Nine Dreams for the Future

1. The dream that Jesus would be the star and the message and the true Lord of our church. And that the Church of Christ would be a description of whose we are and not a denominational designation or a sectarian category. 2. The dream that we would seek to use powerful and relevant ways to get the church out of the building and be disciples in the marketplace. That we would lift our eyes to the fields and see the lost and speak with compassion the instruction of the Lord to their hurt, confusion, and weariness. 3. The dream that we would be a people that would not ask “What can the church do for me?” But that we would be a people who serves a transcendent God and practices a costly discipleship. It’s the dream that we would serve from the strength of our spiritual gifts 4. The dream that we will have dynamic assemblies that hits people at a heart level and ushers them into the presence of God. 5. The dream that we will develop a loving intolerance for sectarian language that implies that God loves us alone. 6. The dream that we will find effective ways to use the spiritual muscle and the spiritual wisdom of our women. 7. The dream that we will never compromise the gospel of grace. That we will speak where the Bible speaks, and despite the temptation to do otherwise, to be silent where the Bible is silent. To shout where it shouts, to whisper where it whispers, and to allow liberty where God’s Word allows liberty 8. The dream that we will have dynamic ministries that addresses the needs of every age and ethnic group. That we would be all things to all people so that we might save some. 9. The dream that we will be known for our love, our grace, our knowledge of Scripture, our moral excellence and our uncompromising loyalty to the Lord Jesus. I’ve had these nine dreams with me for 17 years. Where did they come from? I heard Ken Durham speak on the power of dreaming at the Nashville Jubilee in 1989. His message encouraged me. I bought his tape and transcribed his dreams. Since then I have changed and modified and added my own words.