Liturgical Resources: Bold Visions and Dreams

August 12, 2025 | by NBA Cares

A note from the author: 

“Each August, the National Benevolent Association (NBA) celebrates Giving Week—a time to reflect on our ministries, share resources, and honor the compassionate work of Disciples across North America. This year’s theme, Bold Visions and Dreams Made Real, invites us to imagine a world transformed by justice, healing, and care. At the NBA, our dreams include wellness in body, mind, and spirit; supporting nonprofit leaders making a difference with transformative mission; and advocating for older adults and seniors, people in prisons/jails/detention centers, and nurturing empowered young adult leaders.

Because our work is deeply rooted in Scripture, we’ve created liturgical resources to help congregations reflect on vision and impact. These include a message titled, “Dreaming for the Kindom with the NBA”, a Call to Confession, and a sermon starter exploring the many translations of “Without vision, the people perish.” We hope these tools inspire you to consider your own vision—for your life, your church, and your community—and to give thanks for the ways you already make a difference. Ministry can be demanding, but Giving Week is a chance to pause, reflect, and recommit to the bold dreams we share.” – Rev. Stephanie McLemore

Liturgy Components: 

Bold Visions and Dreams Made Real:  Call to Confession  

God who calls us to serve our neighbor,  
God who calls us to work for justice,  
God who embraces everyone:  no matter who they are, how they identify or what they’ve done.  

We confess that we are :

  • quicker to offer judgement than to extend blessing,   
  • quicker to think of ourselves, than of the common good,  
  • quicker to be busy, than to listen to the cries of your people,  
  • quicker to critique than to welcome.   

God of Wisdom, guide us as we:  

  • Strive to feed the hungry, providing good nutrition and dignity,  
  • Strive to provide shelter, building community for the unhoused,   
  • Strive to protect children and teens, demanding safety, education, and opportunities to thrive,  
  • Strive to prioritize justice for all people, of all identities, no matter their struggle.  

Hear our prayers for forgiveness.  Open our ears to hear the gospel and prod us to be moved to action.  Help us to serve your Kindom, following in the footsteps of Jesus.  We ask for your mercy. We promise to live in hope and be people of compassion.  Let it be so.  AMEN.  

Request: When utilizing this resource – for your congregation, organization, or community – please cite and reference, “Used by permission of the National Benevolent Association, and author Rev. Stephanie McLemore.”  

Sermon Starter: Vision  

God’s vision for creation is revealed many times in scripture:  

  • Isaiah 11:6, The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid;  
  • Micah 6:8, God has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?  
  • John 13:34-35, I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  
  • Proverbs 29:18 reminds us of the importance of vision,  “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (KJV).    

I referred to this Proverb while talking with a student, so I picked up a Bible in the common area.  That Bible happened to be a New International Version (NIV) translation, which translates the Proverb, “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint,” and that translation wasn’t what I remembered.  Once I was back to my office, my Bible nerd took over and I looked up several translations.  The New Living Translation reads, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.”  The English Standard Version says, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint.”  The New American Standard Bible uses the word “unrestrained,” while others say the “people are “out of control”, “scattered” or “run wild”.  My personal favorite, Young’s Literal Translation, states “Without a Vision is a people made naked”.  Imagine people without vision running around so fragmented that the world begins to disintegrate.  Every translation has its own agenda, but the thread that runs through the translations is that unless we, God’s people, stay focused on the vision/ divine guidance/ revelation, God’s kindom will collapse into complete ruin.  

Questions that may follow in a sermon include:  

  • What is the congregational vision?  Does the congregation have a “sense of the vision” or a written statement?  How was it developed?  How often is it revisited or revised?  Is it memorable and well known by the congregation?  
  • In your local community, what is the church known for?  What would you like to be known for?  
  • How is the vision statement used?  Do leaders refer to it when making decisions?  Is it used for planning outreach, nurturing members, and making an impact?   
  • As your congregation talks about stewardship, do you raise money for the institution or for furthering the vision?  
  • Does the vision reflect the needs of the community?  Personal needs, social service needs, advocacy needs?  Who are your partners?  
  • The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) states that Disciples are a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world, with a vision to be a faithful, growing church that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice.  How does your congregation identify with the mission and vision of the denomination?  

These Resources are provided by the National Benevolent Association as a part of NBA Giving Week.  Each August, NBA takes time to reflect on our Bold Visions and Dreams, our vision, and how Disciples make an impact through social service ministries.  Through compassion and care, we alleviate the distress and suffering of individuals and communities. The NBA collaborates with leaders and with health and social service organizations to strengthen and transform communities through compassion, healing, and justice.  We work towards mending and restoring into wholeness and wellness, focusing on the creation of equity and fairness in systems.  Please join us this NBA Giving Week as we work together for the Kindom of God!

