Matthew 6:9-10
Chapters 1-3 in Dream Like Jesus, by Rebekah Simon-Peter
One of my favorite songs by John Lennon is Imagine, and there’s one line in particular that resonates with me. It’s the one that says, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” I AM a dreamer. I dream dreams, for myself, for the church, for the world. I can’t help it. That’s just a part of who I am. I look at the way things are, and I hope for more, for better, for best. I see possibilities and opportunities and I want to take all of them and make them real. Perhaps that’s one reason I am so attracted to Jesus.
Jesus was also a dreamer. He dreamed of a world that was better than what he saw around him. A world where the meek would inherit the earth, where the poor would be blessed, where those who were grieving would find comfort. He dreamed of a world where people would not only love their friends and neighbors, but even their enemies. And, according to Rebekah Simon-Peter, Jesus’s biggest dream was expressed in The Lord’s Prayer, when he prayed, “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That one sentence shaped his entire ministry. Jesus had a vision of an earth that looked like heaven: an earth that was filled with light and love, beauty and bounty, humor and harmony, acceptance and forgiveness, creativity and magnificence, unity and inclusion, joy and justice, peace and plenty.
As Jesus brought his dream into reality, he demonstrated the power of having a vision. A vision, in itself, changes reality, because it allows you to see that something else is possible. It helps you to transform the current circumstances as you create new structures, make use of new resources, and attract new people. As Rebekah says, “A powerful vision speaks new possibilities into being.” And Jesus’s dream resulted in miracles. Jesus didn’t keep this powerful vision to himself. He taught his disciples how to use the same visionary power and sent them out to do the same things he had done. They also were able to do miracles. And that pattern has occurred over and over again in Christian history, as Christians in every generation have witnessed “the generative power of Jesus’s big dream.”
Over the centuries, the church has done miraculous things. And the Methodists have been some of the miracle-workers. John Wesley was instrumental in advocating for the abolition of the slave trade, providing education for poor children, publishing a health guide for treating illnesses and injuries, visiting prisoners and even accompanying them to their executions. Methodists have built universities and hospitals and nursing homes. We have been at the forefront in social issues, including temperance, gambling, child labor, the civil rights movement, and others. But somewhere along the way, it seems like we lost our vision and lost our voice. And our churches began to lose members, money, and influence in their communities.
Many, if not most, mainline churches have been in decline for the last 50 years, and church membership and attendance have dropped significantly in the past 20 years. And Rebekah Simon-Peter says that the church is in decline because it has stopped dreaming like Jesus; “or maybe it hasn’t dared to try.” Instead of dreaming big Jesus-like dreams, the church has gotten into a survival mentality. Churches are holding on to their resources, afraid to risk anything because the church might close. And they look at the symptoms of their problem – the lack of vision – as if the symptoms WERE the problem. Let’s look at 8 symptoms of a church without a vision.
First, there are shrinking numbers. Worship attendance goes down; there are more deaths than there are baptisms or professions of faith. The number of people who participate in Bible study classes drops. The number of ministries and the number of people served by them shrink. And the numbers we report on our year-end statistical reports to the Annual Conference go down every year. In particular, we have lost young adults, those under the age of 40.
Second, there is an increase of problem people. Rebekah writes, “As a congregation’s ranks thin out, the rate and depth of conflicts increase. The loyal remnant … tend to be territorial, wielding a firm grip on day-to-day operations. All the while reminding others of how things used to be or how they are done now.” I have heard it said in other contexts that the seven last words of a dying church are, “We never did it that way before.” These “problem people” resist any change and are suspicious of any new ideas, especially if they seem risky or cost money. They want to conserve resources no matter what.
Third, there is stagnant giving. People give in order to keep the church in existence. And likely, giving is concentrated in the hands of a few people. As the base of givers shrinks, pastors and other church leaders become more cautious; they don’t want to offend these donors because they are afraid they will leave the church and take their money with them. But the problem is, when you aren’t leading with a vision, people aren’t inspired to give generously. They feel that there is a lack of money, regardless of the size of the budget. So all talk of money involves fear and stress, not excitement and possibility. The church operates out of a sense of scarcity, instead of sensing the abundance of God.
Fourth, there is listless worship. There is no momentum because worship is not connected to any larger purpose when there is no vision. When there is a vision for the church, worship becomes the energy and lifeblood for a thriving church which is dreaming like Jesus.
Fifth, there is gutless prayer. When there is a lack of vision in a church, there are usually three main concerns repeated over and over in prayers: health, travel, and the military. This shows a very limited focus and a limiting perspective. These concerns, while not invalid, are mostly concerned with personal life, not societal concerns or the community. There is a lack of imagination; after all, prayer is a powerful thing, and they don’t tap into that power to bring about new possibilities and new realities. They are not asking as much as God is willing to offer; their prayers are not big enough or courageous enough.
Sixth, where there is no vision, the church tends to practice bait and switch evangelism. What Rebekah Simon-Peter means by this is that the church’s evangelism campaigns “are poorly disguised attempts to get young people involved again so that they shoulder the church financially, or even take over leadership.” I saw that clearly in my church in Warwick, Rhode Island. The church leaders were firmly in survival mode and were particularly concerned about the finances. They spoke about getting people into the church in order to get more money into the church. But the point of bringing people into the church – and into relationship with Jesus – is because of what the church can do for them, not for what they can do for the church. And when we focus on recruiting new, younger members solely for their financial donations, we are thinking way too small. Pastor Jeremy Smith states, “The church thinks that the young people will save the church, but actually the young people want to save the world. If we can show them that the young people can save the world through the church, then young people will gladly be a part of the church.” We do that by having a vision for the church.
Seventh, there is an insulated focus. The church no longer has an outward focus but is only focused on itself. There is no concern for the community, other than to offer emergency financial or food assistance. When a church has no vision, when it is in survival mode, it is only concerned about its own needs. It has lost sight of its mission to serve the needs of the community around it.
And eighth, a symptom of a church that has no vision is dead-end decision making. What Rebekah means by that is that a church with no vision tends to make decisions that are safe, that have everyone’s support, and that are certain to be fulfilled. She writes, “A Jesus-like dream demands a certain sense of adventure … It requires seeing if the water will actually support you as you step out of the boat. It needs people who are willing to move a decision forward without having every eventuality covered first.” In other words, it means making decisions based on faith, trusting that God will provide what is needed to do what God calls a church to do. Too often, as she says, “caution elbows faith out of the way” and “only safe ministries that are sure to work are considered.” But a Jesus-like dream means stepping out in faith where you can’t see how the dream will come true.
Do you recognize any of these symptoms in our church? Have there been efforts over the years to treat the symptoms, to try and cure the disease? Maybe membership drives or contacting inactive members to see if they would come back. Perhaps fundraising campaigns or pledge drives. Or starting a contemporary service or using praise bands to try to draw in the young people. And maybe they got results, at least for a while. But these treatments will not solve the bigger problem: the church needs to have a vision, a clear sense of who it is and what it is doing. It needs to have a Jesus-like dream for itself and its community. Something to strive towards. Something that gives it energy and purpose and meaning.
As we work through Rebekah Simon-Peter’s book, and as we consider its concepts at our (Visioning Board, Church Council, Vision Team and Administrative Council), we will be challenged to dream big dreams and to create a vision for our church. We will discover how to get all of the church members in alignment with that dream. We will learn how to make that dream become a reality. We will learn to expand that dream. And we will be encouraged to foster new dreams. And in all of it, we will be deepening our faith as we begin to believe that we can bring the impossible to life. Miracles happen. And miracles can happen here, when we dream like Jesus.
