“I had a strange dream last night,” Ed Enstine told his wife one morning earlier this year. “In the dream, I heard God say that Mike is going to leave; get ready.”

  “Everyone knows Mike is going to leave,” his wife responded, “The only question is when that might happen. Your dream is a way of processing something that’s in the back of your mind.”

  “The congregation should get ready. It only makes sense to be prepared for a change in pastors.”

  Such are the discussions in a household where a “dreamer” is married to a “thinker.” “Dreamer” and “thinker” refer to a personal assessment system that helps Christians understand their leadership styles and how to use their spiritual gifts. Ed Enstine is a “dreamer,” not because he has dreams, but because he tends to see possibilities and is not afraid to try new ideas. Dreamers are creative community builders and care deeply about fellowship. 

  Ed learned what “get ready” really meant when, after Pastor Mike did announce he was leaving, some of you requested that Ed be the new pastor.

  Actually, God has been getting Ed ready for quite a while. He has developed leadership abilities in local, regional, and national positions in the United Methodist Church as well as skillfully operating a business for over three decades. In all of these positions, he has kept a sense of humor and humility. The only difference between Ed the layman and Ed the pastor is the title.

  One thing you may not realize is that since he found out that Mike was leaving, Ed has spent some time every day at the church in prayer. Those prayer sessions could also be called dream sessions, because our Lord has been showing your new pastor some exciting visions for the future.

  “Country churches like Danby Federated have enormous potential to reach the hundreds of people in their communities who don’t go to church,” Ed explains.

  “As I said in one of my Sunday messages, the gods of this world are dying. People sense this in the loss of jobs, devaluing of pension trusts, 401Ks, and their homes. They’re anxious and afraid. Christ answers  these problems differently from how the world attempts to answer them. The Church is a viable place to look for those answers.” 

  Ed sees the challenge for all churches is to let their communities know we have answers and they can take part in the life of the church. 

  “We have to learn how to speak to those who don’t sit in the pews on Sunday; we need to find out what their needs are and find where we can meet those needs. We can continue our social outreach--the dinners, Community Faith Partnership – but remember that programs or growth in numbers are not the goals. I’m talking about providing points of interest for individuals, where they can connect to the life of the church, discover Jesus, and take slow steps towards spiritually transforming their lives.”

  Ed also believes that church should be fun, “There’s no reason why it should be dreary or depressing. If we’re providing a place where people can take slow steps towards spiritual transformation, we’ll see more of the fruit of the Spirit, and that will be joyful and fun. My dream for the church is to see a lot of people grow a lot.”

  With a “dreamer” as your new pastor, the future promises to be filled with exciting outreach, new friends, transformed lives, and the joy of the Lord.