Looking beyond the hood ornament.

July 30, 2007 by Pastor Dan.

Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. ~ Thomas Edison

Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. ~Lloyd Jones

Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. ~ John 14:12–14

People often wring their hands and do little or nothing because they think nothing can be done. And that turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. This past spring, in spite of our strong encouragement otherwise, a nearby church in Los Angeles made the sad decision to close and disband, even though a vital mission is now abandoned.

In contrast, I admire a little church we know in Chicago on Logan Square.  Several years ago, it was advised by their synod bishop to give up and close their doors. After much soul-searching, they decided instead to sell the church-owned parsonage to get the money to hire a pastor, and get moving. They are now being served by a talented young pastor, who will lead them in a renewed sense of mission.

What moves a community forward is vision. When the people lose their vision they cannot move effectively, and may come to a complete halt.

I still remember when I was a teenager, and my Dad was teaching me to drive. I had my learner’s permit, but had not gotten behind the wheel when, one day on a country road near Lompoc, my Dad pulled the car over to the roadside and said, “Now Son, you drive.” (My mother, in the backseat, almost had a panic attack!) This was my first time to actually steer the car —a 1959 Dodge with a fancy hood ornament on the front—and use the brakes, the signals, the mirrors, etc. Fortunately, there were no other cars nearby, because I was steering rather badly, even at a very low speed.

It was then that he taught me one of life’s greatest lessons. “Look up,” he said. “Don’t watch the hood of the car. Keep your eyes trained way down the road.” Obviously, I was too nervous, and was trying too hard to concentrate on every little spot on the pavement just seconds before we drove over them. To drive effectively and safely, I had to look several hundred feet ahead of the car. This is what I mean by vision for a community: looking well down the road, and setting its course for the long distance, but the immediate bumps ahead.

Our church community has some bumps in the road almost all the time. But at the same time we are learning to train our eyes on the distance, to see the road the same way our Lord sees the road ahead. After all, Christ is leading us in our mission, and he is way out ahead of us. So we have to look far ahead on the road in order to follow him and steer our community. To be a Christian requires both close-up and distance vision.

Our community needs to use both forms of vision. In the foreground, we have routine, everyday issues, just to keep our doors open. These matters require prayer and reflection, even if they are routine, “close-up” matters.

But at the same time we must look down the road— not focusing on the “hood ornament”—in order to steer our congregation to follow where Christ is leading.

— Pastor Dan Hooper

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