We Have a Dream

Yesterday on Sunday, October 1, 2006, David Bearden preached his first sermon at the McKnight Road Church of Christ. At the conclusion of his sermon he shared with us a poem. I had more than member ask if we could post his poem? David asked us to join him in his vision of what we want the McKnight Road church to be:

I Dream of a Church

I have a dream…

I dream of a church
...where the message is Christ
Where the people say “we can” through God
And “why not” instead of “you can’t”
Or “it’ll never work.”

I dream of a church
…where the message is love
And people practice acceptance
And unity rather than judgment
And prejudice.

I dream of a church
…where the message is a cross
And people willingly sacrifice for good
Giving of self rather than speak of rights
Or “I like.”

I dream of a church
…where the message is God
And people believe He has power and
That He keeps His promises instead of
Wringing hands in doubt.

I dream of a church
…where the message is real
And people, lonely hurting lost people
Find their way home from a dark
Cold Christless world.

I dream of a church
…where the message is sung
By people from the heart without
Worry about form or performance or
Defending practice.

I dream of a church
…where the message is prayed
By people who believe God will answer
By direct intercession and divine
Providence.

I dream of a church
…where the message is shared
By people who remember his death
In bread and wine, shed a tear
And smile at the same time.

I dream of a church
…where the message is heard
By people from another person,
Human, but an instrument of God, just a man
With love for the Word.

I dream of a church
…where the message is true
In people who show it in worship,
In praise, in emotion, in care, in giving,
In service, in love.

I dream of a church
…where the message is lived
By people who have given their lives
To a higher calling instead of to
An institution or a doctrine.

I dream of a church
…where the message is hope
For people who will die but live
Eternally by a resurrection where they
Will ever be with the Lord.

I dream of a church
…where the message is faith
By people who believe their God is
Too big for budgets, buildings and programs
Because He is God.

I dream of a church
…where the message is church,
The people not the building or organization or
The doctrine or the practice but the
Body of the Head, Jesus Christ the Lord!

I dream of a church
…where the message is home
A people just passing through bound
For a better place where all their
Dreams come true.


David Bearden

___________________________________________________________

I was also asked if I would post the charge that we shared with the Bearden's yesterday?

Below are my notes which are fairly close to what I believe I stated:

A Charge for David and Vicki Beardon
From the Elders of the McKnight Road Church of Christ
October 1, 2006

As our members are aware, we have been through a season of transition these past few months as we have sought someone to work with us. Many prayers have been offered up asking the Lord to send to us the person whom we could employ full time as the minister of this church. Not only do we believe that God sent us David Bearden to fill that capacity; but, we also feel that Vicki is part of that answered prayer. For those of you who do not know them, let me share a bit of brief background to introduce them to you.


First, I would like to begin by introducing to you their daughter Angela Bearden who is with them today. Angela, who is 27, is a Residence director of Morris Hall at ACU. She is a graduate of Pepperdine where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in sociology. She is currently enrolled at ACU pursing a masters degree in organizational and human resource development. She also serves as a campus ministry intern for the Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, TX. Angela is featured in the latest issue of ACU Today. She surprised her parents by flying in town this weekend. We are very glad that she is here to support them in their move from the Sunny Hills Church of Christ in Fullerton, CA.

Their middle daughter is Alisha who is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and now teaches elementary school at the Sonrise Christian School in Covina, CA. She is working on a masters degree in education at Azusa Pacific University. Their youngest daughter, Alaina, is a junior at Abilene Christian University and is an English and Political Science major.

David graduated from Harding University in 1977 and has studied at the Harding Graduate School of Religion. He began preaching at the age of 15. He has preached and written extensivly for a number of Christian publications including Power for Today. He has been serving as the Secretary and Operations Director for the Pacific Rim Educational Foundation, which is an organization that fosters doing mission work in China utilizing legal cross-cultural educational opportunities between Chinese Universities and Christian Universities in the United States. David and Vickie just completed a 3 week stay in China this past summer. David has a heart for foreign missions.

When we began this quest for finding the right “minister”, we agreed we did not want someone who could just preach. We thought it important that the minister and his family would become intimately involved with the life of the members of the congregation. What we found was that David and Vicki are team. Vicki works right alongside with David. She has a degree in accounting and a talent for organizational administrative skills. But, more importantly she is a helpmate to him in his ministry. We have decided to employ both David and Vicki together as part of our staff for the ministry here at McKnight Road. We believe that Vicki has talents and abilities that will enhance the operations of our ministries here at the McKnight Road church.

What is a minister? Interestingly, the term as an office does not exist in the Bible. But, neither do church buildings, song books, or Section 501(c) (3) non-profit corporations, all of which we employ in the work of the church today. The fact of the matter is that every member who is a part of the body of Christ is a minister. The minister is just one of us who is employed by the church to do the work of ministry full time; while the rest of us, like the apostle Paul at Ephesus, make tents. We do not in this church have a clergy laity distinction. We believe what the Bible teaches in that we are a royal priesthood…..a priesthood of all believers. This is radical. We do not today stand in a sanctuary. The sanctuary is within the hearts of those members who are sitting in the pews here today.

We believe that the scriptures declare the organization of the local church is to be led by elders who are selected by the congregation. In the same manner, spiritual qualifications are set forth in scripture for elders and for the role of deacons. In our judgment, while we want to be a church that is elder led, we recognize that in the world we live in today that it takes those who can devote full time to ministry for the work to be effective. To that end, we believe that it is expedient to employ staff to help us in the mission. In fact, we charge the staff to drive us in that process.

While it is a “job”; the call to minister is so much more. We have seen demonstrated in David and Vicki’s lives the passion of the Holy Spirit to make disciples. We see the fruit of your children knowing that they have raised beautiful young ladies who love God and want to serve him. [And we will weep with you after you pay for 3 weddings…just kidding! ] David and Vicki had discussed looking for a church to get back to the Midwest to be closer to their families. At the same time they were praying for a church, we were praying for a minister. We do not believe that this was mere coincidence.

Today we charge both of you to be all you can be in the name of and in the nurture and admonition of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We empower you to hold each of us accountable to the calling that the Lord has placed upon us to oversee the body of Christ that makes up the McKnight Road Church. And, in the same manner, we ask that you humbly allow yourselves to be servants for His sake.

Let us ask God to bless all of us as we begin our journey together this day.