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Leadership | Orange Revolution | 1: The Dream

This summer as I was transitioning in my role at Orange, I was also reading The Orange Revolution by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. Yes, the book has nothing to do with family ministry, but I like people who “Think Orange” and want to learn from people who want to create forward momentum and positive change. 

I found myself highlighting more than I wasn’t, but I kept returning to four passages that hit me where I was in ministry. I have a feeling they’ll hit you as well. This week, it’s about creating a revolution in your ministry. Dreaming big and watching God bring those dreams to reality. 

“A dream is bigger – it has no boundaries, rules, or past history. It’s focused on transforming business as we know it, and approaching from a direction never pursued – or at least never attained. In dreams, we seek the outstanding change – not just within the products we create but in the results those products inspire.”

The authors wrote the above quote to business leaders focused on shipping products and bottom lines, but this doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it.

If we’ve been in ministry for any length of time, we start dreaming about what could be. Our environments could use an overhaul. We could partner with local schools. We could impact all of the families in our community.

These dreams are big. After all, they are dreams. They seem impossible, but that doesn’t make them worthless to persue.

If you have a dream, go for it. Test it out on your friends.  If they think your crazy, chances are that you’re on to something. A bit of a disclaimer to that last statement, some dreams are crazy: Deciding to build a rocket to the moon in your backyard because you’ve always wanted to be Phinaes and Ferb is not full of wisdom. You still need discernment, and true friends will help you with that.

Some of us, on the other hand, have stopped dreaming. We’ve become so bogged down in the daily opperations of ministry that seeing what could be is impossible. We need a moment or ten to step outside our current reality and focus our energy on what the future could look like.

Change your perspective: We stop dreaming because we only see life through our own lens.

 Walk through your church and see it through the eyes of a visitor or volunteer. What would you change? What could be better?

 Get on your knees and walk through your children’s space at the same height as the kids. What do you notice? What do you need to adress and change?

Seek Input from Others: While no one can give you your dream, people can inspire you to start dreaming again.

Read a biography from a leading innovator. How did they discover their dream?

Schedule a phone conversation with someone you respect in your field. Poke, prod, and ask questions about best practices and their own dreams. Most ministry leaders are willing to give you 30 minutes of their time to talk about dreams in ministry. This may be the perspective you need to

Brainstorm: Often we have so many ideas floating through our heads that we don’t know which is worth of our time and energy. We need to take time to brainstorm out how each of these ideas could play out. When we begin to big-sky dream about  our ideas, one will rise to the surface as one worth pursuing.

 More than one of those ideas could seen possible. Possible is not the measure of worthwhile. Think about the story you’re hoping to tell with your life. Which dream will help you tell that story? That’s the idea worth incubating into reality.

Pray: Prayer is not a last resort. Prayer is the beginning. Ask the Giver of Dreams to help you realize where He needs you. Ask, seek, knock; receive, find, and walk through.

What’s your dream? How are you persuing it? I’d love to hear your stories!