Realizing the second stage in a dream
This morning I woke up in that town that the ancient Mayans
carved out of the jungle. This group in the photo just beat four other teams
racing the length of Mexico
and climbing to the top of a Mayan
temple.
Today one of the local pastors killed a cow and we’re going
to go have a party in his village, the same village where this team will live
for the next month, helping an unreached people group to discover
Jesus. It represents another step
forward in my dream of waking up a generation to the greatness within them
and to God’s agenda for their lives.
If
you read the blogs of the participants, they are thrilled. They are living life at full throttle and
discovering new depths in themselves that they didn’t know were there.
I had always been frustrated that young people are
under-challenged. We don’t trust them to
do the stuff that Jesus did – to leave home for a long time and focus on
ministry. We don’t trust them with risks
and with discomfort. We saddle them with
school debt and lock them into a career, and we call it “responsible
behavior.” Last year, I had this dream
called the World Race that shows there’s an alternative. Yes, we launched it much too quickly, but I’ve
learned that you have to just make a start and then keep improving it if you
want to reach your dream.
Most dreams never get to stage one. Too much risk, too many resources required.
There’s the embarrassment of failure. Better to live in safety.
In stage two, people begin to sit up and take notice. But to get here, we had to live with “good
enough” in stage one. Yes, we didn’t do a
great job of recruiting, yes, we didn’t screen participants like we wanted to,
yes, sometimes we didn’t have a clue about what we were going to set up. Yes, we didn’t debrief them like we wanted
to. And the list goes on.
But all the while, the dream was taking on greater focus as
we added new second stage details to it.
We found ways to recruit committed participants. We found new leaders. We gave everyone a month of training. We pioneered new countries.
People ask me how stuff like this happens. You have to believe in your dream enough to
start and make a multitude of mistakes and in spite of all the evidence to the
contrary, believe that the dream is worth it. We’re not there, but we’re getting closer to it.
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Heydreams do work!! As a member of your first Ambassador trip, I attest to that… Keep tweeking, and know that many of us believe in this radical opportunity are praying for those plunging in :-).
Blessings,
Diana
“I had always been frustrated that young people are under-challenged. We don�t trust them to do the stuff that Jesus did � to leave home for a long time and focus on ministry. We don�t trust them with risks and with discomfort. We saddle them with school debt and lock them into a career, and we call it �responsible behavior.”
It is also frustrating being a young person wanting to be challenged and yet seldom finding one. It is the frustration of waking up when you’re close to the end of that “responsible” education and realizing your “saddle” is piled high all for things you know God never called you to. Honestly, I wish less success was expected of us and more reckless abandon for the Kingdom was encouraged.
This is exactly what I love about you!
As a member of the 2006 World Race I just want to say thank you. You’re right, there was some tweaking that needed to happen after the first try, but thanks for the opportunity in the first place! Even if things didn’t leave quite up to “the dream,” God still moved and did powerful things in all of our lives. People around the world were changed, our eyes were opened. We all leaned on God and trusted in Him to sort through the details in the end. Thanks for pushing through and getting it started, for pioneering the way, and for not giving up after round one. I just want to let you know that I believe in the vision. God bless you as the dream gets bigger. After a few AIM trips I think I can peg you as somebody who thinks outside the boundries! Happy New Year and Happy World Race #2!