The Audacity of Dreams
June 15, 2007 |
Dreams are powerful things. They help propel us forward in life. They are the aspirations of our hearts, and we hope, the framework of the extraordinary. For better or worse, what we think and what we dream tends to materialize. “As a person thinks in the heart, so a person becomes” (Proverbs 23:7).
The best dreams call us to our higher selves, participating creatively in the things and plans of God. Good dreams reflect a Philippians 4:8 orientation: “Brothers and sisters, think about things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.”
Dreams that are “worthy of praise”—dreams of the Spirit—come to us from many places: our family of faith; a worship experience; deep prayer and meditation. Yet, some of the best dreams come to us from simply living on the planet and being present to what’s going on around us. These are the yearnings for loftier ways of living, refracted through what’s best in our culture, filtered through leaders we respect, and revealed in the everyday interactions with the issues and people around us.
Can we as Christians dream dreams along with those who do not acknowledge Christ as savior? That is a crucial question as the Church struggles to provide real hope to a world where hope is now being provided elsewhere: Those outside of the community of faith who are working diligently on issues that matter, on a higher vision of what humans can be together. Those working to alleviate the devastation of AIDS in Africa, who are combining forces to steward the planet’s dwindling resources. Those who are making the necessary sacrifices to reverse climate change.
Recently, I was part of a panel at a conference. Part of our session’s goal was to address what seems to be an increasing myopia within evangelicalism. One of the observations that surfaced concerned the narrow vision surrounding morality within evangelicalism, i.e., what is moral in the conservative church so often revolves around sexual practice. Why? Are not justice, poverty, disease, hunger, and planet degradation also moral issues? If so, does our silence and lack of engagement on these issues belie a dearth of dreams? We may wish the Philippians 4 passage only applied to our favorite behaviors and issues. Or, we may wish we could retreat into the safety of the abstract (holiness divorced from action). But that is hypocritical faith. It is what Jesus confronted in the Pharisees. A white-washed-tomb religion.
As leaders, our best dreams call people to live their faith in the midst the watching world. We are not called to live in denial and to stay within our comfort zones. We are not called to talk about the things of God in platitudes. In these days when people outside the Church are wanting to connect to movements and causes that actually make a difference, we must ask ourselves if our highest Christian dream is to amass personal possessions and personal happiness within a fortified subculture. If so, we are certainly making that dream come true.
Barak Obama says he borrowed the term, “audacity of hope” from a minister’s sermon. But I wonder if that minister is an anomaly. The dreams of much of conservative Christianity seem to be incredibly self-focused and small. We can do better. To dream Philippians 4 dreams as the Church is literally to be people of hope in action: to do what is necessary to usher in the reign of God—the reconciled and reconciling kingdom—in a broken world.
Sally Morgenthaler is a frequent speaker and writer, Christian educator, author of Worship Evangelismand other books, and innovator in Christian practices worldwide.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on June 15, 2007
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Comments
Sally's deep blog may have gone over my head, but one thought came to the surface --while the Israelites all wanted freedom, God only allowed one man to lead that dream forward, Moses. The rest were followers who focused on carrying the cargo and getting meals. God doesn't call us all to high levels.
Some preachers and books by same urge us to "dream big" that "God is a God of favor", and so forth. So we get big ideas - we take out that business loan - submit our articles & book for publication - run for office - apply to that higher position. And....some of us get no-where...so we go back to the puny and self-focused life.
But is focussing on our own family, God's gifts and the little comfort zone we live in puny, or is it our calling? How much do we strive to be something more and how much do we strive to live in contentment?
Posted by: Rosalie G on June 17, 2007
Recently, I was flipping through an old, dusty theology journal from the 1980's while doing research. An article was criticizing John Stott for muddying up the waters by suggesting that Christians have a dual mission of both evangelism and social justice. Conservatives felt the focus should be exclusively on evangelism. I guess not much has changed in 25 years.
