dream to go 11 - it's your fault

Abba Macarius was one of the early Christian “desert fathers”. He was an amazing prophet, and had an incredibly close relationship with God. People he prayed for often were healed and miracles happened around him.

Once God called Abba Macarius to found a monastery. So he wondered the deserts of Egypt praying continually that God would show him the right place to build it.

But God was silent.

Finally after this had gone on for a very long time he became impatient and pled with the Lord for guidance.

An angel appeared to him and said “the Lord is not going to tell you where to build the monastery. He wants you to choose the place, because if he tells you where to build and things go wrong, you will only blame him!”

Here’s a scary thought…

It’s your choice.
It’s your fault.
You can take the credit.
You’ll get the blame.

God does want to speak to you. At times he wants to guide you. But God is so not interested in having a group of passive puppets. How boring would that be!

Many people like the idea of a God who will make all the choices for them.

Sometimes it that plays into the hands of control freaks who get positions of leadership.

Sometimes it covers up our insecurity and false humility.

A famous preacher man was visiting a little church. At the end he complimented the pianist on her beautiful playing. “It wasn’t me, it was the Lord”, she said.
“It was good, but it wasn’t that good” he replied.

God invites you to live. Live your life wholeheartedly. Obey him wholeheartedly or screw-up wholeheartedly, but grow up enough to own it for yourself.

“I no longer call you servants, but friends” (John 15:15)

dream to go 10 - dare to dream small dreams

God is a small group. Father, son and Holy Spirit. Trinity.

God is a small group. God is relationship. God is community. God is love.

But God is not a clique. God moves breaks out of any cosy comfort zone, to invite others to be part of the relationship. To welcome outsiders into the group. To pay the highest price imaginable in removing all barriers keeping us from joining in.

Now here’s a thing. I was created “in the image of God”. And that’s something about me that is pretty amazing. I look like God! Richard White, with his zits, buck teeth, depression, anger, lust and grumpiness still looks like God!

I really want to look more and more like God though. Which means that I probably need to expect to be part of small groups that look like God. Little gatherings of images of God who with their irritations and envy, still look like God. Little groups that are learning relationship, community and love. Little groups that are working to not be cliques, but to break out of any comfort zone to invite outsiders in. To pay high prices to remove all barriers that keep others out.

One of Dream’s core values is that we seek to be relational. To build community rather than just run events. There are now six little dream groups who meet weekly or fortnightly. Having visited most of them, I can tell you that they aren’t very impressive! If you have any illusions about cool people coming together with deep insights and unconditional love, forget it. These are ordinary, sometimes boring people, like me, with hang ups and hard edges. But they look like God. And they do that all the more as they stick together and work at building trust, caring for each other and reaching outside themselves.

If you’re part of one of those groups, keep reminding yourself how precious that is. And don’t settle for comfort or ruts. Keep longing for more.

If you aren’t then why not start a new one? Dream a small dream. You could take turns to tell your own story and to listen attentively. Or take one prayer station from a recent ‘service’ and unpack it together. Or do the Dream Lectio journey together. Or take it in turns to bring some simple creative thing for the group. Find two others who’ll give it a go and become the beginnings of an image of God who is trinity

Dream Bolton starting soon (!!)

by Ruth Wills

Dream BOLTON will be starting next week – Thursday 11th January.
The aim of the group is to meet together for coffee and snacks and talk
about general stuff in life, but with a 5 or 10 min activity which will help
us to think a little bit about God and our own lives.

It will be very low key and we might do something creative: listen to
music, cut out pictures - nothing heavy heavy. The idea is that we are
on a journey in life – lives that might be crazy and difficult, but with plenty to share and celebrate.
So in ‘Dream’ we are able to stop for a few minutes, be still and have time to think and reflect.

If you live or know someone who lives in the Bolton \ Wigan \ Chorley area, please get in touch and think about coming along.

Meeting every fortnight from 11th January

6-7 pm @138 New Street, Blackrod, Bolton BL6 5AQ

Contact Ruth on 01204 460660 or 07990 593623