|
|
The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
|
a healthy church...transformingLIFE |
|
|
|
|
|
April 2006 |
|||
|
|
||||
Ready, set, ACTION!Someone once said a great truth: fruitfulness is not in the dreaming of dreams, but in the turning of visions into realities. In any project, great or small, the time comes when hopes must turn into plans and actions. This is the time when broad objectives must become specific intentions. We are a Diocese-at-mission and our hopes and dreams are focused on God and his purposes. Our Lord delights to work through his people - to the point were St Paul can say to the Ephesian church, 'For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.' (Ephesians 2:10, NIV). Confidence in God is our foundation as we seek to bring our vision into reality. 'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work' (John 4:34, NIV). It's our food too. Last year at the Diocesan Ministry Conference, our guest speaker, Stuart Robinson spoke about 'Mission Action Plans'. This year at Synod, I will be releasing my own Mission Action Plan that will build upon the ahealthychurch - transforminglife vision for our diocese. The Mission Action Plan will be just that, a MAP to mark specific and intentional ways forward for my own ministry and that of the Diocesan staff team. By way of example I have asked the Diocesan Mission Enabler and our Ministry Council to refocus our training resources to provide a comprehensive program of skill development necessary for a Diocese of missionary disciples. This will result in the launch in 2007 of new Diocesan ministry development resources and programs. I hope that the Diocesan Mission Action Plan will inspire similar planning at the local level. The Mission Action Plan material makes it clear where to begin. 'Intentional ministry is rooted in a spiritual readiness for ministry', it so rightly says. 'This has two dimensions: passion and prayer.' (MAP page 23). It is my firm belief that God has enlivened us with passion for the gospel. It is there to be seen in individual Anglicans, congregations, parishes and Diocesan teams. Likewise, there are more and more prayerful activists in our ranks. My Mission Action Plan will describe the process by which I intend to led the Diocese in prayer for vision and future mission activities. In my mission action plan I passionately affirm the mission values of the Anglican Communion and detail practical ways ahead for each of them within my ministry,
And so to prayer, in which we align ourselves to the purposes of God. In prayer we become God's workmanship, not our own self-made creations. When we pray 'your will be done' we are embracing both surrender and deliberate action - for this is not a prayer of ignorance, but a prayer of eyes-open faith: Whatever the cost, wherever it takes us, Lord, may your plans, your dreams, your intentions, become reality. As we deliberate on the map God has for us, our prayer is this: Christ, whose insistent call
Shalom,
|
|
|||
