One of the ways that God's transformation works is that He will plant a vision in a person. He then allows that vision to grow from that person into a system (say a local church or community). The vision creates change, or transformation, from within the system. So, what happens when God puts a vision into the heart of a person and their first option is to start a new work? It seems that the transforming power within the church is lost if the new vision always leads to new works. I heard it many times from church members who were considering looking for another church because, "I really have a heart for X, and I want to find a church that does too."
It is true that churches need to be focused on a unique vision in order to be most effective within their community. It is also true that God uses the passions of the people He has planted in churches to reveal that vision. I often told those same people, "This is the first I have heard about your passion. You know we are always looking for more ways to serve our community, let us join together in prayer to see how God may take your passion and connect it to our vision." If that did not work, I always had a list of vision-directed churches in the area that perhaps would provide a better fit.
This very principle is one of the things that I was pressed on with my recent call to work in church health. I felt God calling me to move out of the church we were at (and even the state we were in), but not because I believe partnering with a local church is against my vision. Quite the opposite I hope to build a network of churches that I can partner with in the Austin area that will embrace a vision of church health as a mission activity. My goal is not to start a new church that is focused on creating and spreading church health... though sometimes it seems that it might be an easier road. I think that is sometimes why people are drawn to beginning a new work; it is easier than transforming the existing work. It seems easier to find a church that already has the ministry you feel called to than to work with the leadership of a current body towards transformation. Most people find that "new" and "easy" don't often go together as well as they expected. But, even if new was easy, I am not sure easier would be better in this case.
If God has a new vision He is revealing, then He most likely wants to use it to transform His church, not just a part of a single body. That is really the heart of my issue. Regardless of how we express ourselves, God still expects us to operate as a unified body; and it just is not happening. I don't care if there are 15,000 churches in a local area, none of them larger than 10-20 people. They key is Unity and Partnership, and that is a Biblical mandate just as much as any other.
I don't think we take God seriously when He speaks of His church being united. We act like unity involves verbal assent such as, "God bless you guys, hope He uses you in your calling!" God refers to us as His body. If that does not refer to an entire city full of churches, then it certainly refers at least to a community. How are we supposed to be a functioning body if each individual piece is focused on its own vision and direction? Again, I am a big proponent of local church bodies finding and fulfilling their unique purpose, but not to the extent that they fail to communicate and coordinate with one another. Some things will be unique from church to church. But, things like serving the community, caring for orphans, and reaching the lost are not unique to any one Church; and neither are the strategies used to accomplish them. We must find a way towards true unity if we want to experience the full power of God's transformation.
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