I don't know if you've noticed but Christmas is incredibly costly to those involved in it. As Mary, after her visitation by the angel, says "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me according to your word." it costs her. The first Christmas is not about Mary's dreams being fulfilled, it is about Mary's dreams dying so that she can be part of something bigger. All of Mary's dreams; of a white wedding, a joy and excitement filled lead up to her wedding to Joseph, her reputation in the community as a godly young woman, all of those die as she submits to God's word to her.
She will no longer be the godly young woman she is the teenage harlot who just couldn't wait, or who went behind Joseph's back. Those rumours would follow her into Jesus adulthood. Imagine the cost to her relationship to Joseph, he has in mind to divorce her, and takes an angelic visitation to change his mind. As Mary bursts into God honouring praise in the Magnificat it is because she has wrestled with the death of her dreams and accepted that God's promise and plan is better.
Christmas asks us whether we have wrestled with that very issue? Have my dreams died in order for me to follow Jesus? Accepting Jesus as Lord means the death of my worldly dreams in order to be involved in God's greater plan to save a lost world through the good news of his Son. And it is not a one off wrestle. Proclaiming Jesus as Lord means bowing the knee, submitting to his way not my way, daily.
All our dreams of significance, ease, wealth, achievement need to be given over to Jesus and they may well die in order for us to do what he has for us to do in pursuit of his glory. Our society calls us again and again and again to adopt and pursue its dreams. Christmas challenges us with the call that following Jesus means submitting to him, even our dreams, and echoing Mary's words "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me according to your word."
Showing posts with label dreams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dreams. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Monday, 12 January 2015
Dreaming ministry dreams for 2015
What are your dreams for 2015? (I know I'm a bit late to the new year thing, that's what holidays do for you.) I've been thinking about what our community needs, how the gospel could transform and minister to our community? What are my gospel dreams for the area God has called me to serve?
Now I have two temptations here, one is to be cynical and barely dream at all, just stick to what I can do and control. The other is to impose on a big dream my time scale, and I'm impatient and want it yesterday.
Over the last few weeks and months I've found myself dreaming about ways the gospel will transform our area. Some of these dreams are big and long term none of them we can do in and of our own strength.
1. Creating community identity
Our area is one without an identity. It used to be the RAF base and attached housing. It is currently called Auckley, though local people refer to it either as Finningley or the former RAF base, or the camp. It doesn't feel like Auckley which is a village a 10-15 minute walk away and has a totally different feel to it.
As a church one way we can serve our community is to help create a community identity. There are things we can do to facilitate this, and we will be doing some of those - trying to get the council to carry out a Community Governance Review and rename the area Hayfield and maybe have our own Parish Council to serve the community. Involving people from the community in serving and making decisions for the community they live in. But we can't create community, we can try to facilitate it, but we need God to work to create community through the gospel. By creating in our church family a heart that longs to serve not its own needs but the needs of the community we are called to serve.
2. Meeting community needs
This is an area with real needs, and we by God's grace and love in the hearts of the church family are meeting those needs. My dream for this year is that that ministry is multiplied, that more and more grace flows outwards over the boundaries of the church into the hearts and lives of the broken and needy who are loved and see Jesus lived out.
The big dream is that we as a church can meet community needs. there is no place to go, no neutral space. No pub, no community centre or building. We've been in contact with some organisations about facilitating the running of such a building, but there has been as of yet no response. Only God can make that happen. My big dream would be that God provides so that we could have a community use building that is more than just a building. That contains a space where we can run toddlers and coffee mornings. Where we can house counselling and debt services. Where we could have attached to it a doctors surgery with a committed Christian GP or two who would serve the area in an almost old fashioned way.
That is a big dream, especially for a church with a monthly budget deficit that means we only have money for 1 more year of full time ministry. But dreams are about looking at the community and thinking about how the gospel can serve. That may not be God's will, God's will may be small scale and incremental. But those kind of dreams are vital as we look at a community and imagine ways the gospel could bring transformation.
Now I have two temptations here, one is to be cynical and barely dream at all, just stick to what I can do and control. The other is to impose on a big dream my time scale, and I'm impatient and want it yesterday.
Over the last few weeks and months I've found myself dreaming about ways the gospel will transform our area. Some of these dreams are big and long term none of them we can do in and of our own strength.
1. Creating community identity
Our area is one without an identity. It used to be the RAF base and attached housing. It is currently called Auckley, though local people refer to it either as Finningley or the former RAF base, or the camp. It doesn't feel like Auckley which is a village a 10-15 minute walk away and has a totally different feel to it.
