Can you imagine how boring life would be without dreams? Without a vision for the future? Without innovation? Without next steps?
As a very young kid I realized that I had a very active imagination. When I caught a glimpse of something fantastic in my mind’s eye I was convinced that it would become a reality. I wasn’t allowed to sit by the windows in school because my imagination would take me out that window and into places much better suited for me than dingy old classrooms.
My heart resonates with dreamers. The people who can see the potential of a situation or who can take the ordinary into the extraordinary gather high marks in my book.
A dreamer isn’t someone who has their head in the clouds. Make no mistake: A dreamer is deeply entrenched in the here and now. They are fully aware of their surroundings. They are just unable to survive in the status quo. They are willing to break out of the box to seek a better way.
Take Walt Disney for example. I once read about Walt’s dreaming exercises. On day one of a new project he would set aside everything and allow himself the freedom to come up with the most audacious, fantastic plans. He was in dreamer mode. Nothing was off limits. Anything could and would be considered.
On day two he would become the realist. He would look at the plans and bring them into reality. There were some things that from a production standpoint just could not be rendered. He would table those ideas and seek out what was truly within grasp.
On day three he would play the critic. What would and would work? What was too fantastic? What would be a home run? What would foul out? What ever survived day three Walt would then make his singular focus.
Most people skip over a day one. Why waste time on things that might not ever come to fruition? “I don’t pay the bills with dreams,” some might say.
Yes you do.
Walt’s dreams paid off. Dreams pay off because they lead people to new places.
Another dreamer on my iBoard is Kermit the Frog. Whenever I’m asked which 5 people I would have to a fantasy dinner Kermit is always there.
In the Muppet Movie, Kermit embodies everything that I admire in dreamers.
He strikes out for a better life and on the way brings others along with him.
That is what dreamers do. They give hope and cast a vision to others often at a great expense to themselves.
Leaders are in the dreaming business whether they know it or not. It is our job to connect the longing of people’s hearts with the Ultimate Dreamer. It is our job to constantly put before our people the vision of a new life. A life marked by grace. A life of hope not despair. Love not hate. Ministry is about more than teaching about sin management. It is about living in the glory of God. It is about motivating people to experience the hope that one has in Christ.
“You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
“Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:9-11; 27-31)