Stop Dreaming Other People’s Dreams

Image by David-sm™

Read a great interview with Erwin McManus in Outreach Magazine the other day. In part of it he was asked, “What would you say to pastors of smaller churches who dream of growing their church large, but it’s just not happening?” That’s a question that I think is happening all over the place in the American church today.

We see the large glorified, read their books, follow their leaders, and even catch an interview here and there when they get tapped to speak on our behalf to the media about current affairs. And yet the majority of churches in America are small - really small. According to a 2003 research study conducted by George Barna, “In total, 60% of Protestant churches have 100 or fewer adults on a typical weekend, while slightly less than 2% have 1000 or more adults.”

I think that trend is continuing, especially as we see people changing seats on the bus - moving from smaller to larger churches. Even as I think about the people I know, I would say that a good portion of them are a part of churches that are larger.

How does Erwin respond? Here’s his answer…

Sometimes we end up having dreams based on someone we’re watching on TV or whose conference we’ve gone it. Look, if you’re not in a large city like Chicago or Houston or L.A., you cannot take that particular application and say, “That’s the dream for my church and my life.” So, if you’re in a small community, you could say, “Hey, I’d like to be the guy everyone in the community trusts.” Because most everyone in that community is going to have a crisis one day. if you want to have a real God-shaped dream, then be that person. Earn the reputation of being the most trusting, caring, compassionate, serving and wise person in that town. And watch what God will do in the middle of that!

Use your strengths to better the world. That is why pastors have to have a dream that matches their lives. I think a lot of pastors have a dream that matches the life of the person who is living the dream they want.

You can read the full article in the Sept/Oct issue of Outreach Magazine. For more from Erwin McManus, I’d highly recommend his newest release, Wide Awake. You can read my review here: “Wake Up! Reflecting on Wide Awake.”

Posted 09.03.2008

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