely thirty. After a few tests, she created a pair of my first glasses. Though my eyes resisted at first, in a matter of hours, I could read just like before. This was interesting but very humbling because I no longer could proudly claim to have excellent vision. My siblings didn t know what to make of it either. I did notice around that time, that both sets of grandparents had worn glasses for many years. Hmmm.
Not too long after that, I caught my dad with a drugstore pair of half glasses reading the morning paper. I guess this strong eye thing was more legend than fact. As time went on, it became more difficult for me to see things in the distance. Gradually, after age 35, glasses just became part of my face. I needed glasses to see anything clearly. I never was much interested in contacts and will never go near laser surgery, so unless something miraculous occurs, I will be switching out new pairs of glasses for the foreseeable future. What does all this have to do with leadership vision? I'm glad you asked. It is critical for any of us called to lead Christ s church to have an accurate and clear vision. Myopia is the inability to see things in the distance. Spiritually speaking, it is the inability to discern what God has specially appointed you to accomplish as a leader. What is God s appointed task for you individually and as a pastor? What has he brought you into the world to accomplish? Our vision often gets cloudy by not being able to see what is right in front of us. When I observe the church at large in our day and age, I see many leaders making foolish and unintended decisions that short circuit the church instead of advancing it. It behooves us as leaders to see the Kingdom of God as God sees it rather than how our denomination, peer group or society sees it. What is God saying to His church today? What are His mandates? Ultimately, we will be forced to answer those questions when we stand before him in eternity. Wouldn t it make sense to answer those questions before that fateful day? In a previous podcast, I mentioned an author with a strange sounding name called, Skye Jethani. A few years ago, he wrote a book entitled, Futureville which is not about the future, but more about the state of the church today.
In the book, he tells about a pastor whose church recognized and celebrated a woman who taught a second grade Sunday school class. They honored her for her contribution to the church. Meanwhile, in her vocation, she was an environmental attorney who played a pivotal role in the cleanup of one of the most polluted waterways in the country: Boston Harbor. While she was celebrated by the media in society, her church patted her on the back for her efforts teaching Sunday school. We should recognize people who labor in the nursery or Sunday school or parking cars. Nothing wrong with that, but this is also the vision problem I want to speak with you about. That church could only see a second grade Sunday school teacher, but her value was so much more. She was making a phenomenal impact in one of the largest cities in the United States, but this achievement went unnoticed. In another place, Jethani says, What does the church have to say to the great majority of Christians who are called to work other than ministry? Does it have a message other than, Do your work ethically? Share your faith with your coworkers, or Give your earnings to missions? These responses do not answer the angst of a generation desperately seeking significance. As leaders, can we accurately see what God has put in front of us? I am willing to bet there are people in your church who do great things apart from serving coffee on Sunday morning. Are you celebrating their achievements when they are not explicitly church-related? Proverbs instruct us in chapter 27:23: Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds. He goes on to discuss how much resource is in the health and growth of those animals that ultimately produce substantial wealth for the owner. As pastors, we lead a somewhat disconnected life. Much of our time is spent reading, praying, do chores that are church-related, counseling etc., but we seldom interact with society outside the church context. As a result,
we become the holy man or woman people call when in trouble or in need of a wedding, baptism, dedication, funeral or someone to open in prayer. Jesus rubbed shoulders with sinners. He went into the marketplace repeatedly while the Pharisees stayed holed up in the temple. He met people, listened to their issues and addressed their needs in practical ways. Also, don t you find it interesting that Jesus found Peter, Andrew, John, Matthew, and others not in a synagogue but their places of business by going to see where they worked? Further, Jesus incorporated their work experience into their future ministry. Peter, you fish for a living; let me show you how to keep on fishing, but for men instead of food. Within the synagogue, the scribes and Pharisees no doubt saw Peter as a hot-tempered fisherman who was not very spiritual or valuable. In all likelihood, he missed his share of church services because of the demands of his business. Jesus however, did not see a smelly fisherman. He saw a rock. He saw a man who could lead courageously if given the opportunity. Jesus accurate vision propelled him to invite Peter to join him. Do we possess such vision or must people fit a certain, predetermined mold before we consider them as valuable before God? One of the challenging questions that need to bother us from time to time is what does our church s existence mean to our city or town? If we went out of business tomorrow, would anyone either care or notice? God has given you a flock. It doesn t matter how large it is, except to people that don t matter. This flock is a gift from God to you. I know some of you would like to give some of those sheep back, but that is another podcast. Seriously though, do you know the state of your flock? Do you know what people do for a living? Do you have a way of finding out what is going on in their lives in a positive and life-affirming direction? Can you celebrate
people in your congregation that builds homes or care for patients or teaches children in the community? I am not speaking to you as an expert. Like you, I can get so focused on church stuff that I miss the reason our church exists. Recently, I was approached by a doctor and his wife who attend our church. They asked if they might use our facility to offer free services once a month to women in our community for breast exams and other healthrelated issues. The answer is yes. Not exactly a new Sunday school program, but potentially can meet real needs in our community and perhaps influence people to come closer to Christ. Spiritual myopia sets in when all we can see is building and maintaining our church. I have to tell you; this disease is rampant in the body of Christ. Very few leaders either care about or think about other churches in their city and feel their job is to build a big church essentially for their glory. Very sad. I know God has better plans for all of us. Of course, he wants us to reach people. But the why is just as important as the way. Since I mentioned Skye Jethani, I put together a few quotes from his book that impacted me and addressed this issue of spiritual myopia. You can have it for free. I just this week re-released my first book Spiritual Abuse: How to Identify and Break Free From Toxic Churches Without Losing Your Faith. If someone in your congregation has been through a difficult church experience, this book will help. Most books on this subject tend to show the church in a negative light. Mine is written to get those hurt people healthy again and serving the Lord in a local church. Ironically, this book can also benefit people who come from a Scientology, JW, Mormon or another non-christian background. Many of the same principles that cause a church to become toxic also exist in groups we typically characterize as cults.
Please remember the people of Zimbabwe in your prayers. Many bad things happening in that country and they need some miracles. We are helping to build wells there, and if you are interested in either contributing or learning more, I will have a link in the show notes. I want to conclude by sharing a quote especially for you. This is from Helen Keller who said, The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.