I have a dream that one day the church of Jesus Christ will rise up to her God-given calling and begin to live out the true meaning of her identity --which is, the very heartthrob of God Almighty --the fiancee of the King of all Kings.
I have a dream that Jesus Christ will one day be Head of His church again. Not in pious rhetoric, but in reality.
I have a dream that groups of Christians everywhere will begin to flesh out the New Testament reality that the church is a living organism and not an institutional organization.
I have a dream that the clergy/laity divide will someday be an antique of church history, and the Lord Jesus Himself will replace the moss-laden system of human hierarchy that has usurped His authority among His people.
I have a dream that multitudes of God's people will no longer tolerate those man-made systems that have put them in religious bondage and under a pile of guilt, duty, condemnation, making them slaves to authoritarian systems and leaders.
I have a dream that the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ will be the focus, the mainstay, and the pursuit of every Christian and every church. And that God's dear people will no longer be obsessed with spiritual and religious things to the point of division. But that their obsession and pursuit would be a person-the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have a dream that countless churches will be transformed from high-powered business organizations into spiritual families - authentic Christ-centered communities - where the members know one another intimately, love one another unconditionally, bleed for one another deeply, and rejoice with one another unfailingly.
I have a dream today....
* "I Have a Dream" written by Frank Viola in Reimagining Church -- adapted from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech delivered in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963.
Six Loves Lost
7 years ago
This is beautiful. But it makes me think about the consequences of such radical thinking... it didn't turn out so great for MLK.
ReplyDeleteI pray we have the courage to forge ahead no matter what.
Here is a different perspective Erin. I once read a quote from Andrew Tobias who was a well known financial adviser in his time. He warned his clients regarding the tendency to ramp ones lifestyle to match ones income. He said it happens in this way; a man that has never owned a suit is perfectly happy with a $175 suit from Sears. But one day he decides he can afford a better suit and ends up buying a $500 suit at the Mens Warehouse. He says there in lies the problem. Once he tries the $500 suit, the $175 will no longer be satisfactory, although it worked perfectly well before he knew the difference. He said it this way, "a luxury once tasted becomes a necessity!"
ReplyDeleteThat is what I believe awaits the church body that gives itself over to the headship of Christ and experiencing a truly intimate relationship with He, God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Once that is tasted there will be no going back!
Egypt holds nothing for us; let's move forward!