A Patchwork of Possibilities: Dreaming God-Sized Dreams Together

Oct 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Stitching Scraps into Sacred Possibility

A box of mismatched fabric scraps becomes a coat of many colors when seen through eyes of holy imagination. God specializes in weaving overlooked fragments – tired ministries, half-formed dreams, seemingly mismatched people – into something indispensable. Just as Dolly Parton’s mother transformed rags into beauty, the church thrives when we stop mourning what’s frayed and start stitching together what’s already in our hands. Every scrap matters. [38:09]

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (1 Corinthians 12:21-22, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you dismissed something (or someone) as “not enough” for God’s work? What ragged edge in your life might God be waiting to weave into sacred purpose?

Day 2: The Holy Work of Being a “Yes” Person

Ministry isn’t about controlling the vision but clearing the path. When Jenny proposed a food pantry or the back row revived meal ministry, the response wasn’t skepticism but “yes – figure it out.” Being a “yes” person means trusting that the Holy Spirit speaks through the community’s holy nagging – the ideas that won’t leave your gut, the needs that make your palms itch. Our job isn’t to gatekeep but to grab a pin and start stitching. [43:33]

“And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mark 1:18, ESV)

Reflection: When has someone’s “yes” to your holy nagging changed you? What idea have you been gatekeeping with “how?” instead of “yes!”?

Day 3: Celebrating the Mosaic of Many Hands

Fifteen new members. A thriving garden. Reconciling commitments. These aren’t pastor projects but a mosaic of “yeses” from people who showed up with shovels, casseroles, and courage. The church flourishes when we stop counting volunteers and start naming saints – the tire-pumpers, the dirt-haulers, the ones who text “we’re feeding people tomorrow.” Every thread matters. Our only poverty is forgetting to count the colors. [42:29]

“Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied.” (Luke 9:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: Whose quiet “thread” in our community’s fabric have you overlooked? How does celebrating others’ stitches strengthen your own?

Day 4: Dreaming in God-Sized Colors

God-sized dreams aren’t about rebuilding the three-campus glory days but birthing what’s never been – clay in worship, young adult ministries, visitors who stay. It demands trading “we’ve always” for “what if?” The patchwork church thrives when we stop asking “is this practical?” and start asking “does this make the kingdom gasp?” Our scraps are holy when we offer them to the collective loom. [56:34]

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV)

Reflection: What impractical kingdom-dream makes your heart race? How might sharing it – even if unfinished – invite others to pick up a thread?

Day 5: Belonging Before Doing: Grace’s First Stitch

You aren’t loved because you serve; you serve because you’re relentlessly loved. The church isn’t a volunteer org but a body where belonging comes first – not earned through committee hours but given through Christ’s scars. Dolly’s coat wasn’t beautiful because the scraps worked hard, but because they were held. When we stitch from this grace, even our weariness becomes worship. [58:51]

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” (Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV)

Reflection: How does serving feel different when rooted in “I am held” rather than “I must earn”? Where do you need to rest in belonging today?

Sermon Summary

God’s call does not always arrive neatly. The call can feel like Jonah running away, arguing, getting angry, and demanding to know what God is doing. But God keeps calling, and every person carries some way of serving God in the world.

The patchwork quilt becomes the picture for that calling. Dolly Parton’s mama took fabric scraps that did not match, scraps somebody else might have thrown away, and stitched them into something beautiful. Crossroads does not need to keep looking back at three campuses, lots of pastors, or the old coffee shop and saying, “Look how much we’ve lost.” The possibilities of what God can make from the pieces already here matter more than trying to recreate what used to be.

The church already has plenty to celebrate. Justice work has been grounded in theology through the JEDI group and the Social Principles. The congregation has become officially reconciling, welcomed new members, opened a food pantry and blessing box, planted a community garden, and kept feeding neighbors. Those ministries did not come from one person at the front telling everybody what to do. God put ideas on people’s hearts, and people said yes.

Paul’s image of the body of Christ makes that plain. The body has many parts, and the parts that seem weaker, quieter, or hidden away are indispensable. The person making calls, tending a garden, welcoming a stranger, filling a blessing box, or feeding somebody on a Saturday may not get much credit, but that work matters. The church is not supposed to be a collection of people with the same gifts. The church is a coat of many colors, and God is still stitching it together.

Ministry does not exist to support the structure. The structure exists to support the ministry God calls people to do. Leadership teams matter, but they cannot carry the whole church. Hospitality, young adult ministry, youth ministry, children’s faith formation, creative worship, justice work, and care for neighbors all need more than one person trying to hold everything up.

Grace comes first. Belonging is not earned by volunteering, and church should not become a second job. Still, grace invites God’s beloved people into something bigger than themselves. God is not finished with Crossroads. The colorful scraps, the dreams, the needs that break hearts, and the ideas that will not leave people alone may be the very places where the Holy Spirit is calling the church next.

