Vision & Values — Everyday Church Wimbledon

Everyday Church Wimbledon – Vision & Values - Part 1 Messages notes by Simon Elliott In January and February 2023, we spent six weeks as a church looking at our vision and our values. Six weeks looking at seven words. Son, Father, Spirit, Grace, Community, Kingdom, and love. Now, of course, the vision of values of a church, indeed of any community, cannot be limited to seven words and takes far more than six weeks to discuss, digest, and develop. Culture, which is the fruit of an organization's vision and values, takes years to establish and  EVOLVES over time. However, one of the ways that we build a culture is to keep reminding ourselves of our vision and our values, our key principles. It has been said by strategic gurus that you need to be able to articulate your vision in 30 minutes, three minutes, and 30 seconds. Well, here's a nine-minute summary of our vision and values. It all starts with God. We start with God because that's where the Bible starts. In fact, that's where everything starts – ‘in the beginning God’, we read. God's creation flowing out of God's creative character. God exists in creative community – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect unity. The universe is created out of the words that express their relationship as those words pour out into time and space. And our discovery of God starts with the Son. It starts with Jesus. We fix our eyes on Jesus because in his incarnation, God is perfectly revealed to the world,  his world. The Word became flesh and opened a door through which we can walk to find relationship with the creator of the universe. Jesus reveals to us the heart of the Father. We are taught to pray, ‘Abba Father’, ‘daddy’. In Jesus, in his relationship with the Father and his teaching about the Father, we discover that the creator of the universe seeks us out and runs to us on the road as we respond to his love. Whatever our relationship with our earthly fathers, we have a Heavenly Father who longs for relationship with us, and according to the prophet Zephaniah, delights over us with singing. What is more, in the incarnation, we are reminded that God’s people, the Father’s daughters and sons, are called to be a people of the presence of God. The Son dwelt amongst us for a season, and he is gathered up to the Father, not to limit his presence amongst us, but to release his presence amongst us through the person of the Holy Spirit. Relationship with the Father is made possible through the Son and becomes a daily lived out reality through the presence of the Holy Spirit. How is all this possible? How does a holy, perfect God abide with a broken people in a broken world? Well, it's all about his grace. It is by grace we have been saved, not by works, so that no one can boast. It is all the grace of God, the overflowing, unmerited, unlooked for favour of God towards his children. We are a charismatic people because our foundation is the ‘charis’, the grace of God. A people saved by grace and abiding with the Holy Spirit will naturally pursue the gifts of grace, the charismata, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the power of the Holy Spirit breaking out in our meetings, and enabling relationship with our world. We are totally dependent on the grace of God, and this divine grace is not individualistic or isolated. God's grace is incredibly personal. The Father knows you and me personally. He knows the hairs on our heads. But as God is community, we are created out of and for community. Our Vision & Value series was very deliberately called ‘Who we are and why we are here’ We are in this together by the grace of God. And a community truly built on grace will mean we have grace for one another, and grace for those around us. As God has treated us with grace, we treat one another with grace. We do not judge or criticize or pick apart, as God's grace is poured out onto us. We do all we can to let that grace flow out to those around us. We forgive and serve as we have been forgiven and served by a God. Together we seek to imitate Jesus. The one who came to serve, not to be served, and who forgave the very people who held nails in their hands. Such grace and forgiveness will, in time, bear the fruit of authentic and genuine community where we can be who we really are with one another. This authentic community is not aimless. It is a community with a purpose – a Kingdom purpose. God's eternal vision is that his benevolent rule and reign would exist throughout all of creation. Scripture calls this the ‘Kingdom of God’. God's heart is that the intimacy of relationship and perfect justice that we see in the Garden of Eden would be seen throughout the whole of the planet. A kingdom of relationship, holiness, wholeness, and justice. A kingdom of salvation, sanctification, signs and wonders, and social action. Nor is this kingdom meant to stay in the walls of a building or the boundaries of religious activity. In God's kingdom, there is no sacred secular divide. God cares about every aspect of our lives, from the mundane to the miraculous. Our vision is incarnational. Wherever we are, we carry the grace of God and the power and calling of the kingdom of God. We do not go to church. We are the church. We are the body of Christ, and wherever we find ourselves, we are called to seek the kingdom of God. The Father is always about the work of his kingdom, and as his sons and daughters, we are pulled by grace into the family business. And the Kingdom of God is a present reality. The kingdom is now, it is a hand, but it is also not yet. That means that though we are totally secure in our salvation. We are still imperfect, and our imperfection at times will clash with another's imperfection. A thoughtless word or action. A deliberate put down born out of insecurity or pain. Forgetting to act or failure to forgive. All our imperfections and imperfect relationships can and do cause pain and disappointment. And therefore, we have got to seek the love of God, the agape love of God. The love found in Jesus that forgives all that has gone before and all that is to come. A grace community is not defined by uniformity or unthinking obedience. But rather, a grace community is characterized by individuals choosing to love one another through and despite their imperfections. The people of God, the body of Christ, Everyday Church, US – we are totally dependent on the LOVE of God, a love that: is patient,  is kind. does not envy, does not boast, is not proud.  