One of my dreams is to plant one hundred churches in the UK. In the next two months, we are planting another two churches meaning we will have ten churches in the UK.
We are en route to the dream. But it has not been easy. We have been lied about, discouraged, persecuted, hated, all for the sake of the kingdom of God! What we have had to do is hold on tight to the dream.
In uncertain times, it is vital you don’t let go of your dreams. You might have to find alternative paths, but the grand destination should not change at all.
You, as a leader, need to constantly be course correcting. Am I still heading to the dream or am I distracted, am I stuck because of a change or uncertainty where I should be coming up with alternatives. Not alternative dreams but alternative paths to the same dream!
You hold onto a dream corporately by what you celebrate. You help other people dream big with you when you celebrate the dream advancing.
I can see when a church has gone into survival mode when it celebrates the trivial.
In Tree of Life, we are celebrating two brand new churches. That is something worth celebrating.
Yes, a new projector or new building is nice, yes an invite to preach overseas is nice, yes, this and that change can make the journey easier, but I am celebrating steps to the dream not the little things along the way. That is the number one way you celebrate the dream: You celebrate every step towards it.
An organization that no longer makes steps towards a dream will start celebrating banal, superficial changes. Oh, we moved to a new venue around the corner. Is it larger, does it help you extend the kingdom more, or is it just an external sideways step? Nothing wrong with that, but don’t celebrate that or everyone in your church will want a new building, as they will think it’s important because you made a fuss out of it.
Celebrate salvations, healings and steps to the dream. Celebrate the kingdom of God being advanced. Then everyone in your church will want to see that.
In business I see people write a business visiom statement because they are told that’s what they have to do, but they never look at it again, they never walk towards it, never fight for it, never push towards it. And how much sadder is it when a church does this.
Oh yeah, here’s a vision statement, says the pastor, but if no meeting in the last ten years has been about stepping forward into the dream then you don’t really have a vision. That’s not a good response to uncertain times
In uncertain times, keep the main thing the main thing. You may have to find a new venue, a new strategy, a new website, but remember you are selecting alternatives because you are obsessed with reaching a destination. Do not celebrate the alternative, celebrate the goal. Selah.
Inspiring and Challenging Dreamers 