for the last few years, i’ve wanted to start a non-profit something-or-other that accepts donations and supports pastors who are in transition or out of work. when i was sixteen, my dad went for almost a year between pastoring and working in the marketplace. my parents cashed in his retirement and accumulated a ton of debt just to pay the bills.
i haven’t forgotten that, and now that my friends and peers are the ones in transition or have been justly (or unjustly) released from ministry, it’s something still fresh in my mind. i am dreaming of finding a way to make this happen.
what’s one of your dreams?
Comments
66 responses to “what’s one of your dreams?”
adopt a baby girl from overseas :)
This is probably more shallow than what you’re looking for, but…
I’ve always wanted to learn to tap dance.
A dream’s a dream! Ain’t no shame!
Still narrowing my dreams down…
…but helping ministry leaders (in transition) was high on my list.
Last month was my one-year anniversary of surviving that tsunami.
I would LOVE to take trips overseas to work with worship leaders and women in ministry leadership, especially in church plants. I don’t know how much skill I have to offer but I can offer what I did not get when I started, and that is encouragement and help. This is a dream that is on my heart and I am just waiting for this opportunity to present itself.
Planting a church…which I’m beginning to do now. Kind of scary when you’re dream gets some skin on it yet wonderful at the same time.
I have a dream to begin a web/print magazine telling the stories of for-profit entrepreneurs and enterprises that seek to benefit their communities in REAL ways.
Trying to think of a name… :)
Write a screenplay that will get made into a movie. I’m working on it!
We’re currently independent missionaries…and my dream would be for us to be on your list of people to support. LOL. :-)
Your dream is so incredibly needed. My dad is a pastor and was unjustly released from ministry after confronting a deacon about an affair. Without getting into too many details, let’s just say, the other deacons didn’t side with my dad.
This took place 8 years ago and it has hit my parents pretty hard. They too have had to empty their retirement and have accumulated a lot of debt to pay the bills. He has had some interim positions, but has been unable to get a permanent position. (He is in his late 50s.)
My dad is now working in retail even though he has a doctorate and is an incredible Bible teacher. It’s a sad waste of talent which has caused us (his children) to question God’s plan on numerous occasions, but he and mom have never wavered. They have a closer walk with God than anyone I know, and God has used their trials to minister to other pastors in similar situations.
His website/blog is http://www.refocusministry.org
All that to say that your dream is my dream. One of them anyway. I have a lot. :-)
Getting this orphanage built in the eastern DR Congo.
Great idea Anne!
I would love to have a vacation home, I would simply hand the keys over to people that are being burned out by ministry, sending a family away on vacation that couldn’t normally afford it, etc.
Being able to to do what I do at the church for free and use my former salary to bring on another staff person. Not sure how that would happen, but it would be really amazing!
To someday have enough money to just hand to every person in my church and/or community who has a need. Also, to be able to give large sums to World Vision, Compassion, and other organizations who work to save children all over the world from starvation, sickness, poverty, and exploitation.
anne,
thanks for sharing your dream.
i’ve got couple:
1. make it to the NBA.
2. help change the world fighting poverty.
i’ve been told i have ZERO shot at #1. haters…
travel globally fulltime. traveling the world, making a difference by showing the love of Christ to people, through aid and education.
I’d like for one of you pk’s to write a book for my daughter to help her accept her to understand what’s going on sometimes.
for my 13 month old daughter grow up to honor and serve God with all that she has! and to be able to see that happen from the front row in life!
I would love to start a non profit one day that helps unite single parents around the world. It would offer a ministry, mentoring, penpals, free resources, etc.
I plan on making that happen one day!
Discover my passion in life and go after it. I’m passionate obviously about my family, but after the kids are all in school and I have a little free time I’d love to find exactly what God designed me to do.
To sing…even if it’s just to Jesus alone. I ache in my heart when I am not singing and giving that message of hope. Casting Crowns song says it all for me in that area….
“If all I had was one more song to sing
I would raise a noise to make the heavens ring
If all I had was one last chance, I’d take it
I would stake it all on You”
To write books that offer life changing, Biblical principles in relevant, powerful ways!
To speak to leaders around the country and world.
writing a book on missional worship – crafting a meaningful song…
Starting a business that ties our coffee experience to the people to grow it.
It’s a dream in progress…
See God start a church planting movement in France led by French people…and over 1.3 million people in Paris following Jesus.
