We are called as fishers of humanity to go and grow. On the surface, how bad do you want your church to be revitalized and grow? Think of a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the supreme, and 1 being an urgency for growth as you consider that question. You may ask how this would be done. The answer is with an emphasis on the strategic plan, meeting community needs, financial stability, and with the other foci for the body of Christ. Additionally, the local church needs visionaries. Vision! What do you see your church doing? How do you create a winning team with an atmosphere for vibrancy in the local church? The Pastor and laity must be a team with winning strategies led by the Holy Spirit.
Fishers of Humanity Go and Grow
How well are we aligned with the stated vision of the CME Church? Where is our church headed? What legacy have our ancestors left us? What is the legacy we want our church to leave behind for others? What has our community come to believe about our church? What is the impression we want our community to believe about us in the future? When it comes to our church, what is one thing for which we wish the people in our community could say they are grateful? How do we know if our vision is in sync with God’s vision for us? What could we change to better position our church’s alignment with the CME Vision? I challenge you to take the time to answer these questions with a personal critique of the places we Worship.
The local church must be a witnessing institution, its members must constantly feel the need and urge to tell others about the good news of God.”[1] However, as with any work we do for the Body of Christ, I find it needful to remind you of opposition, in this case, the following:
· Vision-killers – Those who work at any cost to destroy the vision God gave to you. Their motivation is to stop all of God’s vision.
· Vision-delayers – Those whose attempts are to delay the vision of God concerning the work of God.
· Vision-naysayers – Those who may not see the work the way the visionary does.
A Communal Transformative
Taking a deeper dive, the post resurrection narrative found in John 21 helps us understand the deeper dive. After a night of fishing, the disciples returned, having caught nothing. A man tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, for that is where they will catch fish. Sure enough, they did, and so much that the nets were full. We could say they followed the direction of Jesus, but John tells us they did not recognize the man (Jesus), yet they followed the instructions. Could it be in the exact same water the disciples fished in all night and caught nothing that the right side of the boat was a deeper dive? Maybe, but I offer this thought. It was a mental shift in not focusing on what happened all night, not conversing about the failures of not catching a single fish, not thinking of how tired they were, or if this was a waste of time. They put the net back in the same water with a different outlook to catch fish. We cannot wait. We cannot take it slow and steady. If we desire to change our now, we must start now. Paul challenged the Romans to “be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Holy Bible, Romans 12:2). The first renewal that’s necessary must be a renewed heart and mind to be fishers of humanity who will go and grow by taking a deeper dive.
We are the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church recognizing the importance of Christ in our daily lives.
Rev. Dr. Leon C. Moore, Jr.
General Secretary of Evangelism and Missions
Pleasant Hill CME
Conyers, GA
