Vision and the “SpringHill Way of Life” Part II

After sharing with staff the need for vision in our lives, to become all that God created and intended them to be in Christ, much like my daughter Christina has done in desiring to become a professional ballerina, I shared with them the need to live their lives in such a way that leads to fulfillment on their vision.  To have a “way of life” as my daughter does living  a ballerina’s life.

In an effort to help our staff see what a Christian “way of life” looks like we create what we are calling the “SpringHill Way of Life.”   We asked all our staff to commit to this “way of life” this summer with the hopes that it will lay a foundation of living for the rest of their lives.

The “SpringHill Way of Life” is a simple summary reflecting classic Christian spiritual practices and commitments historically called a “way of life”.  A commitment to a “Way of life” is usually made by either individuals or a group of people in an effort to achieve certain spiritual goals.  A defined “way of life” provides guidance, accountability and encouragement for individuals and groups of people who wanted to grow in their relationship with Christ and make a difference in the world.

There are two components to the SpringHill Way of Life.  The first component is the engaging in the spiritual practices that help develop us in to “righteous living people”.  These practices  are really general categories of practices  and are to be tailored to each person based on who they are, how God created them and where they are in their lives.

The second is the “righteous living” component. We call it “righteous” because being righteous is to be right with God, reflecting the reality of Christ in us through how we think, work, live, love and serve.  It’s the difference we make in the world.  This is what our life looks like to others – what they see in us.

We have captured all of this in an acronym called VISION which stands for:

Voice- seeking to hear God’s voice and see His revelation in Scripture, in the spiritual community and through creation.  II Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17,

Intercession- making prayer a regular part of our daily lives. Proverbs 15:8, Philippians 4:6, James 5:15

Sabbath- taking daily, weekly and annual breaks from our work and regular life to reflect on Christ and our relationship to him. Exodus 20:8, Deuteronomy 5:12,

Intimate- living and serving in an intimate spiritual community. Acts 5:12, I Peter 2:17, Colossians 2:2-3,

Others- serving others, making a difference in the lives of others, answering the call on our lives to be the “salt and light of the world”. Hosea 6:6, Isaiah 1:17

New creation- living holy lives as people who are new creations in Christ. I Peter 1:14-16, Romans 12:1, II Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 5:17-21

The first four are the spiritual practices component of the SpringHill Way of Life and the second two are the “righteous living” component.  Together, these six commitments reflect our VISION for our lives this summer and for the pattern we want to have for rest of our lives so we can become all that God created and intended us to be in Christ.

Imagine the impact on the 14,000 campers this summer (and ultimately their impact on the world) when 800 summer and professional staff and volunteers commit themselves to this vision and this way of life?  Now that’s a photo for my blog.