Our Future As A Church

Our Future As A Church - 2

“Dreams and Hopes”

By Bill Denton

Introduction

A. Illustrations

1. Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream things that never were and

say, why not? -- George Bernard Shaw

2. Woodrow Wilson said: "We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They

see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter's evening.

Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish

them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes

always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true." -- Unknown

B. As we think about our future as a church, it is imperative that we talk about the subject of

Dreams and hopes

1. What I’m not talking about

a. I’m not talking about your brain activity while you slept last night

b. I’m not talking about some direct revelation of God like we read in the Bible

c. I’m not talking about something mysterious or mystical

2. What I’m talking about

a. Essentially, I’m talking about your imagination

b. I’m talking about your ability to see into the future, to allow yourself to

think of the possibilities and to create, at least in your mind, great and grand

things that this church can become

C. Though sometimes we use the term to talk about mystics and other things, we also use the

Same terms to talk about people who have the ability to draw mental sketches of the future

1. Dreamers or visionaries are the people who take the present, then stretch into the

future with their imaginations to create new, bigger, better things

2. Without such people we’re destined to lapse into a dull, drab existence in which

nothing ever changes or improves, there is never any new thing done, or accomplished

3. This is precisely why dreams and hopes are vital for a church as it considers its future

a. dreams and hopes will put a future before us that we’ll want to reach for

b. dreams and hopes make us believe that the effort is worth making

c. dreams and hopes tell us there is something worthwhile, something of value

in the work of today

D. This morning I want you to think with me about some dreams and hopes for this church

1. Actually, I’m just trying to stir your mind today – I do not intend to say that these

are necessarily the dreams and hopes we need to adopt

2. I am saying that something like these dreams and hopes must become ours, for these

are the things that will move us to the future

I. The Case For Dreams And Hopes

A. Nehemiah shows the power of a dream

1. Review the history of captivity and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians

2. Neh 2:11-18

3. When life is a mess, and things have gone wrong, and everything has fallen apart

and it looks like permanent defeat – get a dream of what it ought to be, what it can

be, what it will be with God’s help

B. The disciples of Jesus show the power of hope

1. Review the crucifixion and the subsequent depression and dejection of the disciples

2. Lk 24:13-53

3. When it all looks bleak and desperate, realize that we’re dealing with God’s eternal

purposes, with God’s plans made before the foundation of the world, and know that

God has great things in store for the future

II. This Church Needs A Dream and A Hope For the Future

A. What if we don’t have a dream

1. Then you’re stuck with what you’ve got, and I think we’d all agree that this isn’t

all that much to dream about

2. You’re demonstrating your doubt in God’s plans and all that he has encouraged us

to hope for

3. Not having a dream for the church is really just a lack of faith in what God can do,

and what he wants us to do with him

B. Let me share some secret dreams that came right out of the people in this church

1. A few Wednesday nights ago I asked the class to imagine that no church existed in

Newton – this congregation wasn’t here, we had no history, no problems, no good or

Bad, no anything – then I asked the class, what kind of church would you want to

Build

a. I believe what we got that night are our secret dreams for the church that

does exist – whether or not we’ve actually achieved them all

b. not only that, but like we discussed that night – this is the church to which

we all want to belong

2. Consider this list made by folks thinking of the church of their dreams

a. a confident, exciting and excited church

b. God first in our lives

c. unified – of one mind

d. patient / listening

e. dedicated

f. obedient / want to do God’s will

g. drawing from our collective experiences and knowledge

h. a fellowshipping church

i. built on the truth

j. a worshipping, praising church

k. responsible

l. a family atmosphere

m. a church that reaches out to the community

n. a church that seeks to do God’s will

o. meets people’s needs

p. well-known / good reputation

q. cares about spiritual needs

r. joyful

s. a body of believers

t. trusts God

u. follows the Bible

v. displays the fruit of the Spirit

w. known by our love for one another

x. known for ‘walking the talk’

