What’s your dream for
the future?
That’s a question we
usually only ask children or young adults to help them plan for life after
school, focus on a career, or meet a goal. But when’s the last time we asked
that of our churches? When the last time we asked everyone from our elders to
our youth of their dreams for the community they call home? When the last time
we really dreamed big for what our church could be, instead of planning only
what it is or what we fear it might become? I’m not talking about abandoning
reality and daydreaming the impossible, although with God the possible is
pretty wide open. Rather, I simply want to ask us to have some optimism, some
hope, and some faith that the century old work of this congregation, and millenniums old work of the kingdom of God is far from over, and in fact that our
best days are yet to come.
So what are your dreams for our church, St. John’s Lutheran, or for your own congregation? What are
your dreams for your ministries, for your leaders, for your worship time, for your
building? What are your dreams for your work in your community and in the wider church?
What are your dreams for your own ministry? Trust me, whether you are 1 or 100,
you all have a ministry to do. What are your dreams for your neighbors and your
friends? What your dreams for God’s kingdom? We are told in the book of
Revelation that old men and women will dream dreams and young women and men
will have visions, but that’s not just for the end times, it’s for today as
well. We as a church need to dream, because it’s part of our calling and
because a church that does not dream is already dying.
So let me ask you again. What is your dream for the future?
I’d love to hear it sometime over coffee or lunch or in my office. For my part,
I’m taking the next few months to share my dreams for this church, in St. John's newsletter and on this blog. Some of those dreams will seem very easy. Some of them may cause you
to wonder what I put in my coffee when I write. However, as a pastor, I am
called to dream big even if in the end that dream is impossible. Dreams after
all are not a list of demands, but a way of exploring what God may be calling
us to. I encourage you to share your dreams as well, with your group of
friends, in Sunday school, at worship or with your congregational leaders. Not all dreams will come
true but by envisioning our life together, I believe we can help find an
amazing future for our church, and most importantly start to see God’s plan
played out in our pews and in our lives. So dream big and God Bless
This also was my article for our church newsletter, obviously visiting in person may be hard for some reading it here :). However, if you want to share a dream in the comments, go ahead.
Comments
Post a Comment