Dreaming New / Dreaming Big

The Rev. Susan Sherard developed a simple but challenging series of questions and commentary designed to encourage group reflection about how we “fit” into “the dream of God. We at the School of Ministry came across her material at St. Paul’s in Cary, which used them to discern “dreams within the St. Paul’s faith community.” Susan Sherard has agreed to our making this material available on our website. We commend them to you.

There are five questions and commentary. St. Paul’s printed each question on a separate sheet and discussed the subject in an adult forum. The series thus covered five weeks. You are free to adapt the format for your own purposes. Please cite Susan Sherard as the source of the material.

Question 1: What is the hope of God for all people?

Whenever we ask questions like - Who are we called to be? What is our mission as a congregation? – we have to begin with another question - What is God’s hope for all of us? When our hearts and minds are fixed in God’s hopes, we are less likely to be influenced by what the world values, or what has always been before, or what would serve our private agendas.

So what is God’s hope? Scripture is full of references to God’s longings for this earth. Jeremiah writes of a God who yearns for us to know ourselves as belonging to God and to one another. Isaiah describes a creation in which oppositional powers eat and sleep together. The gospel writers speak of a Kingdom of God dwelling on earth. The author of Revelation dreams of a new heaven and a new earth.

God’s hope can be described in single words – like “reconciliation,” “joy,” “wholeness.” It can also be expressed in parables, like the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan. We also see God’s hope being revealed through the ministry of Jesus and his disciples, we well as through the faithfulness of people in our own lives, whose words and deeds appear to us as the hand of God.

Yes, God loves us as we are, and for this we are both fortunate and grateful. But God also has hopes for us. How would you describe this hope? What words or images or scriptural passages speak to you of God’s hope for creation?

Question 2: How can we be disciples of God’s hope?

Once we have grounded ourselves in God’s hope for all of us, we can begin to wonder about our calling. A good first step is to create a list of the words and images and stories that describe God’s hope, according to our understanding and experience.

It’s always best to create this list with others. We are disciples, with an emphasis on the “s.” Who we are and who we are called to be are questions that we ask as members of a Body. In our culture, we often think only in individual terms. In the church, the Body of Christ, we need to think as a community – together.

So we create our list, using anyone’s offering and censoring none. We look at the list and pray over the list and talk about the list, adding to it as we go. We experience the list however we can. Then comes the question: What on this list is really speaking to me? Which words and images and stories grab my attention?

Question 3: What needs do we see in our midst?

Once we are grounded in God’s hope, and once we begin reflecting on what particular aspect of that hope we are drawn to, we can begin to look around us and ask ourselves another question: What needs do I see around me? When a congregation asks this question, it is important to look outside – in the surrounding community – as well as inside – within the membership.

Looking at the needs in our lives can be overwhelming. This is why we begin with God’s hope and with our particular engagement in that hope. When we look at need in the context of God’s eternal hope, we can bear what we behold and keep our eyes open. We cannot serve all the needs we see; nor does God expect this of us. Our callings are particular. But we do need to pay attention, to stay aware, to refuse to be blinded by weariness or cynicism.

So we make another list, one that sits within the compassionate reach of the list of God’s hope. What needs do we see around us? What needs do we see surrounding our church community? What needs do we experience within our membership? Once again, what anyone sees goes on the list. We always encounter surprises – some joyful and some uncomfortable – when we invite many eyes to report what they behold.

Question 4: What longings do we have?

In the same way God has hopes, we also live with certain longings. Some of our longings are born of bad habits and misguided needs. They can be relatively harmless, or they can also lead us away from our calling. As individuals, we often find ourselves longing for what others have, or for a certain “look” or station in life. As churches, we sometimes long to be a “real” church, which usually implies some mix of big budget, full youth and music program and no change or conflict. These longings and others like them are born of the world. If we make a list of them and put the list next to God’s hopes, we will likely see them for what they are.

Other longings in us resemble the list of God’s hopes. They tend not to change with the daily or cultural tide, and they disturb us and feed us and compel us all at the same time. Because these longings are a sign that something is not yet complete or right – either in our own lives or on the earth – they are uncomfortable. But because they are aligned with God’s hope, they are also the source of incredible energy and resilience.

We discover our longings by self-examination and through others’ observations of us. As we articulate our longings, we serve God best by confessing those that are not consistent with God’s hope and by sharing with God and others those that are. We begin that process by asking ourselves: What deep longing resides in me that reminds me of the hope that resides in God?

Question 5: What offerings of time and talent and resources are we willing to offer?

We are grounding ourselves in God’s hope. We are connecting with the particular aspects of that hope which capture our attention. We are looking for the needs around us, and we are confessing and sharing our longings. We are setting the stage for asking the question: Who are you calling us to be? What are you calling us to do?

Now it is time for a very honest assessment of what we are ready and willing to give of ourselves. It is one thing to be hopeful and to want to respond to particular needs out of our own particular longings. It is another thing entirely to show up, to make the sacrifices and contributions necessary to be or to do something new.

Once we have set the stage with our faithful responses to the questions regarding hope, discipleship, need and longing, we receive very helpful information about calling when we ask ourselves – as individuals and as a body – what we are actually willing to do. So we ask ourselves the question: Which needs on this list inspire and compel me to write a check tonight and to show up for a meeting tomorrow and every week as long as it’s necessary. When we answer this question honestly, we give God a chance to show us what new thing is next for us.