Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Dreaming Like God
Just got home from a strategic preaching conference in Fairview Heights all day today...the best conference I have attended in quite some time! I'm way too tired to share any of it now (16 hour day & my rear is tired from riding!) but you will hear of it in the near future. Until then, here's something to chew on that came out of conversations during the drive there and back. Why would a church settle to be pastor dependent when it could be pastor led (providing of course the pastor is led by the Spirit)? These are two extreme opposite ends of a continuum. One leads to growth, both spiritual and numerical, while the other leads to death, both spiritual and numerical. One should be turned outward while the other has definately turned inward. One is a church and the other is a chapel...so why would a congregation choose to be pastor dependent? I am not sure one answer fits all, but it seems to be a very comfortable place to be, at least if you are not concerned with the future. I have also observed that far too many churches dwell on the past, are stuck in the present, or never dream about their future...and when they do dream, they are afraid to dream God-sized dreams. That seems sinful.
Definitely an area that we would all have to be in right relationship with God and no part of US is in our dreams. Otherwise you have a bunch of different dreams. I have seen a Pastor and church have a dream or vision for the future, they bought the ground, and the plans failed. There isn't much left of that church now, just a handful of folks and I saw the day that they had over 200 in attendance. I see our relationship with God or life in the Spirit and getting ourselves out of the way and listening to God & to one another as the way. I'm thinking of the old Dr. Pepper commercials: I'm a Dreamer, wouldn't you like to be a Dreamer too?
ReplyDeleteLess of me, more of Jesus!
ReplyDelete