does not dishonour others, is not self-seeking,  is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs.  does not delight in evil rejoices with the truth. always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. a Love that never fails This is our vision. These are our values. To be a genuine, authentic community, to gather together and fix our eyes on the Son and the Father and the Spirit. Committed to grace and community. Seeking the kingdom and covered by the agape love of God. This is who we are and why we are here. It is a statement, not a question. We walk into the identity won for us on the cross of Jesus and hardwired into us as a people created in the image of God. Our kingdom activity flows out of our kingdom identity. We are an ordinary people being transformed by an extraordinary God. We are image bearers. And Kingdom bringers. But what might be missing? Well, of course, as we said a few minutes ago, you cannot summarise the whole of God’s plans and purposes in 7 words. But what might we add? Well, if you know me well, you know that as well as being passionate about the importance of Vision. “Without vision the people perish.” I am also a believer in strategy. If the people perish, or cast off restraint, for lack of Vision. Vision tends to lose its power, its efficacy, for lack of strategy As Thomas Edison allegedly said “Inspiration without perspiration is just hallucination.” If we agree with these words and statements around our vision and values, how do they become an increasing reality in our lives as individuals and a community in 2026? The biblical answer is intentional discipleship. It can be tempting to see discipleship as God’s vision – and I see no need to criticise those who do. Indeed, for years, I led a church whose vision statement was: To make more disciples and more mature disciples in our neighbourhood, our nation, and the nations. However, I am increasingly convinced that Discipleship, rather than Jesus' vision, was his primary strategy for bringing in the Kingdom. Now, don’t get over caught up in this distinction. Rather, recognise that if we want to see more of the Kingdom of God break out in our lives in 2026. If we want to see personal transformation or sanctification. If we want to see more of our friends and family come to know God through salvation. If we long for more outbreaks of God’s manifest power in signs and wonders, and if we carry a passion for justice and social action. If we long for these Kingdom dynamics in our lives, and in every sphere of our lives, which I know so many of us do, we need to keep being intentional in our discipleship. Here are a few well-known scriptures for you: Matthew 4:18-22 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 9:14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go 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 I have commanded you. As part of our kingdom calling, we are called to make disciples because discipleship and all the spiritual disciplines that characterize a disciple’s lifestyle are God's strategy for fulfilling his vision of the Kingdom. Spiritual disciplines like prayer, worship, fasting, tithing, and serving one another are the outworking of our relationship and also the place where God builds our relationship with him. We work those disciplines out when we gather in our Sunday services, in our Life Groups, and when we spend time on our own in devotion to God. Discipleship is God's strategy for fulfilling his kingdom. So, what do we know about Discipleship in the life of Jesus and the early church? Well, here are two for us to think and talk about this week Biblical discipleship is intentional. Biblical discipleship is inspired. A. Biblical Discipleship is intentional The Greek word translated disciple is the word Matheteus. Because of the verse we read – come and follow me – we may have thought of discipleship as following Jesus, but it is much more than simply following or being aware of someone’s lifestyle or “teaching.” This deeper meaning of following is brought out by John in chapter 6 of is gospel: John 6:65-66 He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.’ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Following Jesus means intentional change. When Jesus spoke of the level of change required to be his disciple, many of them stopped following. Following a Rabbi in the first century was a big deal, usually reserved for the very best students; following meant being alongside, listening, learning, and possibly most importantly, doing the things your rabbi did! This is why the gospel writers used the word Matheteus – which we translate disciple – it is because it was the Greek word used for students of a trade – for apprentices. Apprenticeship is intentional. An apprentice plumber, or carpenter, or electrician sticks incredibly close to their teacher, their mentor, primarily because they want to become a plumber, or a carpenter, or an electrician. Jesus was intentional about listening to and following the commands of the Father. Jesus gave them this answer: John 5:19 “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. Jesus was intentional in calling disciples – come and follow me! We reminded ourselves last term that the early church was intentional in its discipleship as they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. The apostle Paul – a champion of grace and adversary of any teaching that suggested legalism as the route to salvation – was intentional about his discipleship. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. I want to see more Kingdom breakthrough in my life and in our lives this year, and if Discipleship is God’s strategy for seeing that breakthrough, then I want to be even more intentional in my discipleship. B. Biblical discipleship is inspired But biblical discipleship is not just intentional, it is also inspired. To give someone the desire, confidence, or enthusiasm to do something well. That is how the Oxford English Dictionary defines the word inspire. But where does the desire, the confidence, and the enthusiasm for the disciple come from? The Mirian Webster Dictionary says this: “When inspire first came into use in the 14th century it had a meaning it still carries in English today: “to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural influence or action.” The meaning is a metaphorical extension of the word's Latin root: inspirare means "to breathe or blow into." The metaphor is a powerful one, with the very breath of a divine or supernatural force asserted as being at work.” More importantly, the New Testament says this: Luke 3:22 the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Acts 1:4,5,8 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”…….. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Ephesians 5:17-18 Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, Biblical discipleship is intentional, and it is inspired – in fact, we are told to be intentional about our inspiration! In a moment we will do just that – we will together, intentionally make space for the Holy Spirit to bring fresh inspiration – to bring fresh desire, fresh devotion and fresh confidence to be Kingdom Bringers in our spheres of influence in 2026 and then next week we will get practical on how we support one another in intentional discipleship, but before all of that a reminder that we are not just Kingdom bringers, we are also image bearers. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul spends verse after verse defending the doctrine of grace, and having defended it, in chapter 4, he writes this: Galatians 4:4-7 “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” I love the recent scholarship that has reminded us that to be a disciple is to be an apprentice. It is so helpful in its encouragement that we are to not just be with Jesus, or be like Jesus, but we are also being called and equipped to do the things that Jesus did. But the New Testament does not leave us as well taught and empowered apprentices – the New Testament constantly reminds us that we are image bearers, children of the living God, and that we are called to be kingdom bringers because that is the family business. It is who we are created to be, and through ongoing intentionality and inspiration, we will grow up to be like our big brother and ultimately to model the character and impact of our Heavenly Father.