Pastoral Vision (23)
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” Revelation 3.18
C. S. Lewis wrote of the Christians of his day that they were too easily satisfied. They had no vision and were content to play in their own little mud puddle rather than dream of more imaginative and fruitful prospects.
Have things changed much? Looking at the declining state of the Church—in all its various communions—and the dismantling of Christian influence in culture and society, we might conclude that Lewis’ point is still valid. We have pursued a vision for our churches that comes closer to maintaining the status quo than turning the world rightside up.
Where is the gold Jesus longs to give us? The white garments of righteousness? The eye salve of His Word and Spirit to lead us into visions and undertakings exceedingly abundantly beyond all we’ve ever dared to ask or think?
Rev. Jonathan R. Anderson longed for the churches in his day—Scotland, early 19th century—to know such a great vision of Christ and His Kingdom that they would be led to repentance and progress in faith: “In a dead state of the church, men are content with vague hopes of forgiveness; and affect to wonder at the presumption of those who speak of their being reconciled to God by the death of his Son. But when religion is revived, and the work of Christ applied; then the soul is so burdened with a sense of guilt, so oppressed with the fears of wrath, and so distressed with a conviction of alienation from God, that nothing will do but immediate and full restoration to the favour of God, and good hope of eternal life. Nor until this is obtained is there any progress made in real religion” (Ministers of Scotland: Lectures on Revival II).
“…content with vague hopes…” That phrase describes many believers today. Where we should have great vision, we have only vague hopes. We believe in Jesus and hope we’re going to go to heaven when we die, but we’re not sure either what that means, exactly, or what it requires of us here and now. We are believers, we must suppose; but are we living in dead churches, desperately in need of revival in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ? And where are the pastors and shepherds holding out more vivid and compelling visions of what God has promised and what He can do in and through us?
We will not be able to program ourselves, innovate ourselves, adapt ourselves, or further conform ourselves to any variety of secular models or paradigms so as to arrest our present decline and gain “immediate and full restoration to the favour of God”. We need visionary shepherds for this.
Resources for Shepherds
Perhaps we need to take Paul’s advice in 2 Corinthians 13.5 and examine ourselves. Are we really Christians? Our current ReVison study is considering the question, “Who Is a Christian?” Today, we are three installments of seven into this series, but you can begin reading from the first installment by clicking here.
Not persuaded that your church needs revival? Then at least you can pray for those which are so captive to contemporary culture and winds of false doctrine, that they might be set free to seek revival, renewal, and awakening. Our book The Church Captive can help you in praying for churches worldwide. Order your copy by clicking here. Or order it in a free PDF here.
Men we invite you to join one of our many prayer groups seeking the Lord for revival, renewal, and awakening via Zoom. For a complete list of available groups, send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Finally, Dr. Mark Richardson and I would like to invite any men who are writers or aspiring writers to join our discussion of Corey Latta’s book, C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing. There are 50 chapters, based on Lewis’ writings from childhood on, to help us understand why his writing works so well. Each chapter includes a writing exercise, which we will share in our time together. We’ll just get through the first several chapters this fall, meeting every other Thursday beginning September 12 until December 19 at 4:00 pm. Interested? Send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
From the Celtic Revival
Clinging to the status quo in our Christian lives or churches will be the ruin of both. Those entrusted with the Word of God need to speak into our present situation, calling believers and churches to revival and renewal for a great awakening to faith throughout the world. In his rule for the Iona community, 7th century shepherd, Colmán mac Beógnai, calls shepherds everywhere to make their words count:
He who does not denounce, agrees.
He who does not forbid, commands.
He who is silent, conceals.
He who shares the deed will share the punishment.
- Aipgitir Chrábaid, Colmán mac Beógnai, Irish, 7th century[1]
We’ll meditate on this quote and its application to our day in tomorrow’s Crosfigell. You can subscribe to Crosfigell and all our other teaching letters by clicking here.
New in the Bookstore
We are pleased to announce two new PDF books in our bookstore. To Judge the World considers the role of God’s people in bringing truth to light in all the niches, nooks, crannies, and arenas of our world. Winds of Doctrine looks at 21 different ill winds that can blow us off course from the Lord and shows us how to “trim our sails” to keep on course. Download these new books to your e-reader and share them with your friends. Get a group together for study and discussion.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[1] Carey, p. 244.
