I am an optometrist’s worst nightmare. Having worn contact lenses since my early teen years, I’m familiar with eye charts, air puffs, and dilated pupils. I don’t mind those tests, nor do my results give eye doctors fits.
By Marcus Yoars, Charisma Magazine
No, optometrists hate me because I’m cheap. In an effort to save money, I stretch the life of a set of disposable lenses far past the standard of healthy vision. In my eyes (figuratively and literally), a pair intended to be worn for two weeks can last anywhere from three to six months with plenty of TLC and daily cleansing.
That logic doesn’t cut it with the docs – and for good reason. The longer I go without replenishing my lenses, the more risk I run of damaging my eyes. To maintain healthy vision, I regularly need fresh lenses.
Today’s church must understand a similar principle. Cultures continue to change at light-speed, and the church throughout the world faces both obstacles and opportunities that make possessing divine sight imperative to kingdom success. To discern the times, we must rely on a “fresh lens” from the Holy Spirit to give us 20/20 vision.
Given that—and the fact that the Spirit speaks through every part of the body of Christ – Charisma decided to ask 20 church leaders from around the world a single vision-oriented question: What will life be like for the church in 2020? We didn’t ask to get a series of cheap “prophetic predictions”; with all the drastic changes, we believe it’s crucial the church knows where we’re headed and what we’ll be facing in the next 10 years. And in light of the remarkably unified, cohesive answers presented in the next few pages, I think you’ll agree.