“Someday I’m going to. . .” How would you finish this sentence? Are there lots of things that you have thought about doing, but have never quite been able to get them done? Perhaps you have lacked the inspiration to get started. We want to help you start living the life that God created you to live. So, “Dare to Dream: Creating a God-Sized Mission Statement for Your Life” is the topic for our Faith Clinic series that will begin on January 11.
The author of our study, Mike Slaughter, has 3 purposes for us in the next few weeks:
“First I want to wake you up to the God-dream inside of you. You have one; I am sure you do. Jesus gave the dream to you when he came into your life. Second, I want to help you develop a life mission statement. You may have life goals, but that’s not the same. Goals can change by season or circumstance, but a life mission statement never changes. Third ,I want to challenge you to commit fully to your God-driected life mission, starting now. . .Today is the day to seize the present of the presence.”
The book we will be using for the study is very readable! The author gives many true-to-life examples. For instance, he describes the God-dream for our lives – which isn’t necessarily the same thing as our day job. He mentions Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of a very large church (who gave the prayer at Obama’s inauguration); Warren’s day job is being a pastor, but his God-dream is to eliminate AIDS in the world. He has given so much to the fight against AIDS in Rwanada that the president of Rwanda made him an official member of his cabinet. Similarly, rock star Bono says his day job is venture capitalist and musician, but his God-dream is to eliminate extreme poverty.
The author of our study book’s day job is also being a pastor, but his God-dream is to improve the quality of life for people in the Sudan. He mentioned a time when he was looking at a newspaper ad for a beautiful BMW 7 Series sedan – a car that he really admired; he writes, “I knew all about its luxury features, including the sixteen-speaker Bose sound system. Eventually, I pulled my eyes away, and remembered the photo and article about famine and devastation from a 20-year civil war in the Sudan. . .At the time, it troubled me that I knew so much more about the sedan than the Sudan. Five years later, God spoke, challenging me to help in Sudan. I shouldn’t have been surprised.” Since that day [his church] has invested over $6 million dollars and affected the lives of tens of thousands of individuals in Darfur .. .”
Too often we limit our dreams to things for ourselves or our families: a nice home a safe neighborhood, a beautiful car, a great vacation. There is nothing wrong in wanting to provide a comfortable life for people we love, but that isn’t God’s dream for us. “When God puts a dream inside you, it’s not just for you. A God-dream will honor God and bless other people in tangible ways, and it will bring you joy.” If it doesn’t meet those three criteria, then it isn’t a God-purpose, no matter how successful you are in accomplishing it.
Joy. Blessing others. Honoring God. It doesn’t get any better than this. Come to the Faith Clinic and discover God’s dream for your life. It would be best if you could attend regularly, but even if you can’t, there will be a wealth of learning that will grow your capacity for love and for faith, and for joyful and purposeful living.
Faith Clinic meets Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.
–Rev. Naomi
