In the headquarters building of the Holston Conference of the United

Methodist Church once hung a banner which read, "Take your little

church and dream God's dream for it." When I first saw that

proclamation, I must confess that I was startled to consider the possibility

that God might have a dream for the small church that I was pastoring

at that time. I had always assumed that if anyone were to have a vision

for a local church, it would be the pastor. Pulpit committees and official

boards often ask that question of potential pastors who are candidates

for their pulpits. "Pastor, what is your vision?" they inquire.

Is it possible that pastors and churches have this whole idea of dreams

and visions backwards? Is it not true that many pastors, boards, and

congregations spend long hours in planning for the future then take their

ideas and dreams to God in prayer, asking Him to smile upon them and

show favor to their plans? If so, we've missed the mark!

When God called Moses to lead His people from Egypt to the Promised

Land, God, and not Moses, had the vision. God saw His people as they

could be ... free, whole, and complete. It was not Moses who had the

vision. In truth, when God shared His vision with Moses at the site of

the burning bush, Moses was ready to express his reluctance. He was very

uneager to "buy into" the vision of God. But, eventually, Moses

captured the vision and God's vision for His people became Moses' vision.

Forty years later Moses died, the dream only half completed. The people

of Israel had been led out of slavery, but they had not yet entered their

land of promise. In the first chapter of Joshua, we find the people in

great mourning. Moses has died and the dream has not been fulfilled.

What were the people to do? With their great charismatic leader dead,

what of the vision? If the vision belonged only to Moses, then the people

were, indeed, undone. But the vision was not the possession of Moses.

It was the possession of God, and God was about to insure that His plans

for His people would not be thwarted.

In the midst of this dark hour, God instituted a pastoral change. Joshua

was called to lead God's flock into the fulfillment of God's

vision! The vision was not Joshua's but God's. Later we find

Joshua wandering near the camp seeking guidance. When he comes upon the

angel of the Lord, he prepares to do battle and demands an answer to

the challenge, "Are you for us or against us?" The angel simply

replies, "No." The real question was, "Joshua, where are

you? Are you pursuing your own plans or have you laid them aside to seek

the vision of God?" Once this matter was settled, Joshua humbled

himself in worship and received specific information that would take

him into the future.

The mistake we have made is in not seeing that God has a vision for

His people of this day, not only for the Church Universal but also for

the Church Local. What is God's vision for your own local church?

What specifically does He want to see happen at St. Whosit's of

Podunk Hollow? If we don't know the answer to that question, then

we haven't begun to learn that we must discern God's will for

our own churches.

"Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained," Scripture

proclaims. Where there is not the capturing of the dream of God for a

people or a person, then the "people are unrestrained," that

is, they then do what seems best according to logic. If a pastor is not

ruled by the vision of God, he may be ruled by the latest cassette tape,

or popular author, or pastor's conference' or theological fad.

He runs the risk of being motivated by standards of success or by desperation

to "see something happen" rather than by the dream of God for

his church.

If a local church understands that God has a vision for them and if

they are able to articulate that vision, then they will not be shaken

when difficult circumstances arise or even if their pastor leaves, retires,

or dies. The new pastor may represent a change in management style, personality,

or leadership techniques, but the vision will remain constant. It is

of utmost importance that pastors and their people seek God with an ear

to hearing what God's vision is for each local congregation. "I

know the plans that I have for you, say the Lord..." Jeremiah

29:11 reveals. The challenge is to, "Take your little (or large)

church and dream God's dream for it."

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