A few weeks back I was walking in the woods. I had been praying about our church, knowing we were beginning the visioning process. Our Year of Love at Broadmoor UMC had only just begun and I was praying that the Spirit would move through our community of faith in ways that would point to the future God has planned for our church.
As we dream about what our church could be, we get excited to think of the possibilities that could open as we grow and the amount of love we could share with our neighbors. We are also scared by the possibilities of failure and the risks we have to take to reach our dreams. But when we dream, ANYTHING is possible. I mused about these things as I continued walking, and was surprised to see a peculiar sign nailed to a tree.
Upon further inspection, this sign was a target. I remarked aloud (to myself) that our dreaming for the church is going to lead to goals. This particular goal, the sign, was remarkably high in the trees. It looked like I would never be able to reach it. We sometimes feel the same way about some of our dreams for the church. They seem too far out of our reach. After taking a few pictures of the bull's eye target, I continued walking on the path. It began to wind and I climbed higher into the woods. After several minutes something caught my eye. To my right was the target on the tree! Only now it was at eye-level. The target was attainable after all!
As we dream and set goals for our church, let us listen to God’s call. Let us dream big dreams about what Broadmoor can be for its community. If we are faithful, we too will be surprised to find ourselves not only meeting the goals we set for ourselves, but surpassing them. So dream big, Broadmoor, and let’s walk that path together.
By Rev. Peter Gaughan