As a church one way we can serve our community is to help create a community identity. There are things we can do to facilitate this, and we will be doing some of those - trying to get the council to carry out a Community Governance Review and rename the area Hayfield and maybe have our own Parish Council to serve the community. Involving people from the community in serving and making decisions for the community they live in. But we can't create community, we can try to facilitate it, but we need God to work to create community through the gospel. By creating in our church family a heart that longs to serve not its own needs but the needs of the community we are called to serve.
2. Meeting community needs
This is an area with real needs, and we by God's grace and love in the hearts of the church family are meeting those needs. My dream for this year is that that ministry is multiplied, that more and more grace flows outwards over the boundaries of the church into the hearts and lives of the broken and needy who are loved and see Jesus lived out.
The big dream is that we as a church can meet community needs. there is no place to go, no neutral space. No pub, no community centre or building. We've been in contact with some organisations about facilitating the running of such a building, but there has been as of yet no response. Only God can make that happen. My big dream would be that God provides so that we could have a community use building that is more than just a building. That contains a space where we can run toddlers and coffee mornings. Where we can house counselling and debt services. Where we could have attached to it a doctors surgery with a committed Christian GP or two who would serve the area in an almost old fashioned way.
That is a big dream, especially for a church with a monthly budget deficit that means we only have money for 1 more year of full time ministry. But dreams are about looking at the community and thinking about how the gospel can serve. That may not be God's will, God's will may be small scale and incremental. But those kind of dreams are vital as we look at a community and imagine ways the gospel could bring transformation.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
My Ideal Church
As a pastor I sometimes find myself daydreaming about my ideal church. A church where suffering and sin don't have such a profound impact everyday. Where when the phone goes it isn't news of a loss, a bereavement, a miscarriage, a marriage breakup or breakdown. Where the families of those I am privileged to care for are not continually being ravaged by suffering. Where no-one drifts but everyone is pressing on for the prize and engaged in evangelism out of an overflow of love for Christ. Where we are all united around the primary issues and lovingly bear with one other on secondary issues where we differ. Where there is no such thing as friendly fire. Where people don't drift or grow cold or hard to the gospel.
As I've been thinking about it I think some of that is good. Some of that longing is a desire for Christ to come again and for his church to be perfected and secure in his kingdom come. Some of that desire is because we hate to see people we care about suffer. Some of it is because we long to see people grow in their appreciation of and love for the gospel.
But some of it reveals an idolatry in myself. A desire for a church that is easy to pastor, for people who don't need so much care and love, a longing for comfort and ease. A longing to be liked and respected and valued. Maybe mixed in there is also a bit of reputation idolatry - if church was like that what would it say about my ministry? What would others conclude?
The reality is that ministry in a broken world will always be reflective of life in a broken world. Sin impacts the church and those who are in it. But I am reminded again and again in God's word that Christ is enough, enough for life, enough for loss, enough for ministry in the midst of each and everyone one of those. Each loss needs to drive me away from self reliance - upon my skills, my experience, my ability to love - and to Christ who will supply all my needs. Each criticism is to wean me from pride and remind me that I am to labour for his well done not peoples. Each division is to drive me to pray that by the Holy Spirit God opens eyes and ignites hearts again to the wonder of the gospel of his Son.
As I've been thinking about it I think some of that is good. Some of that longing is a desire for Christ to come again and for his church to be perfected and secure in his kingdom come. Some of that desire is because we hate to see people we care about suffer. Some of it is because we long to see people grow in their appreciation of and love for the gospel.
But some of it reveals an idolatry in myself. A desire for a church that is easy to pastor, for people who don't need so much care and love, a longing for comfort and ease. A longing to be liked and respected and valued. Maybe mixed in there is also a bit of reputation idolatry - if church was like that what would it say about my ministry? What would others conclude?
The reality is that ministry in a broken world will always be reflective of life in a broken world. Sin impacts the church and those who are in it. But I am reminded again and again in God's word that Christ is enough, enough for life, enough for loss, enough for ministry in the midst of each and everyone one of those. Each loss needs to drive me away from self reliance - upon my skills, my experience, my ability to love - and to Christ who will supply all my needs. Each criticism is to wean me from pride and remind me that I am to labour for his well done not peoples. Each division is to drive me to pray that by the Holy Spirit God opens eyes and ignites hearts again to the wonder of the gospel of his Son.
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