Now What? (Inaugural Sermon, Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church Cobourg) - Jeremiah 29:4-13

(August 4, 2024 was the first Sunday in my tenure as permanent pastor (although I know there’s not really any such thing!) of my church. This is part of that sermon.) 

For full message, see link at bottom:

So. Now what?  

It is very common in Evangelical circles on the first Sunday of a new Pastor’s tenure for them to begin by preaching a “vision casting” message.  

The idea is that the Pastor has gained a perspective on the life of the church, and has plans for their next season.  

As I was thinking about that over the last two or three weeks, i've struggled with that a little bit because I wasn't sure how to tell you... I don't have one. I don't have “a vision” for this church. I do not have a five year plan for quadrupling Sunday morning attendance every six months. I do not have a library filled with books with titles like “How to Pack the Pews in Five Simple Steps” or “How to Rule at Sunday School” or even “How to Get Back to Normal.” I don't have that kind of vision for this church. 

It would be nice, it would be very nice, to have a formula for church growth. It would be nice to have easy answers, but I have been a believer in Jesus long enough—I've been on this journey, in this rodeo long enough—to know that if it's easy, it's not the answer. And the answer? It's probably not going to be easy.  

But the fact that I don't have “a vision” for this church does not mean that there isn't a vision for this church. If I have any vision of my own for our church, it is of us as a church that is captivated by His vision for our church.  

... 

Very often, when people are “vision casting,” they come in reference to the passage that is our scripture focus this morning. There's a particular verse in the book of Jeremiah that I bet some of us have memorized. 

“...For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

That passage is powerful, and it is beautiful. Some of us have it on t-shirts. Some of us have it on the wall at home. Some of us have it on bookmarks. Some of us have it memorized, because this is a powerful example of God's love for us. We often claim that verse, that promise, for ourselves as individuals, and we are not wrong to do that. It wasn't originally spoken to an individual. It was originally spoken to a group, but for us to claim that truth as a promise from God is not wrong.  

You may have heard people push back on that. The reason I say it's not wrong is that this passage stands on principles. It contains a self-revelation of who God is, letting us know that He is the source of all good things, that He loves us, that He is faithful, that He makes promises, and he keeps promises. It teaches us principles that He sees us, that He loves us, that He guides us as individuals, just as David recognized when he wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me by still waters.” So, it is not wrong at all for us to claim that passage and to pray in thankfulness, “God, thank You that You know the plans You have for me. Thank You that You have plans to give me a hope and a future.” 

But as I said, in the original instance, this was a promise made to a nation. This was a promise made to all of God's gathered, faithful, following People. A promise made to everybody. All together. At the same time. He said to all of them all at the same time, “I know the clever and curious plan that I have plotted for my people. All of you. Plans to give you, all together, shalom—well-being, holistic peace—and to give you, all together, not affliction and distress, but a hopeful end.” 

So no, I don't have “a vision” for this church. But that’s ok, because you don't want my vision for this church. My vision for this church is going to be coloured by my ego. By my insecurities. My vision for this church is going to be bound by my limitations. It's going to be dictated by my ambitions. It's going to be influenced by my comparing my church to someone else's church, and by my discontent.  

I am far from perfect. I am certainly not all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and everywhere at once. You don't want my vision for this church. I don't want my vision for this church. We want Yahweh God's vision for this church.  

Yahweh God's vision for this church is set out for us in scripture. The church that Jesus describes in Matthew 25 is: 

• A church that is prepared for his return.  
• A church that invests His resources to grow for His kingdom,  
• A church that has open eyes, ears, and hands to the needs of people who are lonely and hungry and thirsty and ill.  

The church that the apostle Paul encourages in his letters is a: 

• A family that lives in humility and mutual surrender 
• A body that lives in mutual service, providing for the needs of the people among them.  
• A church that gives voices to the oppressed, and equality and freedom to the enslaved 
• A church that prays.  

The church that God praises in the book of Revelation—in those amazing letters to the churches in chapters 2 and 3— is: 

• A church that holds to the truth 
• A church that refuses to bow to any other god.  
• A church that, even when they have little strength, still endure and persevere.  
• A church that keeps His word, speaks His name, and holds on to their first love... for Him.  
• A church that opens the door so that He can come in.  

So no, I don't have a book on how to pack the pews. I don't have a book on how to return to normal. I do, if you're interested, have books on how to grieve what has been lost. I do have books on how to navigate the inevitability of change.  

But His vision for His church is made clear and accessible in His book.  

His word. 

To hear the full message: