The Threefold Cord of Development
In the last post, I laid a foundation to emphasize principle aspects of developing vision. That vision, obtained at the heights of the mountain, must be brought into the valley where life is lived. One of the greatest failures of attempted visionaries is the attempt to cast vision from the tops of mountains. Why? Because nobody lives on the mountain. Flags are planted on mountains, but tents are pitched in the valley. One of the most significant examples in Scripture that captures this top-down approach to vision development is found in the narrative of Moses and the Tabernacle. There are three primary elements revealed in this narrative that will translate to success if present in a local church! I call this the “Threefold Cord of Development.”
Cord #1: The Visionary
Seldom has anyone considered the tremendous responsibility given to Moses while he stood in communion with God at the top of Mount Sinai. Consider with me the obstacles of Moses. First, Moses had to somehow transition the vision he received vertically (mountain) to the horizontal (valley). Second, somehow he had to take what no one in the valley had seen or heard and compress it into a vision the people would understand and promote. Every leader reading this recognizes what a challenge this can be. Secondly, Moses had to convince the people to join together in a unified effort to build the Tabernacle. While this may not seem difficult at first glance, one must remember that Moses’ congregation was one of the most negative, rebellious, and discontent groups of the entire Old Testament narrative! Thirdly, and this takes the proverbial cake, God not only sought an offering from the people, but He demanded that the people must have a genuine desire to give freely (Exodus 24:1). Consider with me the ramifications of this! God wasn’t going to accept an offering of obligation. In other words, God refused to allow His vision to be built upon compulsory and begrudging givers. Every leader reading this should grasp the enormity of Moses’ task! How many offerings have you seen turned away today because people felt “obligated” to give? Exactly! However, Moses casts the vision, and the people give exactly the way God had desired, so much so, Moses is forced to tell the people, “enough!” How does this happen?
First, it is important to recognize that vision without a clear and easily posited purpose is destined for confusion and noncommittal response. Clarified purpose in vision is crucial because purpose always drives design. In turn, this drives commitment to a vision. When the Wright Brother’s set out to design a flying machine, they did not draft blueprints for something meant to traverse underwater. Their underlying purpose drove their design; they wanted to fly! Because of this, their designs were driven to facilitate that specific purpose. People are willing to invest in something that has purpose! This very thing motivated the Israelites to respond the way they did when Moses (the visionary) presented the vertical vision on a horizontal level.
God never gave Moses the blueprint for the Tabernacle without an intended purpose. In the case of the Tabernacle, the intended purpose was that God would “dwell in the midst of His people.” Obviously, seeing the people’s activity in designing the golden calf, they desired a “God in the middle.” This purpose (God’s dwelling) was enough to motivate the people to buy into a vision they themselves had not heard or seen. Thus, the abstract vision that Moses had received at the top of the mountain became a recognized reality for the people because it tugged at a deep longing within their hearts.
This is seen again in the events of Nehemiah as he stood before the people and declared, “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach” (Nehemiah 2:17). As a visionary, Nehemiah put his finger on the pulse of the people and offered them a purpose to rebuild. Thus, Nehemiah tied two things together: 1) the hand of God was involved in the action of rebuilding and, 2) rebuilding would put a stop to the reproach they were living under. Instantly, due to a visionary that articulated a clear purpose, the people declared, “Let us rise up and build” (Nehemiah 2:18). In both instances of Moses and Nehemiah, vision grabbed the people’s hearts and stimulated internal desire, which motivated them to action. They saw the extreme benefit of what the visionary was asking, and, in turn, they were willing to give their time, treasure, and talent. Therefore, vision must have a visionary! It must have one that can articulate the possibilities of things caught at the heights of spiritual mountains. One that can unify, motivate, and inspire a group of people to invest in grand designs of spiritual origin! This is the first element vision must have; a visionary.
Cord #2: Vision Crafters
It is essential to understand that a visionary leader is only as good as the team that assists in developing the vision. For a church, this is true among the departmental heads and figures of the church. God understood the dynamics of having men who could articulate the Divine blueprint by means of anointed craftsmanship. It was one thing to give Moses the design but another to raise up men who could bring about the abstract vision into the present world of concrete reality. Bezaleel and Aholiab were such men. They were men that God filled with the “spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (Exodus 3:3). They were given insight and spiritual direction to “devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship…. that they may make all that I have commanded thee.” (Exodus 3:4-5). The word “make” means “fashion, shape, or squeeze.” It is a creative word (cf. Genesis 1:26; 2:18) that implies the action of bringing “thought” into tangible existence. Just as God fashioned man according to His own image, these men would fashion a Tabernacle after the pattern God had delivered to Moses. Therefore, every visionary must have spiritual, key figures that are anointed with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to devise “cunning works.”
