Toyota Helps Shape Me

Scott Parrish adds some more insight into how automakers can help us review our shape and scope in the church. I appreciated his post on the UMC and the Big 3. This time he reflects on what he learned from Toyota.

Recently I looked at Vision statements and Toyota was the one that sticks with me. They put something out that was easy to follow and remember - and it is a quality statement as opposed to a quantity statement (which I fear the church spends too much time trying to identify and claim for its short-term life, though I do see the need for long term assessment)

As the UMC we already have a Mission Statement: "To make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

At Ojai UMC we established our Mission Statement before the additional language after "of Jesus Christ" was added to the UMC Mission Statement at the last General Conference.

Ours reads: “To make Disciples of Jesus Christ in Faith, Fellowship, Tolerance, and Spiritual Growth”

These statements then beg the question of how we want to be known. The Disciples were looked upon in a vareity of lights, just refer back to scripture. Are we out to be Judas, who seeks to push Jesus into a different kind of Messiahship, and loses his life because of it? Are we going to be Andrew, the one who goes to get his brother and friends and introduces them to Jesus? Are we going to be Matthew who is shunned by society for his role, repents and gives back what he took wrongly, and so mentors the other disciples? Are we acting as Peter, quick with an answer and comment, but still missing the point of the Gospel?

What are we going to be with our Mission Statements? Can we make it simple enough for people to remember and get moving?