The Christian community is still debating what it means to be Christians and live out the Kingdom mission. Some in the Christian community today think that diverting attention to poverty, the environment etc. detracts from the more "crucial" issues. While others react to fundamentalism and ignore certain issues altogether. It seems we are always in pendulum--going from one extreme to the other without the middle balance of both/and.
Posted by: Karen on June 18, 2007
As usual, Sally gives us something substantial to chew on. I often need to digest some of the concepts she puts forth for awhile. Occasionally, a single phrase alone will capture my attention for an extended period. In this post it's the phrase "fortified subculture". Something about that simple combo of words just challenges my whole ministry mindset. Thank you Sally....
Posted by: Cynthia on June 19, 2007
In response to Rosalie's questions...
I believe God has created each one of us with a different purpose, a different dream. Not everyone's dream will be the same size - but to each one, the dream is big. Does that make sense? What I mean is that whether or not the world sees your dream as "big" doesn't matter. What matters is that by following God's will for your life, you're doing something big.
I tend to have the audacity to dream - and dream BIG - like Sally mentions. But a friend of mine has said to me before - "There are lots of average people out there doing average jobs." To her, that's enough. And I think that if an "average" job is God's purpose for your life, then it's not really average after all.
Posted by: Mary on June 19, 2007
What's in a dream? God really talks to us in many varied ways. I just came from a birthday thanksgiving worship service with at least a dozen church members and our church workers and true enough, brother jimmy who invited us so we can join him in their family thanksgiving is a product of the Church' dream. Dreams are always visions realized in life's reality. His father dreamt for Jimmy & the rest to serve the Lord throughout the days of their life. Now that Jimmy is also a father of five, his dream is for his own children to have God as their God, too. DREAMS INSPIRED BY GOD'S SPIRIT ARE ACTUALLY VISIONS WHICH ALL OF US EMBRACE AS OUR MISSIONS. What's in a dream then? It encompasses all that God wants us to be and have. Let us all dream for His glory!
Posted by: Grace L. Santos on June 21, 2007
Early on, Sally asks an important question: "Can we as Christians dream dreams along with those who do not acknowledge Christ as savior?" I wonder if perhaps our most profound dreams (and the ones that are closest to God's heart) might not come simply and significantly BECAUSE we are choosing to live with eyes wide open to the world around us - far beyond our comfort zones and church pews. One, as Sally states, that is often being impacted in more measurable, meaningful ways by non-Christian agencies and individuals. What if, as Christians, we chose to be truly aware of, impacted by, and involved in the lives of those who experience any of the innumerable injustices occuring around us every day - Christian or not? Those that uniquely and excruciatingly impact women: sexual trafficking, prostitution, child slavery, and more? Would we not begin to dream far bigger dreams? Dreams that are on behalf of others...not ourselves? And would those dreams not be far closer to the heart of a God who, when incarnate, chose to spend his time with the same? That's an audacious dream worth pursuing. Thanks for calling us further up and deeper in, Sally.
Posted by: Ronna on June 25, 2007
Sally, thankyou for a great article! I really got a great sense of your heart through what you said, and even down here in Australia there are many women standing up ready to engage in the bigger picture. We have exciting days ahead! Thanks again.
Rachel Hanna.
Posted by: Rachel Hanna on July 6, 2007
Three years ago during morning devotions I was given a vision of a child in a bamboo cage. I knew she was from a country I had never before even thought about. (I cannot say because christian are persecuted here.) Within 6 months I gave away everything I owned, got a passport and a one-ay ticket and went there. Unsure of why but compelled to do so.
Last week a girl came to the business I manage in this emerging country and was rummaging through the trash for recycling to sell. Following my pattern, my native employees brought her in to give her food, water and rest. She was an orphan. They decided to help her. They went to her home and found her relatives in negiotations to sell her. They offered the family $10 a month to help feed her and keep her. They accepted.
Posted by: Deba on July 8, 2007