Preacher Dreams

When I wake in the mornings, my wife Beth sometimes asks, "So, what did you dream about last night?" I’ve learned that this seemingly innocuous question is actually fraught with grave danger. (But it’s probably not what you’re thinking.) I’ve learned that I typically do not remember very many details of my dreams–just basic outlines. I was flying without need of aircraft. Or I was fighting some villain or monster. Or it was the end of the semester, exam day, and I’d missed every single class; I was having trouble finding the exam room, and I knew nothing about the subject (analyze that one). Or I was happy being with a friend or a family member. That sort of stuff is about all I remember when I wake from a dream. The danger in Beth’s question is that after I tell her what I dreamed about then she wants me to ask what she dreamed about. And let me try to be subtle about this. My wife remembers every detail of her dreams. She dreams in Technicolor. Her dreams are longer than War and Peace. And she wants to tell me everything that happened, even if it made no sense. Beth knows I try to be patient and listen to her dreams, even though I really just want to hurry up and read the paper.

I’m not so interested in our night dreams, even though they can be analyzed to help us understand our lives a little better. But then there are waking dreams. These dreams help shape reality. And, at their best, these dreams may move us toward the things God dreams about.

Imagine this preacher’s dream–a conversation with Peter. Peter says, "Well, Jeff, how’s the church going?" And I say, "Pretty well. You know, we’re going to be 175 years old in less than two weeks. Our 6^th annual charity auction to benefit Heifer International and the Willoughby Food Pantry is coming up at the end of the month. And before you know it, the youth will be heading to D.C. for their mission trip doing ministry with the hungry and homeless. How’re things going at your church, Peter?" And he answers, "Well, I preached this sermon the other week, and afterwards we received 3000 new members." "Man! That must have been some sermon!"

This morning, we caught just the end of Peter’s extraordinary sermon. He concluded, "Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now, this is both a troubling and a joyous statement. It’s troubling because we remember the Romans not the Jews were the ones who actually crucified Jesus. So why did Peter say, "this Jesus whom you crucified"? It seems Peter, a Jew, was trying to get a few of his fellow Jews to see how they bore either passive or active responsibility in Jesus’ crucifixion. Peter told them that they had misunderstood who this Jesus was. Jesus was made Lord and Messiah by God. But Peter was not indicting a whole people. We have no justification for 21^st century anti-Semitism here. The Jewish people were and are God’s people, and we Christians are grafted onto their tree, to use Saint Paul’s imagery. (Cf. Romans 11:17-18) Instead, this is a great opportunity for us to think about how we too might have our lives challenged.

Notice how this group responded to Peter’s blunt challenge. They didn’t get mad and go stomping out of worship. No. It says they were "cut to the heart." They felt pain and remorse. They felt sorrow. And this is not unusual. Sometimes the good news of Jesus Christ is first experienced not as good news but as hard news, painful news, challenging news followed by good news. How do we respond?

Maybe you’ve read in recent weeks that our government has authorized interrogation, actually torture, of suspected terrorists by using contractors in other countries to do the torturing. The hard word, but the good news word, is that, in the name of the living God, this must stop. No excuses. No rationalizations. And if you and I look in the mirror, we’ll see areas in our own lives that we need to allow God to help us change. The gospel is sometimes first experienced not as a comforting word but as a challenging one.

Peter preached a hard word to his congregation. And what did they say in response? I quit? No. They said, "Brothers, what should we do?" Preacher dreams.

"Brothers, what should we do?" And you will note that Peter did not say, "I’m so glad you asked. Show up for worship and Sunday School. Serve on a committee. Sing in the choir or ring bells. Be a generous steward, and practice social justice." Oddly enough Peter did not respond with a laundry list of assignments.

Instead, he said, "Repent. (That is, turn around, change your mind). Be baptized in Christ so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You see, the promise is for you, your children, folks near and far, now and future, everybody God is calling." And Peter, like many preachers, then added "many other arguments." And he finished with this word, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation!" Now this is better translated, "Let yourself be saved from this corrupt generation!" (See William Willimon, Acts in the Interpretation Commentary Series, 37.) It’s a good reminder that repentance and being saved from our own sinfulness and foolishness are actually what God does in us. At best, we might say, "I allowed God to change me." And even then, we may have claimed too much for ourselves. At every turn we are confronted by the grace of God that challenges our destructiveness, forgives our sins, and empowers us to change. Though the gospel is sometimes first heard as a hard word, it is always finally a kind word, a gracious word, a beautiful word.

So what was the result of all Peter’s preaching? Three thousand were baptized into the church. Preacher dreams.

I just finished a wonderful little book written by a United Church of Christ minister named Martha Grace Reese. The title is, Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism. The book is the result of a four-year study of evangelism in mainline churches. Reese discovered that people across the theological spectrum–liberals, moderates, and conservatives are doing effective evangelism. How are they doing it? By clearing barriers to evangelism. As you know, many folks in the mainline churches such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, are uneasy about evangelism. They’re afraid of being viewed as overbearing or strange. They don’t want to come across as "holier than thou." And they certainly are not interested in trying to scare people with the prospect of hell. So Reese says the first step toward effective evangelism is for us to be clear about why we want to tell others about our faith. She uses the image of our faith as an overflowing pitcher. So we share our faith out of overflowing joy. We share our faith as a gift to others. As Reese writes, "Faith sharing arises out of vibrant relationships with God." And as one faith sharer said, "I love to see people’s lives change." (Martha Grace Reese, Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism, 21.)

I’m going to be forming an evangelism team, an "E-Team" to talk about this book and to work on practical ways for our church to be more inviting with our faith. We won’t hold monthly meetings. We’ll meet when we need to. We won’t drop social justice ministries; we’ll add faith sharing and hospitality. And we’ll try to be God’s instruments for sharing this good news in words and deeds. So I invite you to pray about it. And let me know if you think God might be calling you to be a part of the E-Team. And I’ll also grab a few of you personally. Yes, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Maybe we won’t have 3000 people come to faith and join the church in a day. But the challenging gospel word is always finally a lovely and attractive word. It’s God’s word that promises not only to challenge us, but to forgive us, and to fill us with such overflowing joy that we just have to talk about it. Some preacher dreams, huh? Amen.

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