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I want to take you deep into the heart of Texas. I am from San Antonio, Texas, and there is a phenomenon in Texas called Friday Night Lights. I played for a high school called Converse Judson right outside of San Antonio, Texas. And our high school games, football games, that is, if there's any other sport. No. No shade. No shade. But the football games, you would have ten to 12,000 people. Like, it was a moment. It was called Friday Night Lights. As a matter of fact, it's so popular that back in the day, there was actually a movie called Friday Night Lights that detailed the 1988 state championship, class five A, which was the biggest at that time between the famous Dallas Carter Cowboys and Odessa Permian. But here's the problem, though, and here's why I didn't see the movie. Because in 1998, Dallas Carter did not play Odessa Permian in the state championship. They played converse Judson High School in the state championship at the old Dallas Cowboys football stadium. How do I know?
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Because I was a team captain for Judson and I played in the game. But nevertheless, I'm over the. I've gotten therapy before it. I'm over that. But here's my point. Dallas Carter was phenomenal. I mean, it was amazing. Our team was phenomenal. It was amazing. Yet they utterly destroyed us on the field. We won because of a technicality. But here's the thing, though. At Converse Judson High School, we have a epic football tradition. And Texas high school football legend, my former head coach, DW Rutledge, was the ultimate vision caster. And what do I mean by that?
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He taught us and coached us in such a way that he showed us what the future could be. And we were so eager for that future that it impacted our present. Well, listen, as a ministry leader, as a pastor, as a parent, as a friend, your capacity to vision cast for life transformation is important. And so I wanna speak primarily to the pastors and ministry leaders. But this is also for concerned followers of Christ who wanna grow in their discipleship. So here's the deal. What is vision casting? I define vision casting this way. Vision casting is the God inspired ability to see a future that does not yet exist but should. This future is so messiah exalting and life giving that people run into the future and drag it back into the present. You show them what could be, what should be, and the vision inspires them to go, that's what I want. Now let me pause here. If you're a pastor, if you're a ministry leader, you cannot cast a vision that has not cast a spell on you. And what I mean by that is this, is that in order for people to follow the vision you cast, it's a vision that you have to embody. It's a vision that you have.
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And so I am captivated by vision casting, and I am captivated by the greatest vision caster of all time. And this has paid incredible dividends in the life and ministry of transformation church and even in my own life and parenting. But the greatest vision caster of all time is Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus gave us the great commandment and the great commission. The great commission or commandment reads this way. In Matthew 22 37 through 39, Jesus replied, you must love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest command. And the second is equally important. Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. And so in the great commandment you have Upward, Inward, Outward, Ypward. Love God completely (Inward). Love yourself correctly, which leads to humility (Outward).. Love your neighbor compassionately.
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Let's stop. Can you imagine your congregation, through the Holy Spirit's power, loving and living a life of love? Can you imagine them being so captivated by Jesus that they're loving Him completely, loving themselves correctly, loving their neighbors compassionately? And who are their neighbors gonna be? Their neighbors are gonna be multiethnic and multigenerational, which flows right into the great commission. Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus came and told His disciples, I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore, go make disciples of all nations. That's the Greek word ethnos, which means people group. So that's not just across the sea, that's across the street. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all my commands I have given you. All of Jesus' commands can be summed up in Upward, Inward, Outward, love God, love self, love neighbor. The rest of the verse says this, and be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of age.
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So not only does Jesus cast the greatest vision possible, but He says, I'm going to be with you to give you power to cast this vision and to live this vision. So not only is this important for us individually, but it's important for the ministries that we lead, that they are rooted, and the greatest vision cast by the greatest vision caster of all, Jesus. So a fully formed, beautiful, God exalting person is a person of UIO, Upward, Inward, Outward. If you come to Transformation Church from two years old all the way up to like, you know, man, 92 years old, if you've been here, you know, our vision is Upward, Inward, Outward. Love God completely. Love yourself correctly, love your neighbors compassionately. Your neighbor is multiethnic, multigenerational. And what are we motivated by? We're motivated by the mission of Jesus. Wouldn't that be beautiful? So as a leader, you are casting vision setting direction of where people can go, where people can be, who they can become, but it requires you to lead that. So how do we effectively cast vision for life transformation? Number one is you have to identify the problem. And I got this from Andy Stanley years ago, and I've modified in my own marinade. But number one, you have to identify the problem.
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People are not going to move if they don't think there is a problem. So problem number one is this. Millions of people don't know Jesus. So let's pause here. Christianity is not primarily about how to make bad people good. It's not about how to stress-free your life. It's not about how we accomplish our dreams. It's about this. It is about a God who is filled with infinite love and compassion, who sees His creation and His image bearers in utter brokenness and wreckage, who are under judgment, separated from him, who are in need of divine rescue. It is a God who so loved the world that He condescended and cloaked Himself in human flesh to live a sinless life. We couldn't live, die our death on the cross, raise again to begin new creation of transforming people and ultimately healing our broken world. There is a sense of urgency, and if I can challenge you, pastors and ministry leaders, we have lost urgency in the pulpit. We're more like pop psychologists than theologians with a burning passion to see people rescued under the redemptive love of God.
