Visionary ideas in ministry has been the hallmark of centuries of Christian service. Someone comes up with a visionary concept to expand and develop mission and it flows and works due to one human response.
People follow the vision.
They take hold of a vision and run with it. They become part of the vision – they take ownership of the vision.
The leaders of visionary ideas instinctively comprehend that for any visionary idea to work - it needs to be win-win for those who engage in the vision.
Christian History reveals this time and time – yes, I enjoy history – I won First Class Honours in Christian History in seminary and won the Morling Christian History Prize. In my two doctorates over the following 14 years my philosophy was from church history illustrations.
This is a truth – any Christian historian could spend the next 24 months itemising each and every visionary idea down the centuries whereby Christian people followed a visionary idea and people followed the idea and saw astonishing Christian outcomes.
“decades of achievement”
Mr Basil Sellers AM for my 70th birthday on 5 November sent this: “ …. you can look back now at decades of achievement. Well done”.
That sentence was worth pondering as my ministry has seen a number of visions for youth and subsequently exponentially witnessed wonderful Christian outcomes.
In 1982 I founded the Sports and Leisure Ministry – placing chaplains in professional sport and developing a network of Christian elite athletes. I served as the Australian Cricket Team chaplain for 17 years to 2000. In 1992 Basil Sellers House was officially opened – the AIS elite athlete respite facility in Moruya, NSW
2003 the Basil Sellers Art Centre was opened in Moruya along with a $10,000 art prize. Meanwhile I established Life After Cricket for 18 years from 2000. That same year Well-Being Australian Inc initiated. .
We relocated in December 2005 to Tweed Heads providing AIS Respite to SE Qld Sport Units and in 2008 established the young writer program with Christian Today. This involved international conferences: Aust / Kiwis/ Internationals with Basil Sellers Awards - annual
In 2000 Kevan Gosper IOC Vice President sent me to the IOC is Lasuanne Switzerland to help develop a Transfer of Knowledge for Olympic host city Religious Services’ and in 2009 Delma and I received the Olympic Ministry Medal presented by IOC Ambassador Carl Lewis
Then in 2011 Basil Sellers Laguna Quays Respite was opened for missionaries / missions – then a 2nd at Aldinga Beach, Adelaide, a 3rd at Greens Beach, Bass Straight, TAS. I have written 25 books and a daily article for Christian Today for 14 years.
Married to Delma for 44 years and four children, all married, each has their own family. Each one of these was a vision.
Running with these vision
In each of these, others caught the vision, ran with it, took ownership of it and became active participants. My role became expansional-directional for the mission projects, others came on board and took them further.
As a faith financed mission we have lived this way raising the funding over these 44 years. In 1998 I undertook a successful ATO Audit of the sports mission. In 2021 similarly for Well-Being Australia.
People follow visions where confidence, stability, leadership, direction, functional projects have a consistency of Christina outcomes - we have had 5 praying ladies ovee these 44 years who pray for us consistently.
The young writer program is a current illustration of this. As Isaiah says - without a vision the people perish.