Why DPC? Who We Are and What We Do
Vision – “So That…”
Habakkuk 2:1-4; Matthew 28:16-20
Intergenerational Moment: Why do we do Church?
In a few words – past, present, future, and others.
To remember who we are. In church, we connect our individual stories
with the stories of God’s people in the past and with the stories of Jesus.
To pay attention in the present. In church, we pay attention to who are called to be
and what we are called to do, listening this week for God’s guidance and comfort.
To look forward with hope. In church, we are encouraged to look forward
to a just and loving future with God, because we trust that the God who has been with us
in the past is here with us now and will be there with us and for us in the future.
Past, present, and future, and others.
In church, we caringly connect with others who share this larger sense of identity and purpose.
(Tilden Edwards, Embracing the Call to Spiritual Depth, p. 79)
Vision is defined by Oxford dictionary as:
“the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom”.
Someone who has “vision” displays unusual discernment or foresight.
But in the church, vision is not simply about what you or I might imagine or see.
Webster’s Dictionary claims that, in the Bible, the word “vision”
is often used as an encounter with God where God imparts special revelation.
Our Old Testament text for today speaks of such an encounter.
Our text for today comes from the opening section of Habakkuk,
one of the shortest books of the Bible.
This opening section features a dialogue between the prophet and God.
The prophet is confronting the profoundly disturbing problem of why a just God is silent
when the “wicked swallow those more righteous than they” (1:13).
“Why do the wicked prosper?” as the psalmist asks.
In the prophecy of Habakkuk, the prophet receives an answer to this age-old question:
God is still God, and in God’s way and in God’s time, God will deal with the wicked.
“and the righteous (are called in the meantime) to live by their faith.” (2:4)
In the meantime, in the time between the coming of Christ and the end of the world,
“the righteous”, those who are seeking the good and the right,
those who desire to worship and serve, are called to live by faith.
We are called to live according to the will of God,
as best we can discern that to be.
This discussion about “vision” has to do with discerning the will of God.
In each new season of life, we seek to discern God’s will and how to live God’s will.
We seek to listen to God for the direction we will go.
We seek to orient our lives, both our individual lives and the life of our congregation,
toward the will of God.
Hear the Word of God from Habakkuk 2:1-4
I will stand at my watch-post, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch
to see what (the Lord) will say to me, and what (the Lord) will answer concerning my complaint.
Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.
For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Notice the instruction of the Lord, that the vision be written plainly on tablets
so that a runner may read it. In other words, a vision should be short enough
and clear enough to be read by a car driving down Church Street.
Then God tells the prophet to be patient regarding the vision. A vision will surely come.
Wait for it, and, in the meantime, live by your faith. Live in faith and trust and hope.
Our New Testament text comes from the gospel of Matthew.
This text has been called the Great Commission.
This text describes not so much the vision of Jesus
as the “how the disciples were to accomplish the vision.”
The vision was spoken elsewhere.
In John’s gospel, we read: “these things are written so that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Messiah of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
(John 20:31)
Elsewhere in John, Jesus claims:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come so that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Jesus gathered the disciples on the mountain after the resurrection.
There, he gave them the Great Commission….
so that all nations may have life, and have it abundantly.
Hear the Word of God from Matthew 28:16-20.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Tradition holds that those eleven and others spread out over the known world
and preached the gospel, often at great risk and with significant sacrifice.
How different would world history be if those disciples had not each gone their separate ways
and preached the good news to all who would hear.
How different your life and my life would be if those early disciples had not passed on
that vision of making disciples of all nations!
How different your life and my life would be if our grandparents and parents,
and our Sunday school teachers and youth advisors, if our friends and neighbors,
had not received that vision of making disciples!
Over the centuries, the church has sought to make disciples, throughout the world,
so that all may have life, and have it abundantly.
We have asked you the following question.
If DPC was featured in the local news 10 years from now,
what would you hope that story would include?
Having asked that question of you, the congregation, we have heard a number of responses:
DPC is a healthy and vital congregation of all ages and many backgrounds
DPC enjoys close and meaningful relationships within its body of members
DPC serves its community in caring and effective ways
DPC’s youth and children’s ministries are thriving,
DPC is leading a collaborative effort to end homelessness in Downtown Decatur
DPC is the gathering point for a network of non-profits and dedicated citizens
working together to improve the greater Decatur area.
DPC is where people serve as God’s hands and feet to do God’s work.
DPC is a gathering place for inspiring worship and genuine community
DPC is a place of welcome and transformation for young adults
DPC is sharing God’s love for the world
Vision for the church doesn’t come from just one person, or even a few persons.
A vision for the future of the Church comes from above, from God.
You or I don’t come up with this sense of future direction on our own.
We lean into the power of the Body of Christ.
We tend to hear from God when a whole team of church leaders
prays, and listens, and processes, and confirms that vision together.
Another word for vision is prophecy or revelation from God.
Proverbs 29:18 has been translated several ways:
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint.
Without guidance from God, law and order disappear.
Without revelation, the people run wild.
To be honest, I am not too concerned about this Presbyterian congregation “running wild”.
I am not overly concerned that we would “cast off restraint.”
I am concerned that we would keep listening, keep discerning God’s vision for this congregation,
and that we would keep seeking to orient ourselves toward that vision.
Like true north on a compass, we listen to God, we listen to God’s Word,
and we listen to each other in order to orient ourselves to God’s true north for us,
for this particular season.
There are many directions we could go as a congregation.
There are many activities and ministries that could garner our attention
and claim our focus and utilize our best energies and resources.
The question is: what is God’s particular will for us now, in 2024, and for the next several years.
I take counsel from a wise quote, spoken in 1925 when my alma mater,
Rhodes College, then Southwestern, moved its campus to Memphis, Tennessee.
“The good is ever the enemy of the best.
We did not merely seek the good, but the best.
There was ever before us the idea of excellence.”
Friends, this congregation, rooted in the heart of Decatur,
worships, loves, and serves with hospitality, generosity, and compassion.
That is who we are. That is what we do.
Why do we worship, love, and serve?
Why are hospitality and generosity and compassion so important to us?
So that…?
So that, as you said in your responses to the vision question:
So that young adults discover hope and spiritual transformation
So that youth and children thrive as they feel loved and welcomed and at peace
So that the unhoused find housing and relief from suffering.
So that the community is better off because of the service of this church
So that people of all ages and a variety of backgrounds come together
and are inspired in worship and connected in loving relationships,
So that all of us reach toward being the people God is calling us to be,
So that we all come together in unity, sharing the joy of fellowship,
and ultimately, so that all may come to know the grace and love of God
made known in Jesus Christ.
Friends, why do we do Church? We do Church…
So that we may remember and connect with stories of God and human interaction in the past,
so that we may discover guidance and comfort in our current season of life,
so that we may live in hope for a just and loving future,
and so that we may caringly connect with others who share this larger purpose and identity.
To God be the glory as we do so. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
