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TechnoratiEverybody needs a dream. Whenever you first got involved in ministry, you probably started with a big dream. Unfortunately, as you get into that ministry, your dreams shrink to the size of the situation. Probably the very first time you got involved in ministry you could foresee great things. Yet as we go on, circumstances tend to shrink our dreams.
If you’re going to be involved in ministry, you’ve got to be a dreamer. You’ve got to have faith in what God can do through your ministry. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb. 11:6 NIV) Faith begins with catching a dream, a vision.
When I started Saddleback, I started with a dream. In fact, the very first Saddleback trial service I shared that dream with the 60 people in the room. I shared a bold dream that day – a dream of a church of 20,000 people ministering in Orange County and around the world, a dream of a campus that would be a refuge for the hurting, depressed, frustrated, and confused in our community, and the dream of sharing the Good News with hundreds of thousands of people.
When I stood up and shared that with 60 people who I’d never seen before in my life, there were people who said, “Fat chance! How in the world will 60 people grow to be a church of that size? How are we ever going to get land in the Saddleback Valley at the price that it costs?” Yet 27 years later, we’ve reached those goals. In the years I’ve pastored this church, I never doubted that we would. Not once. I didn’t know when it would happen – but I knew it would. Why? That dream was from God.
Then, in April of 2005, at Saddleback’s 25th anniversary, I shared a new dream for Saddleback Church and the growing Purpose Driven Network of churches. I told those gathered of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, my dream for mobilizing a billion Christians to tackle the global giants of spiritual lostness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy. The first dream carried Saddleback for the first 25 years; this one will carry it for the next 25. I’m just as sure about the new dream as I was the first one.
Every person, every ministry, and every church needs a dream. If you’re not dreaming, you’re dying. I don’t believe there’s any such thing as a great person. I believe there are only ordinary people committed to great dreams. When an ordinary person is committed to a great dream, it makes that person a great person. If you want to be healthy, you’ve got to have a dream to live for.
Maybe you’ve been in ministry for so long that you’ve forgotten how to dream. Or maybe you’re just stepping into ministry and you’ve never spent the time contemplating what God might want to do through your life. Or maybe you’re somewhere in between. Regardless, here are eight steps to help you find God’s dream for your life. They are the same steps I went through in developing God’s dream for Saddleback.
1. Open your mind to God.
If you’re going to do this, you’ve got to be quiet before the Lord. Schedule times of silence, of solitude. For many of you, God can’t give you a dream because you won’t sit down and shut up! You just need to be quiet before him. You start by getting God’s perspective on your life.
2. Do some research.
You don’t make decisions out of ignorance. This is a step that many people ignore when they get a dream. They pray about it but then don’t go out and get any facts. The Bible says that it’s dumb just to step out. (See Pr. 18:13) Think before you act. Read books, go to conferences, visit other churches – but get the facts.
3. Start asking for advice.
Remember, it’s better to admit your ignorance than to prove it by your experience. You’re going to appear foolish anyway if you don’t get the right advice. So go ahead and ask. Humble yourself. Be teachable. Leaders are learners. Continue »
