Jesus Sized Dreams
In January of 2023, I did a sermon series called “Dare to Dream” where I reflected on how far we had come as a congregation and how it was time to dream about the next 45 years. We celebrated survival when so many churches and pastors didn’t make it through the pandemic. I challenged you to share your Jesus sized dreams with me. I went back and read these sermons last night thinking about the difference between a programing idea and a Jesus sized dream.
1) Jesus sized dreams do not just benefit us but also benefit the community.
2) Jesus sized dreams require faith and listening for where God is leading.
3) Jesus sized dreams take us out of our comfort zone and require some risk.
I can think of lots of things that we could do that would benefit our congregation. We could add on to the building so the Kid’s Connect area could have their own space. That is a great idea, but it isn’t a Jesus sized dream. We could build a carport to protect the church vans from the elements. Another great idea but not a Jesus sized dream. We could get an elevator since all our rooms are overflowing with people on Sunday morning and we have six rooms that aren’t being used upstairs. What a wonderful problem to have! Another great idea but not a Jesus sized dream. The reality is that the only time that we are hurting for space is on Sunday morning.
One of the questions that we ask on our Values sheet is, do our priorities align with God’s priorities? When I asked our leadership in 2023 to list dreams for the future of our congregation, three of the responses indicated a dream for more churches like Faith. I was shocked by this response but it reminded me that we had that dream many years ago when we had set a goal to plant another church in the next five years. The pastor at the time set the goal but wasn’t able lead the church in that direction. I left this congregation because I was sent to plant a new church and he did not want to support me in that. Now here we are full circle and I have to ask myself, am I afraid to have Jesus sized dreams too?
I have been praying about this fervently for the last ninety days. Where is God leading? Do I have the capacity to do this again? Is my faith big enough to take the risk? The reality is that I can not do it. If we are going to dream big Jesus sized dreams that align with the priorities of God, we are all going to have to do it together. We are all going to have to live in faith rather than fear.
What has happened in the last ninety days? Six households from Bixby have stepped up and said that they want to start a United Methodist church. April Sellers White (a member of Faith) who was preaching at the new church start in Owasso has been replaced in Owasso with a newly appointed ordained clergy person and she has started meeting with the Bixby families to dream about a new church. Adam Hamilton (yes, that Adam Hamilton who pastors the largest UMC church in our country) came out of the Bixby church and has offered his staff expertise and his marketing resources to advertise a new church in Bixby.
This Sunday we decide. At noon in the Chapel, our leadership team will conduct a Town Hall Meeting and we have to decide if this Jesus sized dream is really for us. I hope to see you there.
love,
