Doing the “shuffle”, Part Two

“We intend to keep one foot in the past, and one foot in the future”. On the surface not a bad sounding statement, right? But what does it mean? Think about the statement for a minute. “One foot in the past, and one foot in the future.” How does that work exactly? I mean, I own a watch, the second hand never stops moving. In other words, the future is getting further and further from the past, every second of every day!

Try this excercise right there, wherever you are at this moment. Stand still, and slowly and steadily move your feet further and further apart. Keep going, I’m trying to prove a point here. How long before you lose your balance, and fall over? Not very long, huh? Point made. “keeping one foot in the past, and the other foot in the future”  is a position, and a philosophy, that is impossible to maintain. Remember what Christ said about serving two masters?  

But wait, there’s more.

“keeping one foot in the past, and the other foot in the future” would seem to imply that where you have been is equally as important as where you are going. Now, before I go any further, I want to say this: Respecting your heritage is right and proper. Learning from past mistakes is natural and beneficial. Paying homage to where you came from, from time to time, is a very good thing to do. However, it is FAR more important to know where you are GOING, than to know where you have BEEN. Need proof? Let me ask you a question. When you drive, do you keep your eyes on the rearview mirror? Of course you don’t! It’s FAR more important – and safer! – to know where you are going, rather than where you have been.

You might be wondering why I chose to call this short series of blogs “doing the shuffle”. The “shuffle” is what I call it when I see a worship team perform at the level that the worship team at the church in question performs at – sub standard. Like they are just shuffling along. No life, no joy, no impact, no spark, no nothing! I have to tell you, the worship team at this church is not the only one doing the shuffle. I have visited many churches in the past few years, and there are many out there just shuffling along. Of course, there are also many out there with a dynamic, growing ministry. Why do some churches succeed where so many others fail? The answer can be summed up in one word.

Vision.

What is this vision? More importantly, how can you find it for yourself?

Stay tuned…