Write and teach in South Africa.
Show the love of Christ in my daily life; bring encouragement to those in need; whether by words, actions, or financial means. Ultimately – travel overseas to spread the message of Christ, his love and saving grace, to the tibetan and sherpa people of india/nepal/china
Something on my heart right now at this moment is to develop more ministry opportunities to adults with special needs and mental health issues.
I also want to write things(published or not) that change lives.
This will sound soooo selfish: My dream was to ride cross country on my bicycle with some of my friends and my wife “spectating” before I turned 50. it didn’t happen but i still dream of it.
My “spiritual” dream is to see the ministry here really make a difference in peoples’ lives. Now, I feel better. :)
I have such a passion to invest in other woman… to help them realize their God-given potential and to lead strong. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly the best way to do this, but for right now it’s one-on-one relationships and my blog.
It’s hard to winnow out the just one dream. I love the idea presented that if you owned a vacation home, you could offer it up to ministry for free vacations. Wow – would that be a blessing to small town churches! Personally, because it is my gift from Him, I would do something related to birthing women: education, support, mentoring. I guess I already do that, but it would be cool to have that service available to ANY pregnant woman.
to be able to do photography as a full time gig…next to music. to make enough money doing photography that i could afford to take 3 months off from music each year & go & live in haiti or ethiopia just to serve. that’s a dream i have.
Long term: Start a communally-based boarding school.
Short term: Get bloggers to stop referring people to Amazon.com.
To create a television commercial for either The Gap, or a company that has funny ads during the Super Bowl…like Budweiser. I have always wanted to be the creative brains behind those awesome tv commercials!
Meet Anne Jackson and see how much taller I am than Dennis Kucinich
To move to England!
what a great dream Anne. My year of transition (2001) cost me so much debt and over 200 points of credit rating. That $1000 severance package sure was awesome….. not.
My honest to goodness dreams are so vague I’m almost embarrassed to type this! My dream is for God to use me however He wants – to be totally open to it without exception – be it by staying at home with my kids, teaching, church planting, moving overseas, just standing still, or something I could never even dream up and to be AT PEACE with it all. See? Vague.
Great question. I was just thinking about this on my way home tonight. I would love to find a way to just encourage people in ministry who are beat up and burned out.
I want to find a way to speak to the hearts of men and women who give of their God given gifts on a daily basis but our drained from being judged and criticized.
i dream daily.
many types dreams.
one thing i’ve come to realize more and more lately though is that one of my biggest dreams is to help others dreams come true.
My dream is to start a non-profit day center for teens and adults that have recently completed drug/alcohol rehab. I want to to establish a brick and mortar location that will have job training, AA/NA and other support groups in addition to having a place just to socialize and have fun. This is near and dear to my heart b/c my brother has completed rehab and there isn’t a place like this that will enable a person to have a place to just get and go to. As it is now he (my brother) just spends his day at home and doesn’t interact w/ anyone. I feel that if he had a place like this he would find a purpose in his life again.
Weird one here:
To somehow get people to understand the importance of getting a 2nd opinion on their treatment options when they or a family member is struck with a horrible life threatening disease such as cancer,etc. Getting a 2nd opinion after a year of unsuccessful treatments is what saved my life. Now, of course God did have mercy in allowing me to live a bit longer & that is ultimately why I’m writing this now.
Many are paralyzed by fear as I was & can’t see the logic in seeing another Dr. but even a good Dr. will encourage you to get another opinion.
My story is written all over my face yet people still don’t understand what I’m saying when I advise them to Please get a 2nd opinion on your treatment.
DAN MOREHEAD: I’m sorta with you – but my beef is with eBay.
Rock Crawling Ministry. (4×4 rigs)
I will add one more dream – or at least desire. We have gone through an absolutely stressful – even horific some would say – couple of years at our church. I learned alot through this. I hope to one day be able to minister to ministers/church staffs/pastors through our own experience and wisdom gained. I had a friend say “God will not waste your pain.” I’m hoping God will use for good in someone else’s life what was so painful for us.
Establishing a family resource center in my community where we collaborate with all social agencies and provide a one-stop hub for parents who need help, resources, assistance, and mentoring in their parenting journey.
It would be a mix of Barnes and Nobel environemnt, a coffee shop atmosphere, a childrens museum, and free online work stations and phones. We want to make it as easy as possible for parents to get the help they need for raising healthy kids.