Bold Visions and Dreams Made Real: Dreaming for the Kindom with the NBA

By Rev. Stephanie McLemore  

(Details: This content be used or adapted for a liturgical Moment for Mission, Call to Prayer, or newsletter article.)  

Everyone dreams, even babies.  We dream multiple times per night.  Curiously, our brains stay active while we sleep—processing the day, planning, and occasionally our dreams rework memories or hide hurtful times—but upon waking we forget about 95% of our overnight mental activity. Often dreams are self-reflective and personal, considering details we would never share with another.  Our busy brains try to work through the complexities of life…and maybe God talks to us?  

Think about some of the great Dreams in the Hebrew Bible.  Jacob’s ladder, where God restates the promise of land and prosperity to the descendants of Abraham.  There are Joseph’s dreams which secure his place with Pharaoh and protect God’s people from famine and plagues.  Solomon has a dream, as do Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel, Joseph and the Magi.  God speaks to God’s people, revealing instructions, promising presence and reassurance.  God also paints a picture of a very different world. Isaiah dreams of the Peaceable Kingdom.  Paul has visions that change his life’s purpose and propel the gospel.  Cornelius’s dream reinforces that God’s work is not about rules, but about continuing the work of Jesus.  

So, what are your dreams for a faithful life? Whether or not God has contacted you while you’ve slept, we recognize that scripture and the faithful communities to whom we belong, challenge us to play our own role in history, in big and small ways. What dreams do you have for caring for others in our world?  What dreams of justice, care and compassion find their way into your heart and your prayers?    

At the National Benevolent Association (NBA) – our Trustees and staff, in collaboration with 46 NBA partner organizations and a diverse network of Disciples leaders throughout North America– dream of compassion, healing and justice for all of humanity.  We dream together!  

  • We have dreams about just housing through partnerships with organizations providing affordable housing for families, women and children, and seniors.  
  • We dream of a medical care system that sees patients before profits. We partner with nonprofits that empower individuals, assist in locating culturally-appropriate mental health resources, providing hospice and end of life care, and low-cost health clinics.   
  • We dream of a world without hunger alongside partners who operate food pantries, serve meals, and provide backpacks at local schools filled with supplemental food for families.  
  • We dream of communities that advocate for people with disabilities.    
  • We dream for safety as we partner with organizations that provide outreach for women and children, survivors of abuse, safety and wellbeing for immigrants and refugees.  
  • We dream of wellness for those who walk through addiction and recovery and those returning citizens after completing prison sentences.  
  • We dream of a world where mental health is not judged or seen as failure, but where the church is at the center of calling for access to care providing resources.  
  • We dream for a world caring for ALL children and youth, providing positive impact, supplementing family support, offering childcare, and protection.  

Dreams are important for individuals and communities.  In his poem Dreams, Langston Hughes writes, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”*  As a church, we must not abandon our dreams. We cannot lose our hopes and aspirations, our imagination and optimism, or we too will perish.  Dreams for the Kindom of God, and God’s people are one way of measuring our faithfulness and measuring the impact of our faith communities.  

The mission of the NBA is to inspire and connect the people and ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), to accompany one another in the creation of communities of compassion and care, and to advocate for the well-being of humanity. We invite you to pray for God’s beloved community, and for the daily work of NBA partners and leaders. In turn, we, as NBA, remember and hold in prayer the ministries of your congregation. Together, we envision and dream for a Disciples church that impacts the world in the name of a living Christ. May it be so.   

*From The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes published by Alfred A. Knopf/Vintage. Copyright © 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes.

Request: When utilizing this resource – for your congregation, organization, or community – please cite and reference, “Used by permission of the National Benevolent Association, and author Rev. Stephanie McLemore.”  

About the author: Rev. Stephanie McLemore is a Disciples pastor who has served as a Higher Education Chaplain for the last 20 years.  After serving as Associate Regional Minister in Virginia, she spent 12 years at the University of Lynchburg as Chaplain and Associate Dean for Wellness, before moving to the Chaplaincy at Denison University in 2022.  Stephanie is a current member of the NBA Executive Leaders Peer Learning and Wellness Group and works with the NBA Annual Fund.  Stephanie lives in Newark, OH, with her daughters, her mother, a dog, and a pet tarantula.