"We Dream a Church"

      All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions was his [or her] own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.  . . .They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. . .   And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

      Two contrasting experiences stand out in my mind as I stand before you today.  This week I had the privilege of an extended meeting with a congregant who was born before 1920.  Listening to her story and her life experiences, it was mind-boggling to consider all of the many changes she has witnessed over the past 75 years.  We laughed together about the fact that the future is already here and it seems to have passed us both by!

      Second, I just finished reading a book called "Church in the Inventive Age" by Doug Pagitt.  There is a quote in the book that strikes me as absolutely essential when we consider change, church, and dreams.

      Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist minister, social reformer, and abolitionist.  Here's what he had to say about change:  "Every tomorrow has two handles.  We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or with the handle of faith."

      Do you wonder how long ago he said this?  About 140 years ago!  Change was just as intimidating back then as it is now.  We all know, however, that change is inevitable.  Will we grasp it with anxiety or with faith?

      We now watch a short clip of something that tells us about change.

      Mind boggling, is it not? The Pagitt book, and this YouTube clip remind us that when we dream about the future of our church, we have to remember the future is already upon us, and we are already behind the times!  We can guess that the church that does not re-invent itself for the 21st and 22nd century will no longer exist.

      The world of the Bible is so far removed from our current context that it truly is God's activity which makes it possible for scripture to continue to speak to us today.  This is what is meant by scripture as the "Living Word," enlivened by the spirit of God, revealed and relevant today.

      Luke describes a "dream church" in the book of Acts.  Luke says there was "unity, common resources, power, grace, devotion, awe, and growth."  Wow.  Sounds too good to be true.

      This is the third time I have given a message based on these scriptures here at LHPC, and the third time I have considered a dream church.  This year I shifted my title from "I Dream a Church" to "We Dream a Church."  Because after nearly three years, my experience here is no longer "me and you" but "we."  I invite you to take a copy of the sermon I preached in 2009 over this scripture.  Much of what I had to say then still applies today, but even more so.

      As a congregation we have talked a lot this year about our mission and our vision for God's future here at LHPC.  We have affirmed a vision embraced eleven years ago when three congregations merged:  "Making disciples by reaching out, loving, caring, and inspiring spiritual and personal growth." This is our dream for LHPC, because we believe it is faithful and true to what God would have us do.

      We have a mission and vision that has stood the test of time.   The challenge of today and of tomorrow is how the nuts and bolts of that mission and vision get enacted.  The challenge we face is how we face the future with faith and not with anxiety.  This is where our dreams come in, and this is where God inspires our dreams.

      All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions was his [or her] own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. . . .They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. . .  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

      And for the future?  We move forward in faith, because that is who we are.  We shine our light from a lampstand!  We continue to be faithful in stewardship.  We seek to deepen our relationship with

      God by giving a greater portion, 10% or beyond, of our time and money to God's work.  We will continue to be diligent and creative and careful with all our resources, including the resource of our time.

      This church is experiencing, and will continue to experience, growing pains.  Thank God we are experiencing growing pains, because if we weren't growing, we would be dying!  And we have the challenges that inevitably come with growth and change.  We balance the needs of older members with the enthusiasm of newer members and visitors.  We respect the past while understanding the future is different.  We hold fast to our core values, knowing all the while they will be expressed differently now and in the future.

      Our dream for LHPC is that in the next decade we will continue to become an even more missional-evangelical church, because this is our mission and vision!  Missional in the sense of true disciple making. Evangelical in sending members out into our community to reach others for Christ.  Missional in continuing to care for our elderly and homebound while reaching out to the unchurched.

      Missional in giving back even more to our community.  Evangelical in challenging our members to depth and breadth of discipleship. Missional in devoting more resources to those in need.  Missional in finding new areas of service in the community.  Evangelical in bringing new adult believers to Christ.

      An impossible dream?  No.  This dream is possible because it is, finally, God who makes all great things possible.  It is possible because we know God.  God continues to breathe new life into old, God brings us together in surprising ways, God feeds us at the Lord's Table and the reception table and at our dinner tables.

      We dream a church.  God's church. . . . the light of the world. A city built on a hill. ...”  We know this is happening and will continue to happen, because God has promised it to us and because God is faithful.  We face the future with faith, not fear, because we face the future with God.  Too good to be true?  Not at all.  When we dream it, we will do it.

      "You are the light of the world.  A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."