I have a dream - Matthew Brown

In our ongoing My Dream for the Church this offering from Matthew Brown who preaches at Wingate in Nashville is next. You can contact Matthew at matthewjbrown@bellsouth.net.

Having been married over five months now, I pretty much feel like an expert… But if there’s one thing I have learned, it’s that my wife and I love to dream. Our dreams probably aren’t that different from yours; home improvement ideas, new cars, Tahiti, BBQ pit master just to name a few. Dreams give us hope for what lies ahead and there truly is no greater motivator than hope. But how can dreams (hope) impact the church? How can a small idea change the world, how can a dream become reality? That’s easy-you have to dream a dream that’s worth living.

It’s my hope (dream) for the church that we can be the church. I dream that we can put petty, personal issues aside and pursue the goal of spiritual formation. I hope that following Jesus becomes more than a phrase in a prayer; that it becomes a radicle transformation of what ourlives look like. I dream that as a church our sense of unity is so strong and our love so deep that division and pride can’t make it near the building.

As I dream for the church to be the church, I hope that people will find their place in the body. No more just hearing about how you have a part, but actually living what that part is supposed to be! With this, I hope that the 20/80 rule won’t have a place at church but that 100% of the body does 100% of the work.

I hope that the church can be the church Jesus intended; that we follow his teaching, his will, and his way of life. I dream that we can be the church the community needs, spiritually and physically. Issues of homelessness, addiction, and charity will no longer be taboo, but they will be handled with love and respect. I hope that we can live in and promote a community that embodies “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”

In one of my favorite passages, the Proverb writer reminds us “hope deferred makes the heart sick”. When our dreams fail to become reality or turn into nightmares, it’s devastating. It’s easy to toss in the towel and forget our passions. But we are then told “a desire fulfilled is a tree of life”. There are few greater joys than a realized dream and few prouder moments than working to the completion of the dream.

We all have dreams for the church, now let’s start living those dreams until they become our tree of life.