The Hebrew word for “cunning works” is used 56 times in the Old Testament, primarily as a word that connects to the idea of “thought.” Ultimately, when used in the context of fabrication, it signaled the ability of the workman to fabricate from imagination. Steven Covey once wrote that “all things are created twice.” First, there is the mental creation, the mental blueprint of design. Second, there is the physical creation where the mental becomes the physical. Moses had men, led by the Spirit of God, that could bring the vision from mental thought to concrete reality. A visionary must have men and women that are plugged into the spiritual current of Divine vision. Nothing can replace God-anointed individuals who support and establish the visions cast by a visionary. Nothing can replace men and women who, down to the smallest detail, fabricate the Divine purposes of God within a local assembly. This is one of the most crucial ministries in a church today. A visionary must have individuals that he can trust to get the job done without strife, deviation from the specifics of the blueprint, or personal ambitions of glory. I have preached across the nation that we need a revival of vision-crafters! We need men and women that will get into a place of prayer and “anticipate” the direction of the visionary! A visionary must have vision-crafters!
Cord #3: The Congregation
This leads us to the third and often overlooked element of vision development; the congregation. A visionary that casts vision and vision-crafters that bring vision into concrete reality are impotent without the congregation! Usually, when consulting the commandments of the Tabernacle, we fail to realize the importance of congregational support! Moses cast the vision, and vision-crafters were present among the people to build, but the congregation was needed to provide the materials to bring the Divine blueprint into reality! However, the congregation needs to understand their crucial, needed place within the threefold cord of development! Nothing arrests development more than a disconnected congregation! When God set about to implement the Tabernacle’s construction, He recognized that the foundation of success rested on congregational support! The materials that the vision-crafters would need to design the pattern cast by the visionary were in the congregation’s hands! This is how God develops vision! However, and this is crucial, purpose always comes with provision! Let me explain.
When God asked the Israelites for the materials to build the Tabernacle, He wasn’t asking for what He hadn’t already provided them. So, where did the Israelites get the gold, silver, and materials? In fact, where did they get so much of the materials that Moses had to turn away their offerings? The answer is found in Egypt.
Exodus 3:21-22
21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
When you begin to trace out the materials given to support the Tabernacle building, you realize that God had made provision for every facet of the design. God had ensured that everyone would have something to give toward the construction of the Tabernacle. The men, as Scripture reveals, above a certain age, gave a half-shekel of silver for ransom. That combined half-shekel of ransom served to cast the foundation sockets of the Tabernacle. The women and children, well, they carried on themselves the gold, silver, jewels, and raiment they had taken from Egypt. However, all provision comes with an assignment. God provided, but He had an intended purpose for the provision! Sadly, when you look at the events of the Golden Calf, God’s provision was assigned to a purpose that God had not designed. As a result, the golden earrings in the women, sons, and daughters’ ears were broken off and cast into the forge of idolatry. Anything that is used outside and apart from the intended purpose is called abuse!
The vision-crafters were assigned talents and abilities for the intended purpose of building the Tabernacle. The congregation was given provision for the intended purpose of supplying the materials the vision-crafters needed to build the Tabernacle. I have taught this concept throughout my travels, and the one question I have asked is, “how many Golden Calves are we building?” In other words, are we being stewards of God’s provision and using provision as God intends? After receiving a monetary blessing, a job with more free time, or a myriad of other blessings, when is the last time we got down in prayer and asked God, “is there an intended purpose for these blessings?” In other words, maybe these blessings aren’t strictly for my own pleasure or enjoyment. Perhaps you are giving me more time to accomplish something you need done at the church? Perhaps you blessed me with this substantial bonus because you need me to help buy a church van?
Unity of Purpose
I have said many times, and I will repeat it: “God has the cattle on a thousand hills, but He often asks me for my cow!” Why? Within the threefold cord of development, the economy of God involves the active participation of every member within! The visionary, the vision-crafters, and the congregation must act as a unified unit! Suppose these three things can operate according to their intended purpose, and the time, treasure, and talents God has provided are appropriately assigned. In that case, you have the resulting visitation of God’s manifested glory. As Moses stepped out of the Tabernacle door, built by the vision-crafters and provided for by the congregation, the glory of God fell. The threefold cord of development effectively moved God from the mountain and into the middle.
About Timothy Hadden
Timothy Hadden is happily married and the father of three young children. He has traveled extensively, both in the United States and Internationally, as a sought-after Apostolic evangelist. Many of his revivals, often spanning several months, focused on creating a spiritual environment that promoted a profound move of God, thus enabling a spirit of revelation that further developed existing local ministries and empowered local church congregations to a greater dimension of Apostolic understanding and authority. The effects of these revivals are still being witnessed throughout many church congregations nationwide. Having felt the call of God to leave the evangelistic field, he and his family have relocated to the Portland, Oregon Metropolis, where they are developing a church plant called Antioch Northwest. Already, They are seeing unprecedented signs and miracles in one of the least churched cities in the Northwest. He curates an excellent blog called Search of Kings (searchofkings.com). In addition, he has authored a much-needed apostolic exegetical commentary on Exodus (Exodus: A Literary Commentary on the Book of Exodus).
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