An Old Dream

Last night I was reminded of an old dream. A dream that once was fresh and vivid and invigorating, but which I thought was long dead.

It was a dream of the local church being a place where people, all sorts of people, were encouraged and enabled to develop their own unique gifts and callings, and then released to be significant players in the Kingdom of God. Some staying with the local church, others moving on to other churches (established or being re-established), and still others participating in the establishment of new churches; but all reflecting the call and gifting of God discovered and developed here.

In a sense, this dream saw the local church as something analogous to a seminary, but operating in an experiential and experimental mode rather than an academic one. But like a seminary, it would periodically spin off a graduating class that would move out together to new challenges to which God called them. Places to grow, places to develop, places to lead, places to dream would always be available, because there would always be new places out there for some to graduate to, leaving ample places behind for others to step into. Growth in such a church would be measured primarily by how many people the church could send out into the Kingdom rather than by how many it drew in (although that activity would certainly be occuring too).

I remember how wonderful that dream felt, and how awe-inspiring it was. And indeed it feels again now, recalling it.

I also remember trying to share that dream with others, and how difficult it was when few, if any, seemed to catch any of the invigoration that I felt. Indeed, once Doug left, it seemed that no one else shared the dream in any real sense. Oh, to be sure, there were those who spoke well of the idea, but only as something we might someday consider when we were twice the size. But we really weren't big enough for such a model. So for the time being, the only dream that seemed to gather any interest was the purely mathematical dream of getting bigger.

And so the dream died. {And ironically, our church did not grow, but rather has lost as many people or more as it ever would have in spinning off graduating classes to span new local congregations.}

Odd that I should be reminded of this old dream again now. Is this memory just a bit of nostalgia brought on by a chance mental connection? Or might it perhaps have something to do with discerning God's direction on our life now, at this juncture? I wonder.