Dreams from a dreamer

I have been thinking back, today. Do you remember the days early in life when anything seemed possible? I mean, ANYTHING. If you had a dream of some job you wanted to have, you could not only achieve that, but be the best in the field? If you wanted to be a police officer, you would not only become one, but you'd nab every most wanted felone in the continental United States...all on your first day at work. Remember those days?
My dream was always just that - to be a police officer. I played "cops and robbers" with neighbors constantly as a child, and never stopped to think until later that maybe they didn't want to be the bad guys all the time...nevertheless, they were, and they always got busted! I just assumed that some day, when the time came, I'd go to the academy and follow that dream. But along about the age of 14, something else directed my future plans - a call of God to be a preacher. There was no doubting it - it was a clear cut thing. That would be my future, and I have no regrets about taking this road, either.
When I first began this journey of ministry, I must admit I was still a dreamer. I had envisioned that I would be some amazing preacher that had all the ideas the church world had been waiting for. I thought, deep down inside, that I would eventually be that pastor that everyone thought hung the moon - that you wouldn't be able to stop people from coming through the doors of the church I would pastor, because it would be so incredible. Yes - those were dreams, and I'll admit that at the age of 14 I was not only a lofty dreamer, but a tad bit ego-centric as well.
Now to reality: pastoring isn't easy, and having good "ideas" doesn't equal the instant success of reaching untold multitudes in a short amount of time. I'm finding more and more each day that the more I depend on my own talents or abilities, however strong or weak they are, the less I get to see Him accomplish in ministry. More days than not it's a struggle, even when I'm on the mountaintop of ministry. The simple fact of the matter is that I have an enemy, and so do you. He despises the work of God, and the more lost folks that come to Christ and begin a discipleship journey with Him, the more the enemy fights.
I don't know why people walk away from the fight. I don't know why people turn their backs on the church or its leadership. And to be perfectly honest, I don't know why people neglect commiting to follow Him in what He's calling them to do. But I do know this: our King is coming back any minute, and I don't want to be doing my own thing when He does.
So, here ya go - some "dreams from a dreamer." I have an undying dream of reaching the community that God has placed me in. I have an undying dream to see men and women, boys and girls come into a relationship with Jesus and follow Him the rest of their lives. I have an undying dream to see His church grow, and the local church He's placed me in explode because its members can't STOP sharing Him with the world. I have an undying dream of a time when financial meetings are a breeze and there aren't ever any tough decisions to be made as to what to cut next. And I have an undying dream...call it a passion, rather...to see Him lifted up in all I do, and in all that the church I serve does, until the day He calls us all back to Himself in the "twinkling of an eye."

That's just a thought, and I welcome your's.
Until next time,
blake

Feel free to email Pastor Blake anytime at pastorblakeman@yahoo.com .