What greeted Nehemiah when he got to Jerusalem was probably something like this picture. Imagine, he had no idea what to expect. The size of the job that lay before him was immense. The circumference of the wall around the city was two and a half miles, the average height of the wall was 39 feet (the height of a four story building), and the average thickness of the wall was 8.2 feet (enough for three men to walk side-by-side). The wall contained 34 watchtowers and seven main gates.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Nehemiah didn’t have anybody waiting for him when he got to Jerusalem. He didn’t know if they even wanted to rebuild the city. He was so unsure of the people’s support that he waited for the cover of darkness to inspect the damage. “I had not yet spoken to the Jewish leaders — the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration” (Nehemiah 2:16).

And the situation that concerned him more than the condition of the wall, was the condition of the hearts of the people. Is there anyone who is going to capture the vision to rebuild? He had spent the whole night walking the wall strewn with rubble. The task is huge — seemingly impossible. And yet God had already done the impossible by moving the heart of the king to let him go and delivered him safely back to Jerusalem. If God had given him the vision, then he would give it to whomever else he would need to complete the task.

It’s the same thing here at the Catch where the vision is to introduce the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward — to Everyone, Everywhere. Really? Everyone? Everywhere? That’s impossible. Sound like it’s beyond our reach? Of course. Like Nehemiah that’s the beginning of capturing the vision.

For a good discussion on Grace Turned Outward and how important a message it is for today, listen to our interview with Dave Horner, Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Talbot School of Theology on BlogTalkRadio.