Throughout my life, I have been in the process of learning how important it is to have a vision for life.   I have also learned that it is important to have a positive vision.  It’s important to always remember that God has a vision for me and it’s a good vision.  God does have a vision for us as individuals and God has a vision for us as community.  God desires that we spend time in prayer, in worship, in communion, in fellowship to continually discern the visions and to discern ways and means of developing God’s positive visions into reality. 

This is not necessarily an easy task, especially in regard to the vision of community and church.  I like to say that if you get four Lutherans in a room to discuss a matter, you’ll end up with seven opinions.  At Mount Zion, we are as always, in the process of discerning the vision God has for this place.  Your input with the phone interviews, your letters of concern and support, your passion in conversation, your continual sharing of gifts and talents remains a valuable influence in the discernment process. 

The other day, my son Tony called.  He was on his cell phone and I was on my cell phone and the clarity of connection was lacking.  My son can communicate well, but he has had the tendency to mumble his words, so the first part of the conversation was not clear.  As it turns out, he was asking me about directions on how to get to “the Freeway” as he was traveling “east on main street”.  I had to ask, “Where are you?”  “I’m in Imperial Beach in San Diego!”  This was important information to know.   It really helps to know where you are before receiving instructions on how to get somewhere else.  Part of the discernment process is to know where we are and what we have prior to discerning where we are being led and where we are to go.

Mount Zion has some tremendous assets.  One of them is our location.  Another strong asset is you, the people, who really do tend to be friendly and accepting, open and welcoming.  We have strong lay leadership and a strong commitment to sharing our assets with the community around us.  But one of the most awesome gifts that Mount Zion shares, is prayer.  The power of prayer is incredible.  Please, continue to pray that our ministers and our ministries will continue to effectively share the real power of Christ in the community.  Prayer is one of the most awesome gifts in the discernment process, for it really does help in bringing clarity.

            My daughter Sarah, and I, really enjoy listening to the music of a particular group.  The problem again, for me, is that I don’t always understand the words that are being sung.  So, my daughter told me to go to a website where the lyrics are posted.  Well, with lyrics like, “and the naked bone of an echo says, ‘Don’t walk away’,” may bring clarity of words, it doesn’t bring clarity of meaning.  Just because I now know the words, the words still don’t make much sense.  Just because there is clarity, I still remain in the fog. 

            What I’m trying to say is that even though we may have clarity of vision, the steps to get there may not be so clear.  This is why it is important that all who are a part of Mount Zion remain not just in prayer, but also in the community life of the church.  Please be in worship, in fellowship opportunities, in service and in sharing of your gifts and resources that, with clarity rooted in a trust in our Risen Lord and His vision for us, we may discern the steps necessary to make Christ’s vision a reality.    It is in community and in communication that the vision will grab hold of us, and once His vision has taken hold of us, the steps to get there together, will become manifest.

                                                            In Christ’s love and service,

Pastor Dan
Contact Pastor Dan at: pastor@mtzionelca.com