This is a copy of my article for our church's October magazine.
Whilst studying for ministry, and for a number of years
after, I had a quote from George Bernard Shaw on my office wall:
‘You see things and
you say “Why?” But I dream things
that never were and I say “Why not?”’
I believe that both of these positions are valid. We need people in life and in our
church who ask “Why?” Why are
things the way they are? We also
need people who dream of things being different and who ask, “Why not?” Why can’t this dream become a
reality?
I doubt that anything has ever changed for the better
without someone having a dream that things could be different. History is full of examples. One such person is, of course, Martin
Luther King with his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech. King looked out on the injustice of racial segregation and
he dreamt of a better future where all human beings are equal. Today, it is much better although there
is a long way to go.
I would not put myself in the company of Martin Luther King,
but in the past week I have been moved to dream some dreams for our
church. After just over a year as
your minister, I have had a good look at our church with all of its strengths
and weaknesses. There are many
great things about our church, and there are areas in which we could do
better! Maybe you will have more
dreams to add, but here are my ’25 Dreams for Well Street United Church’.
·
I dream of a church that is putting the King at
the heart of Buckingham
·
I dream of a church in which Christ is at the
centre of all we do and are
·
I dream of a church ‘without walls’ in which the
world is welcome in the church, and our church goes out into the world with the
Good News
·
I dream of a church that opens itself to the
challenge of God’s Word in the Bible
·
I dream of a church in which we are all FTCWs (Full-time
Christian workers) taking our faith seriously in the workplace
·
I dream of a church in which we live up to the
‘United’ part of our name
·
I dream of a church that realises we are better
together
·
I dream of a church in which we respect the
rights of others in the church to hold different views to our own
·
I dream of a church in which we are always
seeking to encourage one another
·
I dream of a church in which we know how to have
fun together
·
I dream of a church that treasures all people
from the very young to the very old and encourages them on the journey of faith
and discipleship
·
I dream of a church in which our children and
young people are not just the church of tomorrow, but the church of today
·
I dream of a church in which our older people
are not just the church of yesterday, but the church of today
·
I dream of our children and young people growing
into people of faith who want to change the world
·
I dream of a new church building that is a hub
of community life in its locality and for our town: a place that is ‘owned’ by
people as their church, even if Sunday worship is not what they do
·
I dream of our church being in the marketplace
in Buckingham on a Saturday morning, sharing our faith in creative ways
·
I dream of our church being present on the Town
Council, on school governing bodies and the like, bringing a Christian
influence
·
I dream of God’s Spirit being so powerfully
present in our worship that questions of style are not an issue
·
I dream of a church in which worship is both a
Sunday and a Monday to Saturday activity
·
I dream of a church that treasures its
non-conformist tradition in which we are agents for transformation in the world
·
I dream of a church in which we put what others
need before what we want
·
I dream of a church known throughout the area as
one that cares for all, but especially for the last, the least and the lost
·
I dream of a church that is both local and
global in its impact
·
I dream of a church that is passionate about
growing the Kingdom of God rather than its own empire
·
I dream of a church that is truly putting
the King at the heart of Buckingham!
On the Day of Pentecost as related in Acts 2, Peter quotes
from the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on
all people. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will
dream dreams.’ (Acts 2:17)
I guess the above makes me an old man! Yet the important thing here is that
prophecy, visions and dreams are all signs of the Spirit. I believe that some of my dreams are
already a reality at Well Street and in our Methodist chapels. For all of these dreams, I want to say
‘Why not?’