y. heaven-bound

z. a focal point of the community

aa. a forgiving church

bb. a soul-saving church

cc. an uplifting church

dd. a church that speaks out

ee. a church willing to make sacrifices

ff. a praying church

gg. a church that stands for what is right

hh. a church that stands against what is wrong

C. I’ve got my own list of dreams and hopes for this church

1. I don’t think my dreams and hopes conflict with any of the ones already named, they

simply elaborate on some already mentioned, or give shape to others that are more

general in nature

2. But, these are mine, and I’d like to think that some of you would have similar dreams

or perhaps adopt some of mine, or maybe use things like this to develop your own

3. Here are just a few of my dreams

a. a church that develops many and varied ways of proclaiming the gospel

1) we’ve settled too long for just the pulpit – nothing wrong with it, but

if that’s all we do it might explain why many people never hear

God’s word proclaimed

2) use radio and maybe someday, even television

3) use the Internet – did you know we could broadcast sermons over

the internet for free, the only cost being the setup and software -- right

now the space on the server is free

4) use print publications to communicate the gospel, to provide godly

instruction and counsel, and to provide direction to our community

b. a church that seeks the lost and is willing to do the hard work of changing

people’s lives

1) that means we all learn how to teach the gospel

2) it means that we develop a love for, and a desire to reach the lost

3) it means that we learn how to provide biblical counsel and instruction

c. a church that takes spiritual and biblical education beyond the walls of the

church building

1) we can use audio and video tapes, CD’s and other forms of media

to provide interesting opportunities for people to learn

2) it means that the Bible becomes our specialty, not books about the

Bible, and not fancy materials, but the Bible itself

3) it means that we see ourselves as an educational institution charged

with the mission of enlightening a dark world

d. a church in which our members continue to grow and develop, and in which

we work hard to equip every member to participate in a valid ministry

1) that means everyone is involved

2) it means that we take the time to assess talent and abilities, the

spiritual gifts given to each one by God himself

3) it means that we take the time, the money, and the energy to train and

prepare people for effective service

e. a church that will take responsibility to plant other congregations

1) that might mean other churches right here in our own community, or

in Harvey County, or in nearby places in Kansas

2) it might mean that we send missionaries to places where there is

no church of Christ, maybe into foreign countries

3) it might even mean allowing me to participate in short-term missions

focused on evangelism and preacher training

4) it might mean starting a school of preaching right here, and putting

students to work in our own field, both training them, and allowing

them to help us evangelize our own community

f. a church that comes to be known for the quality of its leadership, and for its

ability to train and equip shepherds

1) that will mean that we get more interested in the work of leadership,

the function of shepherding

2) it means that we get practical and not just talk theory and argue

doctrine

g. a church that spices things up and turns on the light for people in darkness

1) in short, a church that serves as salt and light

2) a church that changes the world

Conclusion

A. Illustration

In the Q&A section of InfoWorld, George Morrow of Morrow Systems (computers) made the following observation:

"An article in the Harvard Business Review called 'Market Myopia' talked about how some people didn't understand what business they were in. For example, the railroad people didn't realize they were in the transportation business; they thought they were in the railroad business. Had they realized they were in the transportation business they would have invested in the airplane. The telegraph people thought they were in the telegraph business instead of the communications business. In 1886 or so, they could have bought all the telephone patents for $40,000. So obviously these people didn't know what business they were in."

"I used to think these guys were really dumb because they didn't know what business they were in. Then I asked myself, 'What business am I in?'

B. There, folks, is the big question; once we ever get clear on what our business is, we’ll be

Well on our way to doing things that people once just dreamed about!!

1. Isn’t that funny? The way to accomplish dreams is to make those dreams come true

by focusing on what we’re supposed to be doing.

2. What business is the church in?

a. someone says, “We’re not in business”

b. to you I would say, “That explains a lot about why we’re stuck, unsuccessful,

and dissatisfied

C. Let’s do some dreaming, some hoping about the future

D. Invitation