Dreaming Big for the Church

I was inspired to write about my dream for what the church should look like by a very talented and wonderful blogger named Nicole Cottrell on her website Modern Reject. (Check it out. You will not be disappointed) So here's the comment I left:

I think Larry Crabb sums up what it up pretty well:

“In Western culture, the word church rarely calls to mind what I mean by community. More often, church means an organization with numerical and financial goals that have little to do with building real community. For their success, churches tend to require cooperation more than connection.”

More connection. Less cooperation. My dream for the church is for people to walk in to a group of believers and say, “How does this even work? I have never seen THAT type of person hanging out with someone like THAT.” I want there to be less emphasis on programing and more emphasis on preparing, descipling, building up, investing, teaching, and sharing in one anothers’ pain. And I want there to be more disciples, and less people worried about getting “fed” on Sunday mornings.

I want the church to not just say, but embrace the fact that people are messy, and that is something to engage in, not cover up or shirk away from. I want church to be less of a show. More of a discussion. Less of a performance. More of a time to be challenged.

I want people to walk out and not say, “Wow, that pastor sure can preach,” but rather, “Wow, God is really alive and at work in me and in this body.” (For people to be in love with God, not the trendy people or bands that brokenly reflect his goodness)

More than anything though, I want to want what God desires for His people. Because that probably isn’t perfectly represented here.

So dare to dream. Where do you envision the church going?