"making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world"

Imagination
by Rev. Scott Andrews

How do you see what God is doing in the world around you?  I remember this question from a seminary professor several years ago.  I don’t remember the name of the class we were in because I took several classes with this professor.  But what I do remember is that this particular professor liked to challenge us to challenger ourselves.  We were encouraged to use our imaginations and look at the church and the world around us in a “deconstructionist” mentality.  He wanted us to “take things apart and see how they worked” and then to tinker with them if needed.  We “deconstructed” church organization systems, worship services, and Sunday school curriculum.  At times, we would feel uncomfortable with the exercises.  Most of the time, it was rewarding to use our imaginations to uncover and discover a particular aspect of the church. 

I recently read another article from a series of lectures for 2005 given at another seminary.  This article made me think back to my own time in seminary: 

Why is our world beautiful, and what are we as Christians to do about the fact that our world is beautiful? Why is our world ugly, and what are we as Christians to do about the fact that our world is ugly?

      How do we make sense of these, and how do we live as ourselves, called to be human beings who live within that ugliness and that beauty and are called to respond appropriately to God in God's world?

      You need imagination to cope with that. Most of us find that too hard, so we retreat into soap operas and shopping and sport and hanging out and drinking coffee and shopping and so on. From time to time we catch our breath at the sight of the mountains coming out through the clouds or at something we see on television about horrible violence somewhere else or maybe even not somewhere else. It's too big and too difficult and we can't cope with it and so we retreat.

How do you see what God is doing in the world around you?  There are days I love to sit back close my eyes and just daydream.  I try to full imagine what God is up to and how he is going to use this day to inspire and move his people.  Now I’m not going to sit here and say that I fully understand what God is up to.  Only God knows God’s mind.  However, I believe that God gives us glimpses each day into his work.

In the weeks to come, I’m asking all of us to use our imaginations.  I’m asking each of you to daydream about what God is doing for you and for our church.  So often we get bogged down with details that we forget to dream a little.  So, take a moment . . . maybe during your prayer time . . . and dream.  Let your imagination run and see where God just might be leading you . . . us.  Amen!