So many dreams, so little time. I hope to someday write a book that will encourage others. My outlet, for now, is my blog.
I’d like to serve the world through Water Aid.
The dream I’m presently working towards making a reality is to never work a 40 hour week indoors.
Find a way to stay here permanently with out ever having to worry about raising more money to fund it. At the same time, partnering with people to be along for the ride and encourage people to be involved in what God is doing here. Seriously South Africa ROCKS. Woop woop.
lead worship. write music. have a family. use the influence i have/will have for the sake of justice and compassion. somehow do all of the above in a cohesive way that doesn’t leave me feeling like i have 4 jobs. :)
basically, to be about those things but really be about just one thing.
We’re in transition at the moment. We know we are leaving the place in which we lay our heads down at night and from where I’m writing this at the moment. We do not yet know to where or when. A dream of ours is happening now.. walking each moment of today and know He holds the future just the same. We will go wherever He says… and when He says. There is freedom in following Him even though chains are falling down in the process or are wanting to still hold us captive.
Thank you Anne..
my dream is to plant a church in England…..
to support a passionate man of God
to love and encourage him
to live as a Godly helpmeet
to teach a generation what it means to live in full abandon to God…..
it is a beautiful thing!!!
Two Dreams:
1. Have the courage to tell my story
2. Live Overseas
I would like to travel around the country and the world with a video camera capturing stories of hope, need, injustice and victory to share with the rest of the world.
I would like to buy a house with some property, and have a little granny flat or cabin. I would invite pastors (and other deserving staff/lay leaders) to come for a relaxing retreat/getaway. This cabin would be decorated in serene colors for a relaxing atmosphere. I would provide soothing CD’s, blank journals and books to borrow. Connected to the cabin would be a little, private garden where they could sit, relax and listen to the birds. I would serve them meals at a time of their choosing, so they could sleep in or just not be bothered. I would either make it really cheap or free.
When I came to the realization, I think I was 8, that people actually lived on the streets and didn’t have any food, clothing or shelter. I wanted to open a homeless shelter. Where people could come and live until they could get back on their feet.
I was watching some YouTube videos today and there were several interviews with homeless people and they were ask why they didn’t like to go to the shelter. Their answers varied. We just read the book Under the Overpass and in the book it talked about different shelters and missions. They all had a service that the people had to sit through before they were fed or given a bed. WHY?
I want a shelter where homeless can come in and we just love them! Where they can be treated like Human beings and we can sit down and have conversations with them. I just want to love them.
So that’s one of my dreams!
I would love to adopt multiple children from all different countries and cultures and have international nights where each child teaches the family something about their culture and we eat the food from their culture as well. This is just something I would love to have in my home…
Anne,
What a great dream! I picked up Side by Side(a supplement to Enrichment journal) today and found a list of Ministry Retreats and Resorts at low cost for ministers and their families. Of those listed one: D&D Missionary Homes offered help to missionaries and pastors in transitional periods.
http://www.ddmissionaryhomes.org
To plant missional churches in cities that will encourage, build and equip people to follow Jesus and minister at the point of need as He led by example.
gaj
Dave Allen,
“I’d like for one of you pk’s to write a book for my daughter to help her accept her to understand what’s going on sometimes.”
I think that’s my dream. :) To write a book about my dad’s ministry from my perspective!
Feed neighbors and villages, One vegetable garden at a time.
To design accounting software for churches that range from 2 members to 20,000 members so that pastors/administrators can actually be the example for their churches on How to Manage Your Money!!
(It’s also the reason I got a bachelors degree in accounting.)
To honor God.
But on a smaller scale, id say to form my own nonprofit organization that helps to eradicate racial and cultural biases within youth
I would love to become a life coach. I like helping people see their dreams fulfilled. Also, leave a rich, Christ honoring legacy!
To write a book worth reading.
I guess my dreams evolve over time, but this is where I am now:
1. To be a Godly leader for my wife and 7wk old son.
2. start a side project that helps churches to “unbox” their experiences and take the church into new mediums.
WOW… I’m catching up on my reader (I hate just clicking ‘mark all as read’) after getting a NEW computer set up. The only casualty from the death of the old one is having to rebuild my iTunes collection.
I found myself saying, “Yeah, that would be fun” to about 90% of these dreams (including yours, Anne). I was inspired to blog my own dream…
http://rejectedreality.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/i-have-had-a-dream/