“What Gets in the Way of God’s Vision for Us?”

            This Sunday, February 16th, we continue our worship series on dreaming and envisioning the future.  As my church, Christ United Methodist, prepares to embark upon a major strategic visioning initiative later this spring, our worship and reflections during February have focused on the role which dreaming and envisioning the future play in the scripture.  We’ve titled this new series, “Let’s Dream Together, Again.” 

            On this third Sunday in the series of four, I have decided to flip the question around a bit and explore ways in which we can sometimes thwart or hinder God’s vision for communities of faith.  To ground my reflections, I found myself drawn to Proverbs 29:18:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish:

but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”  (King James Version)

There is no small debate among Biblical scholars concerning what the writer means by “no vision.”  However, among many Christian faithful, the writer appears to mean that without a vision of where they are supposed to go—and who they are supposed to be—the faithful will perish, probably in the sense of falling away from the faith.  That, at least, is the way I will interpret the first half of this verse in my proclamation.

            As noted above, I intend to flip the theme of dreaming and envisioning on its head by asking a different question this Sunday:  What gets in the way of God’s vision?  I will propose that there are four major ways in which people of faith may hinder or thwart God’s vision:

1.      Fear.  Sometimes we allow ourselves to become so overcome with fear that we lose our nerve and our ability to envision with God.  We become petrified by fear and unable to move forward.  We are afraid of the risk that we are taking.  Sometimes we fear failure, while occasionally we fear success.  Sometimes our fear takes the form of scarcity thinking, when we think that we are not big enough/rich enough/numerous enough/talented enough/entitled to dream really big dreams.  When we slip into scarcity thinking, then we forget that the God, whom we serve, is a God of abundance, lavishing abundantly upon us when we seek to do God’s will.  We forget that God will provide.

2.      Idolatry.  Sometimes, instead of asking about God’s vision for us, we change the question to ask about our vision for ourselves.  We no longer ask God to dream with us and show us what God’s vision is.  Instead, we put ourselves in the place of God—either individually or as church communities.  We dream about what will make us look important and prominent to the people and other churches around us.  We dream about how everyone else will look up to us and admire us.

3.      We dream too small.  Sometimes in churches, we cast visions for ourselves that are too small. We develop modest, manageable goals which we feel certain that we can obtain.  We close our minds to what God may be asking us to dream.  God’s vision for us may be bold and audacious.  Yet, we remain stuck is the small and safe.  In that way, we thwart God’s vision for us.

4.      We are happy with the status quo and don’t want to dream.  We may feel too comfortable with the way things are.  We may not want to dream and vision with God because God will surely want us to grow and perhaps even change.  We don’t like change because we like the ways things are now.  We don’t want to grow because we may have to share power with newcomers who join our church.  We do not want to change and, therefore, we thwart God’s vision for our church community.

The second half of this verse from Proverbs says, “but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”  For the Hebrew people the Law was a special gift from God because it was through the law that the Hebrew people understood what God wanted them to do as God’s Chosen people.  For instance, Psalms 119 says, in part:

I will keep your law continually,
   for ever and ever.  …
 I find my delight in your commandments,
   because I love them.
 I revere your commandments, which I love,
   and I will meditate on your statutes.  (verses 44, 47-48)

That is to say, the person who trusts and follows God will find direction, flourishing, and joy.  As we think and prepare to strategically vision about our future at Christ United Methodist Church, it is vitally important that we avoid these traps which can thwart God’s vision for us.  It is also vitally important that—as Proverbs suggests—we invite God to dream, vision, and plan with us.

If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a place of worship, then I invite you to join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, February 16, as we continue our series of reflections on the role of dreaming and envisioning as faithful discipleship. 

Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A” Street.  We have three worship services on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.  The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a traditional worship format and the services are held in our Sanctuary.  “The Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family Life Center (gym), and it is more informal and interactive.   

Come, join us.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

Please note:  The final proclamation on the theme of dreaming together will be next Sunday, February 23rd, with Associate Pastor Beth Graverholt reflecting on “Perseverance.”  Since I will not be offering the proclamation next Sunday, there will be no blog post.  However, I am excited to hear what Pastor Beth has to say about perseverance and I think that you will find her proclamation very insightful and uplifting.