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The other problem the church is, oh my gosh, we are so divided along ethnicity, we're divided along economic classes, and the lord wants a multiethnic family. Guys, racism is a problem in a church. Years ago, I was speaking in Oklahoma. Two pastors went to the bathroom, and I saw this pastor staring at me, which I'm like, yo, bro, I'm in a bathroom. That's kind of strange. I thought to myself, anyway, as I'm leaving out, this older white pastor said, Pastor Derwin, I need to apologize to you. And I'm thinking, I don't know you, but he says, I was reading one of your books, and I was loving the book and encouraged by the book until I found out you were a black man. And I told my wife, and she told me to repent. And then the Holy Spirit began to convict me, and she said, if you see him, you need to repent to him after you repent to the Lord. So right there in the bathroom, that man repented to me with tears in his eyes. And in the bathroom, I'm hugging him. That could look kind of strange, but we had a Jesus moment, and I told him, I said, number one, I forgive you. And number two, continue to let God transform you because racism and prejudice has no place in the body of Christ. Now, some of you go, man, why didn't you go off?
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Because Jesus didn't give me permission to go off. He gave me permission to love. He told me this in Matthew 544, and He tells you this, too. But I tell you, bless those who persecute you and love your enemies. If you ever want a friend to become a if you ever want an enemy to become a friend, you have to move towards them in friendship. Doesn't mean that you're a doormat, but it does mean that you live across cruciform shaped life. So that's a problem. Our churches are segregated. People are lost. What's the solution? We want to partner with Jesus in the gospel to create people who live Upward, Inward, Outward lives. Number three, the vision must be implemented. Why? Because people matter to Jesus and it is good for the world. Remember, Jesus wants to bring heaven to earth. How does He do it?
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By bringing Himself, the God of heaven, into people to manifest His glory. God glorified as man, fully alive. And number four, why the vision must be implemented now? Because we have the solution to the problem. Before I move on, pastors and ministry leaders, it's time for you to lead. God has placed you there. Leading isn't domineering. Leading is inviting people into what Jesus is doing. And we know that Jesus is about Upward, Inward, Outward. He said it effective. Vision casting never comes to an end. It is a spiritual discipline that must color and shape everything from staff meetings to sermon prep to preaching to the entire ministry that you lead. Listen, pastors, your people and staff are looking to you. Ministry leaders, the volunteers are looking to you to set the vision, to lay it out for them in a Christ exalting way, in a compelling way, but a clear way. Now, I wanna pause.
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Some of you, like, well, I'm just a creative. No, no, no, listen. Yes, you're creative, but you can be creatively clear. It is a blessing to be clear that you say what you say, mean what you say. Okay, want to be clear? There's too much at stake for us not to be clear. Effective leaders communicate the vision over and over in creative ways that stick to a person's soul. So I'm a former NFL player. Even in my 6th year in the NFL, coaches were saying the same thing. Football is about blocking. It is about tackling. It is about execution. It is about discipline. It is about relentless effort. It was the same thing over and over and over and over.
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Do not be afraid to share the same thing over and over and over. One of the things that the Lord says in the Old Testament to His covenant people is this. Remember, remember, remember why? Because we are prone to forget. So we want to make sure people remember. And what is memorable is portable. In other words, you can take it and live it. So at Transformation Church, our vision, Upward, Inward, Outward. At the end of every service, we say, together, Upward, Inward, Outward. I point at them, they point at me, and we say, Transformers roll out, right? Because the service is just a huddle. Now it's time to go play the game. And how do we go play the game? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the indwelling life of Christ, through the glory of the Father, we live Upward, Inward, Outward. So the vision begins to color and shape everything.
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And here's what's beautiful. It's not our vision. It's Jesus. And Jesus is the greatest vision caster of all time. This is something that you practice over and over, but once again, you can't lead people where you're not going. If you're not clear, they're not going to be clear. So get on your face, snotty nose, ugly, cry fast and pray and ask the Lord to make you an effective vision caster. Every human being wants to be a part of a cause beyond themselves. That's why football fans do all types of things for their teams. Well, we have the greatest coach ever, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We have the greatest mission ever. Upward, inward, outward. We have the greatest team ever. We are the body of Christ. And everybody has a significant role.
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And here's what's beautiful about Upward, Inward, Outward. As you grow to learn completely, you begin to love yourself correctly, which means seeing yourself for who you are in Christ. And you've been transformed to the image of Christ. What does that mean? Selfishness is replaced with selflessness. Insecurity is replaced with security, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. And then the gifts of the spirit. We're the ultimate team, the body of Christ, and we've won the game. How do we know? Because on the third day, the tomb is still empty. And the one who left the tomb now lives in you and me. Let your people know that. Cast vision to the beauty of Jesus within them. Every member has a role to play on the team. Vision casting that is life transforming calls people into their destiny.
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And what is their destiny? That one day there's going to be a new heaven, there's going to be a new earth, glorified, resurrected bodies. Everything's going to be beautiful. No more tears, no more crying, no more brokenness. But until that day that Jesus returns, He's called us to love Him with all of His heart, with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. And to join Him on the mission of reaching everybody with this magnificent grace and love. So, pastor, ministry leader, you're called to not only preach and teach and serve but you're called to be an effective vision caster that the Lord uses to transform lives. You're probably going, well, I can't do this. You probably can't. Neither can I. But I know who can. His name is King Jesus. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, He's living in you. He's given you the vision. He's gifted you with His Spirit; the glory of God is upon you.
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You can do this because of His work. This is Pastor Derwin Gray. I want you to marinate on that. And when the church is transformed, the world will be transformed.
Dr. Derwin L. Gray 0:17:54
Thanks for listening to today's episode of Transforming the Church. If you found this episode helpful or encouraging, please subscribe. Leave us a review and share this with someone in your life. For more resources, head to transformationchurch.tc/podcast.