Strangely I awoke in the wee hours of this morning and quickly had my mind fixate on the C3 Vision Triangle. This tool allows me to provide a perspective on the relationship among three distinct elements of vision that are very basic to understanding how to move vision forward strategically.
The three elements are Contents, Context and Containers. In all of my reading, study and exposure to matters pertaining to church vitality, I’ve never come across a tool quite like this and yet I believe understanding the distinctions between each element and the others is significant in developing a healthy perspective on church health. I’ve decided to feature the C3 Triangle in this and several upcoming gcmatrix posts.
Today’s post features Contents, the most non-negotiable of the three vision elements, the top “point” of the triangle. Contents are biblical, theological and doctrinal and are at the heart of our Christian beliefs. Therefore, they are non-negotiable.
There are some denominations in our day that are drifting more and more toward a liberal, or anti-evangelical, point of view, and consequently, for them, the Contents are negotiable. For example, in some denominations the divinity of Jesus Christ is under review, Scripture is not seen as authoritative, biblical marriage is being assaulted, abortion is an accepted and welcomed option, and fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness are seen as antiquated. These kinds of denominations and the churches that are following them down this dark path are not what I have in view in this discussion. If Bible, biblical theology and doctrine are negotiable, all is lost.
However, in the evangelical church there is little debate over Contents. The Trinity and the divinity of Christ are intact, Scripture is authoritative, Jesus lived, died, was resurrected and will one day return. I’m sure you get the idea.
Specifically, when considering vision in the church, then, the issue is not what I think or what you think, but what God thinks. So we turn to His word to discover His vision for His church and diligently work to discern how that vision of God is to be applied in the context of our churches in our communities at the present time.
We’ll look closer at Context in next Tuesday’s post. For now, just grab hold to the simplicity that God’s vision for my church, for your church, begins by understanding the non-negotiables: Bible, theology and doctrine.
