Do you think God has one?
A dream—a plan, a future—for the world? For that matter, does that dream/plan/future include anything having to do with the Church?
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be wondering about that question, through the lens of our worldwide United Methodist connection and the vision statement our UM Council of Bishops adopted last year:
The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.
Do we? Do these words somehow express God’s dream for the world?
Maybe no single statement can fully capture God’s dream, but it can point us toward the right questions.
I was thinking about this during my travels earlier this month. I usually figure out a place to worship when I’m on vacation. This time I ended up at East Parish UMC, a self-described “beacon of faith since 1834” in Salisbury, Massachusetts. I parked alongside a dozen other cars in front of this old clapboard building and entered a friendly fellowship of maybe fifty people, among whom I was one of the youngest. It was a comfortable morning of hymns, prayer requests, scripture, and preaching.
I left there knowing I’d soon report to you all: “The United Methodist Church on the Eastern Seaboard is alive and well—I’ve seen it!” Those vision words were evident; these were people who knew how to love, and serve, and lead.
It got me thinking about the many United Methodist—and other—churches that were meeting that day, including Collegiate/Wesley. The ways we gather and live out bold love, joyful service, and courageous leadership. The ways we all have been shaped by our experiences in those communities. The values and tenets and practices we share.
Plus the ways we sometimes diverge. Sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.
In these next weeks, we’ll remember that we’re part of this worldwide connection through the United Methodist Church. We are some 40,000 churches, all gathering regularly for worship, fellowship, service, and more. Loving boldly, serving joyfully, and leading courageously, as we’ve been able, in ways that feel true to where and who we are.
Is all this living out God’s dream? Those words come from a United Methodist intro to the new vision statement, saying that it “reflects the Church’s deep commitment to embodying God’s dream for the world” (emphasis mine). I’ll admit I find those words more inspiring than the vision statement itself.
As we roll forward through this year, as we love and serve and lead in small and big ways, as we worship and sing and pray together, that’s the question that’s on my mind: How are we embodying God’s dream for the world?
I want the things we give our time and gifts to support to embody God’s dream for the world.
In answer to the question I started with, I believe God has one. (Many, actually!)
I’m not sure any of us are able to see it clearly. Certainly not in its fullness. But I hope that in countless small ways, and increasingly in bigger ones, we get closer; our sight improves.
Won’t you join me in praying for that to be true?
God, improve our sight. Help us glimpse—and come to live—your dream for the world, and for us in it. Amen.
