Poetry

A Dream

48 Comments

I dreamed a dream that things were right and all the world was peace
I dreamed that shepherds loved their flocks for more than just their fleece
I dreamed that universities taught knowledge without fear
I dreamed of pleasant evenings spent with those who hold us dear
I dreamed of churches full of smiles in which were found no guile
I dreamed of sermons full of hope; no guilting down the aisle
I dreamed that each was serpent-wise yet harmless as a dove
I dreamed that judgment was all gone and left was only love

Then sadly…I awoke.

48 thoughts on “A Dream”

  3. A dream within a dream?

    In most IFB churches it is more a nightmare within a dream.

  6. At my old fundy place, I wish I could have experienced ANY one of those, but sadly I did not…

  7. From Les Miserables:

    But there are dreams that cannot be
    And there are storms we cannot weather
    I had a dream my life would be
    So different from this hell I’m living
    So different now from what it seemed
    Now life has killed
    The dream I dreamed.

    1. well, not by coincidence did I listen to that song a lot when I was struggling the most in my dumb old church. Of course, Susan Boyle’s big success at Britain’s Got Talent had something to do with it, too 🙂

    2. That selection is pretty depressing, but after seeing it here, I had to hunt down a CD with it and play it… magnificent music!

        1. Amen PW! I have the 25th Anniversary on DVD, and plus I am really excited for the movie in December!

      3. Nicely done! I see a book in your future. Reflections of a Former Fundy by Darrell Dow. It’d make a great bathroom read!

  12. “I dreamed of sermons full of hope; no guilting down the aisle”

    And it will remain only a dream til you get out of that fundy church! 👿

    1. Well… sermons are NOT supposed to be just hope. The pastor is to encourage and to be an example and to live holy, but he is also to reprove and rebuke. Jesus Himself issued rebuked His disciples (“Oh ye of little faith”… “Have faith in God”… and others).

      1. I doubt that he was shouting or coersive. Rather, I think he was compationate in his statements. Tone of voice is everything.

  13. Hmmm….I went to PCC for a year (and was a summer worker for the summers before and after that year — Hi, Darrell!), but I don’t know what the “this” is in the mouseover comment….

  15. Awesome. The “fleece” line was very well-stated.

    The reference to serpents and doves was a great use of the Bible verse, and the last line summed it up well.

    2. I think, Jim, they would be like Joseph’s: ALL the people bowing down at his feet!–even the wife!

  19. Fitting that the picture is a scene at PCC–the Bastion of Nazi Fundamentalism.

    1. I’m a BJU grad so I’m not speaking from personal experience, but isn’t Hyles-Anderson tons worse than PCC?

      1. I think so… HAC along with Texas Baptist College (Bob Gray, Sr of Longview) are probably the worst “Christian” colleges.

  20. I dreamed a dream that things were right and all the world was peace
    Not until Jesus reigns

    I dreamed that shepherds loved their flocks for more than just their fleece
    Some do. One problem with this site’s focus on the bad ones is that we tend to think everyone is like this

    I dreamed that universities taught knowledge without fear
    There are so many ways to go with this one. It is appropriate to fear God (Jesus told us so). As long as knowledge is tested, there will be fear (of failing).

    I dreamed of pleasant evenings spent with those who hold us dear
    Amen! By all means, try to maximize these times. They are comforting memories when you cannot be with them, or when the evening is not pleasant.

    I dreamed of churches full of smiles in which were found no guile
    Some churches are like this, but as people are people, there will always be some guile, I’m afraid.

    I dreamed of sermons full of hope; no guilting down the aisle
    I already addressed this; I think it denies the Holy Spirit when preachers use manipulative techniques to get “results”, and I resent such techniques. At the same time, however, pastors are to take the oversight of the church, and they are to reprove and rebuke when necessary.

    I dreamed that each was serpent-wise yet harmless as a dove
    🙂 Just lil’ ol’ harmless me!

    I dreamed that judgment was all gone and left was only love
    We are told to exercise righteous judgment. We are to try (test) preachers and preaching by the Scripture to verify that it is of God. SFL has been of the most help to me when it exposes the unBiblical practices of some churches and preachers.

    1. I know it’s futile to reply to anyone who still holds absolute truth to be found in the bible…but I will just say this. There is absolutely no place for fear or guilt inside a real love relationship. I don’t care what verses you can find. Just think about it… it’s not possible. As for righteous judgement. That’s crap. It’s simply your opinion and your belief in your own certainty that you are right and everyone else is wrong. I know…I know… you pull your verses from the absolute truth of the bible and stand your ground while you look down on everyone else who is wrong that doesn’t agree with your position. I lived it all inside and out. I love Darrell’s poem…just as it is. No corrections needed!

      1. I’m sorry, but what you’re offering is so much worse. You want the very thing you accuse him of: You’re right for you, and everyone else is wrong for you, but right for themselves, because we all “lived it” and so whatever we live is truth and feel is love and it’s all a huge mush that leaves us with no foundation or hope.

        I have respect for your experiences, and I understand that you–and others–have lived certain things and therefore have a perspective and wisdom that I would do well to learn from; as you would from me. That’s the function of the Church as a body. But without absolutely truth from God, which includes concrete and objective right and wrong, we are without hope. A love without an anchor in the objective is useless and worthless.

        And you are imagining things and doing your brother a disservice when you assume he looks down on you without any warrant for such a belief, simply because he believes there is concrete, absolute truth. How unkind.

    1. Amen to the HAC comment. It’s been years and I still haven’t recovered.

  22. This poem is so beautiful and so true. I especially like the part about the pastors and the fleece. And the part about schools with no fear. Here’s hoping some parts of this poem will eventually occur. Well done, Darrell!

Comments are closed.