Notice if you would that I have several question marks in the title.  Have you ever dreamed of doing something so fantastic only to find it unfulfilled when you were done?  Things happened that hindered total completion of your dream.  The question marks are there because even though you may not have experienced the fulfillment of your that particular dream you came close.  And along the way you learned and also taught others.

Last year Lance Armstrong announced his plan to compete in this year’s Tour de France.  I would suggest that if you have not heard or read about  it somewhere along the way that you have lived under a rock.  Lance did not win the TdF this year and actually was in unfamiliar territory when he watched some of the pros ride away in the mountains and eventually ended up in third place.  While I don’t and can’t subscribe to his lifestyle or much of his “way of life” I have to admire what he accomplished.  To come out of retirement after three years, to ride in the most grueling physical race found in any sport and to place third is a victory in my book.   True, Lance wanted to win.  But he also wanted to promote his foundation Livestrong.  I believe he did that.  He wanted to make people more aware of the fight against cancer.  As someone who has lost his grandmother and mother to cancer, I say, “Go for it!”  The dream he missed was winning his 8th straight TdF.  But even in missing that dream (I can’t say he lost), he won.  He showed the importance of team, even as his self-serving teammate rode off on his own, hurting another teammate in the process.  Given Lance’s three years off the bike, he also chose to ride within his own limits.  He knew what he could and could not do and chose to be comfortable in that.  He chose to support (verbally while the race was on) his teammate and not go against the team plan.  Could he have physically?  I don’t know but that is not the point.

So… did he accomplish his mission?  Well…yes and no.  No he did not win the overall race.  (I would be totally happy with third) 😉  But he did accomplish his mission of getting the story of Livestrong global.

The way I see it no church will always hit a homerun.  The mission of the church is in front of us…it is the same as Jesus’: “To seek and save the lost.”   Others will do that more efficiently or more effectively or more “successfully.”  But each church must do it within their limits.  No church is called to be a copycat of another church.  No pastor is called to be a copycat of another pastor.  Each church has a niche to fill where they are. The value of a church seeing itself and working as a team cannot be overstated.  One of my greatest victories came when I realized that I was not a little John MacArthur or Chuck Swindoll or Craig Groeschel or Andy Stanley or (name your own person).  I admire each of them.  But the last I looked none of those guys were the pastor of a small church in a rural town of 3000 people.

So…who were you created to be?  Are you accomplishing that?  Do you have a dream you are pursuing that God just may be saying “no” to?  I would like to hear what you think on this subject.