Sunday, the people of our nation celebrate its independence. In 1776, the people
living in the British colonies of America were bold enough and committed enough
to declare their independence from the British Empire.
Sunday, the people of our nation celebrate its independence. In 1776, the people
living in the British colonies of America were bold enough and committed enough
to declare their independence from the British Empire.
It is doubtful that more than a few people dared dream that the handful of
sparsely populated colonies would grow to become the mightiest, wealthiest country
on earth in just two centuries.
The founding fathers laid a great foundation for the infant nations growth.
They knew that freedom from was valuable only as it was free to. They knew the
nation had to be free from British rule so they could be free to become what
many of them believed was Gods destiny for the nation.
This editor is not an ardent student of United States revolutionary history,
but it does seem that grassroots early Americans did not dream as intently about
what they would become as about what they would not be. They would not be subjects
of a King living across the ocean; they did not appear to have a vision of what
they would be.
And who could have dreamed about a scraggly nation that would become todays
United States?
Who? A handful of gifted dreamers. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James
Madison, George Washington and a relatively few others. They knew freedom from
was important, but they knew that without a corresponding vision of what they
could be free to become, the freedom from would turn into anarchy and failure.
So they dreamed. They dreamed of a sovereign government of the people, for
the people and by the people. They dreamed of one person, one vote – a
land where the people ruled and their government officials were servants, not
lords.
These dreams of free to became so powerful, so magnetic that the citizens of
what became the United States were compelled to make the dreams their own. They
were willing to die so that others could live the dreams and others were willing
to live to forge the realities of the dream.
The dreamers and their dreams were as vital to the nations freedom as
were the generals and soldiers who shed their blood and gave their lives in
battle.
In the last few months, several national leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention
have said in so many words that it is time for the denomination to dream new
dreams. The convention has emerged from 25 years of inner conflict and controversy
and now that battle has been won by those who believed the denomination was
becoming too liberal and wished to turn it in a more conservative direction.
Free from. And now, the convention needs to focus on free to.
The convention needs a handful of leaders or states -men who are dreamers
who can craft a dream of a denomination that will draw Southern Baptists together
in a unified cause. A dream to which people say, “This is a dream for which
I can lay aside hard feelings of the past. This is a dream for which I can join
my heart and soul with those of folks with whom I have not agreed but with whom
I am willing to work.” The convention needs dreams that are concisely stated
and simple enough to be presented in powerful, moving terms. Dreams that individuals
and churches feel they can have a vital part in – a dream in which they
can matter.
And, vast numbers of Baptists need to feel strongly that the Southern Baptist
Convention is the best channel through which the dream can be achieved.
There was such a dream at the beginning of the controversy. It was Bold Mission.
It was a grand, tangible dream of winning our nation, and our world to Jesus
Christ. It was simple, straightforward, sellable, practical. Individuals and
congregations knew exactly what they were called to do and how they could buy
into it.
There has been significant debate about whether the controversy overshadowed
the Bold Mission project to the point that it did not reach its potential, or
if churches simply were not committed to it. Whatever the reason, the dream
did not make it out of the hospital after its birth and we have hungered for
a dream since.
So, it is time to dream again. Presently, Southern Baptist Convention leaders
have put before Southern Baptists Kingdom Growth, an effort to move Southern
Baptists into a new day. But to this point, it has not captured the hearts of
most Southern Baptists and there has not been a groundswell of support. If you
doubt this statement, see if you can define or explain Empowering Kingdom Growth,
the present Southern Baptist Convention emphasis. If you cannot, it has not
captured your heart.
Dreaming is hard and dreamers are few, but a nation and a convention move forward
on dreams – dreams from the divine that spark extraordinary efforts and
multiplied fruits.
“And it will be in the last days, says God, “that I will pour
out My Spirit upon all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”Acts
2:17 (CSB)