I’m reading Reimagining Spiritual Formation, the story of a Christian community in Minneapolis called Solomon’s Porch. At the very beginning of the book, they list their dreams. And I remembered September of 1999, our Yearly Meeting’s Pastor’s Conference, held in the Columbia Gorge. In a 30 hour period of silence, I dreamed my dreams, including dreams for the community I’d like to be a part of:
I want to be part of a community that:
- individually and corporately listens to God for its calling and lives and breathes a passion for obedience to Christ.
- is involved with and not withdrawn from the world.
- is a transforming community, where people are coming to know God for the first time and being moved deeper and deeper toward spiritual maturity, using their gifts and giving to others what they have received from God.
- is working in tangible and visible ways for peace and justice in our world.
- models equality in regard to gender, race, economic status, etc.
- lives out and understands true community with each other: full of honesty, integrity, accountability, confrontation and love.
- is a community where everyone plays a part, everyone participates, everyone finds their place in the body of Christ, everyone serves, and we all listen to one another.
- is a community where we practice and grow in our ability to live by consensus and strive to hear Christ more clearly together.
God is dreaming our dreams for us, I think. What joy to find connection and kinship with brothers and sisters in Christ!
Now, how will we live it out?