Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet


It is my dream


Are we following our dreams - or Jesus? By Michael Shaw


Cross800

I was a student in the mid-90s. It was the era of Blur and Oasis, as well as the Stone Roses, Suede and Pulp. One of  Pulp’s best known songs Common People told the story of a young woman from a wealthy background who wanted to be ordinary. The point of the song was that, even if she lives that life, at any point she could call her Dad and he would rescue her.
 
I was in a conversation with a young woman, who works for a national justice organisation. I spoke about my situation in Devonport, about the high levels of deprivation I see around me. In response, she said, 'It is my dream to live on an estate.'
 
As I was reflecting on the conversation, while I admired her passion and enthusiasm, those words struck me. You see the thing is it is not my dream to live where I do, far from it; my wife and I often dream of a different life, I have an alert set up with one of the online estate agents of houses that we could never afford but can dream about living in. I live where I live not because it is my dream, but because this is where God has called me, and until he calls me elsewhere, then this is where I will stay.
 
But then I thought more, it is not the dream of my neighbours' either, or some members of our church community. This area is maybe one of the few areas they can afford to live in, such are the low house prices and rent. This is not the dream location for many.
 
However, even they have some choice, but others have been moved here because there is a high level of social housing. They were not given a choice to live here, they just had to move here. They would probably love to have greater choice about where they live.
 
For others, Devonport has been the only place they have ever known, they may never have lived anywhere else, and that stretches back several generations. They have any aspirations drummed out of them, and have been constantly told (both consciously and unconsciously)  that they are not worth anything more and their dreams will never be fulfilled.
 
Then there are the men and women who live in the homeless hostel nearby or the various bedsits that surround it. When they were growing up it was not their dream to live in this temporary way, but a life event, abuse in childhood, loss of job, partner or home has left them seeking sanctuary in this place and the location is not accidental: not many other areas in the city would allow a homeless hostel in the heart of their community.
 
Our conversation moved onto programmes, and models for how you get people in the wider church into justice. To me though there is one simple model that I have followed: deep listening. I come to a community like Devonport not to be the solution, but to learn. To recognise that each day is a learning day, that my clever solutions are probably not that clever. The model of Jesus was  incarnation, and incarnation is costly, it was costly to Jesus, but if we are to follow Jesus, the incarnation is the only model we have.
 
I doubt it was Jesus’ dream to become human, live the life of a homeless itinerant preacher and die the death of a thief.
 
Like so many in my community it is not my dream to here, but while the world tells us to follow our dreams, Scripture tells us we need to follow Jesus, and following Jesus is not always a comfortable life!
 

Image | Roman Denisenko | Unsplash

 

Michael Shaw is minister of Devonport Community Baptist Church in Plymouth

 
 



Do you have a view? Share your thoughts via our letters' page

 

 
Baptist Times, 06/10/2020
    Post     Tweet
A bridge of hope? The Baptist witness in Israel and Palestine
Baptists in Israel and Palestine are a unique bridge between different people and cultures in the region, writes Mark Hirst, who recently visited Baptists there. He shares this and other reflections to help fuel our prayers
Gaza: our voices do make a difference
The news is indeed dreadful, writes David Nelson - but showing solidarity does have an impact
Bruno and other friends: encounters and reflections  
Baptist minister Ivan King explains why he has written a book honouring some of the ordinary people who have welcomed him into their world as a pastor
'The Inter Faith Network is in peril - please support it'
The government is withdrawing funding from the Inter Faith Network, leading to its potential closure. Paul Weller, a member of the Baptists Together Inter Faith Working Group, is encouraging Baptists to urgently protest the decision
Look outward in Lent 
For many Lent has become a time for self-examination and for deepening one’s devotional life. But the call to Christian discipleship is to look away from oneself - so let’s experiment in new ways of sharing our faith with others this year
'Remember the call I gave you...'  
While all the speakers at Fresh Streams 2024 highlighted how we are living in a time of significant change, there was a clear message from God too, writes first-time attender Simon Evans-White
     The Baptist Times 
    Posted: 12/02/2024
    Posted: 22/12/2023
    Posted: 16/12/2023
    Posted: 19/10/2023
    Posted: 19/10/2023
    Posted: 10/10/2023
    Posted: 26/09/2023
    Posted: 23/09/2023
    Posted: 20/09/2023
    Posted: 04/09/2023
    Posted: 17/07/2023
    Posted: 23/05/2023
    Posted: 17/05/2023
    Posted: 03/05/2023