Last Saturday, I attended the Martin Luther King Scholarship Breakfast. Something was said that has really resonated with me. So, I am passing it on to see if it strikes any of you.
One of the speakers referred to MLK as having a "God-given" dream. She went on to state her belief that we all have God-given dreams.
I, too, believe in God-given dreams. I am constantly dreaming about our congregation. Most every experience I have, whether it be business or church related, I think of Sunshine. I note things going well, things going not-so-well, strengths, weakness, on and on. Over time, I have come to realize that my true passion is the congregation. Every good thing I come across, my first thought is 'How can this help the congregation?' Likewise, the failures of the congregation bother me personally, even if the particular situation has nothing specifically to do with me.
Factoring out pride and ego-centrism (which I confess is a continual need), I believe the origin of my dreams are from God. I think that it is right to put to the focus on the family of faith. I think the Sunshine congregation is a good place to pour out time and energy. The trick is not letting glorification of self mix with a pure desire to see the work of Christ accomplished right here at home- where you and I live.
Really, that is the dream! To see the work of Christ ongoing in the Sunshine family. To see the community reached, because that the logical outgrowth of the work of Christ being accomplished among us. To see CHANGE! I want to see people overcome the world, to find love and express love in ways and to degrees that could only be accounted for by God's power.
It's really best expressed, "Your kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven."
What are your dreams for the Sunshine congregation?
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
God-given dreams
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Jason, I have been thinking somewhat in the same direction. But my problem and this is my problem is that i have been focusing on what the church is doing wrong. This is kind of a kick in the seat of my pants to quite thinking in those terms and instead think of what we can do to build a better congregation and ultimately a better relationship with God. I would like to see our church reach out to other churches that have great programs and maybe work with them, instead of starting our own. Does that make any sense? That would be a start for me. I see other churches with some really good programs that i am interested in and would like to get involved but hold back because of what our church might think. Okay so that is what is going on in my brain. Hope it doesn't scare anyone. Candi
I normally do not leave comments, but I cannot get Jason's question out of my mind. I feel like I should share my thoughts...so here goes...
My dream for Sunshine is that we become more powerful and effective. James says, "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). I see a lot of our ideas disreguarded because we think they are too big, too much, and too expensive. We are forgetting that NOTHING is impossible with God!! My dream for Sunshine is that we build a new facility. I could list the reasons, but that isn't the point. I have heard comments such as, "How are we going to pay for this?" and "Do we really need it?"
Let's call these questions and comments what they are-DOUBTS. Jesus said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matt. 17:20). I want to encourage Sunshine to not forget who we serve. God is awesome and if He wants something done it will be done.
Shortly after Dallas Theological Seminary was founded in 1924, the school came to the point of bankruptcy. It creditors had banded together and threatened to forclose at noon on a particular day. That morning, the founders of the school met in the president's office to pray that God will provide. In the meeting when it came time for Harry Ironside to pray. He prayed, "Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are Thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money." While they were praying, a Texas cattleman came into the business office and said, "I just sold two carloads of cattle in Fort Worth. I've been trying to make a business deal go through, and it won't work, and I feel that God is compelling me to give this money to the seminary. I don't know if you need it or not, but here's the check." The secretary went to the door where they were praying and Dr. Lewis Chafer responded, took the check out of her hand, and saw that it was for the exact amount of the school's debt. He then looked at Dr. Ironside and said, "Harry, God sold the cattle!"
We need to stop thinking small and wordly. Remember we are not of this world.
Kristin
AMEN!!!!!
Jennifer
Jason,
I’m not surprised to realize that God has given us pretty much the exact same dream. I know this may be a bit scary for you, but I share your feelings for Sunshine. And the passion you speak of is something God has given me – a passion that’s been burning for more than a few years now. I love our God, his family – Sunshine to be specific – and watching us grow, wrestle, struggle, and overcome IN HIM.
As I read your post, I felt as if I had written it myself – as if it came from my own heart. I’m not trying to steal your “thunder,” I’m just saying how well I can identify with you here. I know that your dreams for Sunshine don’t stop here and neither do mine, and maybe that’s where our dreams would take different paths – but who knows, maybe they would still be identical… God has done greater things.
My greatest dreams for Sunshine are…
1. That God would truly be honored, exalted and first in our lives individually – and as a church family.
2. That we would really come to Know Him, have a faith that’s pleasing to him, and experience the power he wants to exert in our lives.
3. That he would lead us to love one another the way he desires us to.
4. That we would allow him to bless us with unity – Real Unity!
I have other dreams for Sunshine – dreams of ministries, fellowship and activities that I believe would be great for us. But the dreams I’ve listed are my greatest dreams for us… and I’m praying God grants my requests.
I appreciate the comments. I apologize for a slow response.
Candi expressed a couple of things that I think are very important.
First, focusing on what is good and working well instead of the negative. Certainly, we do not want to ignore problems, but much more gains can be made by building upon and supporting the good that is already happening.
Second, I agree that we should look for ways to work with others. There is never a need to "reinvent the wheel". So much can be learned from others. By others, I mean other CofC's across the country and also other congregations within our community (not necessarily CofC).
We must be willing to acknowledge that our anxiety about working outside of our own shelter is not from God.
We must overcome anxiety in striving for unity due to two reasons: One- we can be so much more effective; and two- Jesus expects it (see His prayer for all believers in John 17:20-26).
Jason,
Patrick Mead talks about working with other churches on his latest blog at patrickmead.net. Check it out here: http://patrickmead.net/?p=247#comments
If that link doesn't work try going to www.patrickmead.net and read "Holding Hands".
Thanks for the link. I read Patrick's post and the comments. It is very good stuff. I certainly agree with his impetus.
I recommend it to all!
Tip: cut and paste the link from the first anonymous comment, it should work.
Post a Comment