From the Bishop

Reflecting upon 'The Dream of God'

I write as we begin the New Year. While there is nothing really magical about the flip of the calendar from one year to the next, each year's passing gives us an opportunity to remember, to reflect and to imagine. Part of that imagination should include what God has in mind for us. In fact, someone recently told me that the phrase "the Kingdom of God" might be better understood as "the Dream of God." What is the Dream of God for our lives, for our church, for our nation, for our world and for the whole of creation?

Scripture reminds us that God's dream for us includes justice, peace, salvation, sharing of God's resources and the coming of a whole new life/creation/experience with God. God's dream includes a hope that "the lion will lay down with the lamb" and "swords will be turned into plowshares" and "peace on Earth" and "there will no more crying or pain." God's dream includes a promise that all of these blessings are available to us right now. We don't have to wait for a distant future or for a life-after-death to experience God's dream in our midst. No, God's dream and God's most loving desire is for us to participate in that new future now.

I invite you to do some dreaming with me. We have done enough budget-cutting and reality-facing. It is time for us to do some dreaming, some dreaming about God's dream for our future. Below is a dream that I am willing to share with you.

I have imagined what it might be like if I were to serve as your bishop until 2016 when I face mandatory retirement as a bishop. Of course I have no idea whether or not the Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy will assign me here in Indiana for two more terms, but my dream is really not about me or my tenure in Indiana - it is about what God might be dreaming for us to accomplish together. So my dream is in the form of an imaginary report to the 2016 Annual Conference Session of the Indiana Conference. I share my dream with you as a way of inviting you to dream about God's dream for you, for your local church, and for The United Methodist Church in Indiana.

Just imagine . what is the Dream of God for you?

Bishop Mike Coyner
"Making a Difference …
in Indiana and around the world"