July 9, 2010
“A Vision of the Church”

As many of you know, I love cycling, and I love to ride the bike. I love watching the Tour de France bicycle race at this time every year. Vicki and I have wonderful memories of watching a few days of the Tour in person in 2004 (along with riding two famous Tour mountain stages, L’Alp d’Huez and Mont Vontoux).

I also love visiting the countries of Europe, walking the old streets, eating in a simple sidewalk café, meeting people, and seeing all the church buildings that dominate their cities, towns, and landscapes. I even see this every day as I catch parts of the Tour daily on TV. The helicopter scans the upcoming town or city, and the camera focuses on a beautiful church cathedral at the center of the town or city.

There it is – the picture of a wonderful cathedral that dominates the landscape of the city. In centuries gone by it was the church that dominated the life of a society. Just as the church dominated the landscape of the city, the church dominated the lives of people, and it dominated the culture of a people. This is an actual picture of a cathedral near today’s stage in the Tour. The church towers over the city.

All of life revolved around the church. People gave to build the church. They gave of their money to build the church. They gave of their time to build the church. They gave of their craftsmanship to build the church. They gave of their relationships to build the church. They gave their lives to build the church. They gave all their lives to build the church – generation after generation. Building the church dominated their lives.

I love the picture of the church dominating the city. Picture in your mind any of the great cathedrals that dominate the landscape of every great city in Europe, and you’ll see what I mean.

Now I will not argue for a revival of great church cathedrals that will once again dominate the landscape of American cities. But I will argue for a vision of the church that will dominate the landscape and all the particulars of our lives. Just as the cathedral stood at the center of all of life, so the church alive should be at the center of our lives.

And what do I mean by “church”? I mean our LIFE transforming vision;

· Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength
· Investing our lives in loving others
· Following Christ to be like Him
· Engaging the world with Christ through the power of the Spirit

Here are the questions I ask myself.

Does loving God dominate my life? Does loving Him tower over everything else in the “landscape” of my life? Does it tower over everything else in my life just as the great cathedrals tower over the city landscapes all across Europe?

Does investing in loving relationships dominate my life? Does investing in loving others tower over everything else in the “landscape” of my life? Does giving of my time and money to the church tower over my life just as the cathedrals “tower over” the city landscapes all across Europe?

Does my diligence in learning to follow Christ and be like Him dominate my life? If someone could take a snap shot of my life, would diligence and disciplines of learning to be like Christ be the obvious thing that would standout in the photo, just as the cathedral’s dominance of life still stands out in cities all across Europe?

Finally, am I diligent about engaging my world with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit? Does engaging others dominate my life? Does reaching out to and engaging others “tower over” the landscape of my life, or do I live my life mostly for myself?

In summary, remember that the church is not a physical building. Rather, we are “living web of relationships” (Ephesians 2.19-22; 1 Peter 2.5), a “spiritual cathedral” that towers over and dominates that landscape of North Dallas and the neighborhoods/communities of our lives. The church is people. The church is us.

That is the vision of the church – that is the vision of DBC. Do I hear an “Amen!”?