Key Takeaways

1. Every person carries a holy calling. God’s call is not reserved for clergy, leaders, or people who already feel qualified. The call may begin as discomfort, holy frustration, deep joy, or an idea that keeps coming back around. God often works through the very places where a person wonders, “Somebody ought to be doing that.” [35:53]
2. God makes beauty from scraps. The patchwork image refuses the lie that smaller means less faithful or less useful. God sees possibility in pieces that look mismatched, ordinary, or worn out. The church becomes beautiful not by becoming uniform, but by letting God stitch many different gifts together. [38:09]
3. Hidden ministry is indispensable ministry. Paul’s body image gives honor to work that does not get applause. Care, welcome, meals, phone calls, gardens, and quiet faithfulness hold the body together. God does not measure ministry by visibility, flashiness, or recognition. [46:23]
4. Grace invites more than belonging. Grace means no one earns a place through volunteering or usefulness. Yet grace also calls beloved people beyond passive membership and into participation in God’s life. The church grows when calling becomes action without turning service into a burden or a second job. [58:27]
5. Dream beyond what used to be. God’s future does not depend on preserving every old program or rebuilding a former version of the church. God-sized dreams make room for new ministries, new people, and gifts not yet recognized. The Holy Spirit may already be stirring the “more” the church longs to see. [59:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[33:54] - Low Tires and Necessary Stops
[34:34] - Called by God
[36:18] - A Patchwork of Callings
[37:20] - Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors
[38:38] - Seeing Possibility at Crossroads
[40:44] - Celebrating Sixteen Months of Ministry
[45:20] - Rich in Compassion and Possibility
[45:57] - The Body Has Many Parts
[48:22] - Ministry Serves More Than Structure
[50:34] - Dreaming God-Sized Dreams
[51:27] - Hospitality, Young Adults, and Children
[57:37] - Grace Comes First
[59:10] - Creating a Patchwork of Possibilities
[1:02:11] - Every Part Matters

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 12:12-27
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” [45:57]

Jonah 1:1-3
“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.” [35:17]

Genesis 37:3
“Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.” [30:59]

Observation questions

In Jonah 1:1–3, what does Jonah do after God gives him a clear direction, and where does he choose to go instead?
In 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, what examples does Paul use to show that no part of the body can dismiss another part as unnecessary? [46:02]
What kinds of people and ministries are named as “indispensable,” even when their work may be mostly unseen? [46:16]
What ministries and acts of care show the congregation already serving neighbors through many different gifts? [41:47]

Interpretation questions

Jonah runs from God’s call rather than accepting it right away. What might Jonah’s response reveal about why a person can resist a calling, even when they sense God is leading them?
Paul says that the parts of the body that seem weaker or less honorable are indispensable. How does this challenge the way churches often define important ministry? [46:12]
The image of a patchwork quilt brings together scraps that do not match into something beautiful. How does that image help explain why a church does not need everyone to have the same skills, background, or ministry passion? [38:04]
Grace means that people belong because they are beloved, not because they volunteer. How can a church invite people into meaningful service without making them feel they must earn their place? [58:27]

Application questions

When have you responded to God more like Jonah—avoiding, arguing, delaying, or asking God, “Why me?” What was underneath that response? [35:17]
What need in the community breaks your heart, brings you joy, or keeps making you think, “Somebody ought to do something about that”? Could that concern be part of God’s call on your life? [56:40]
What gift, experience, or act of care do you offer that may feel ordinary or hidden—such as listening, making calls, welcoming others, preparing food, tending a garden, or noticing who is missing? How might that gift be indispensable to the body of Christ? [46:28]
Are you in a season when you have energy to serve strongly, or a season when you need others to carry more for you? How can the group honor both seasons as holy? [58:18]
Instead of trying to recreate a past version of the church, what new possibility do you hope God might stitch together from the people, gifts, and resources already present? [59:29]
Where could you take one small next step toward a calling this week—not by committing to a “second job,” but by praying, sharing an idea, joining a conversation, or offering one gift? [01:01:00]

Sermon Clips

46s

#DreamTogether

“We say we desire more. And maybe the more we're longing for is already here among us. In the gifts that we've been giving, in the dreams that we've been carrying, in the calling, we haven't yet had the courage to answer. Let's make room for all the new colors, for all the new ideas, for all the new people because we're not building an organization. We're becoming the body of Christ. And every part matters. Every part matters. So dream with me because god isn't finished with us at Crossroads yet.”

38s

#ChurchRenewal

“Not about how we recreate the church that used to be, not about how we keep every program that we thought was a really cool thing, Not how we keep running ourselves into the ground trying to uphold things that just aren't working. But about the church that god is calling us to become. The gifts that are waiting to be discovered. What ministries are waiting to be born. What neighbors are waiting to experience god's love through us”

98s

#CommunityCalling

“if we're all imagining together, if we're all thinking together about what we can become, about who we can become, about what we can do, I I just can't imagine what we can be if we all dream together. So when you look around, what are the needs in our community that you see? What are the places that break your heart? What are the things that bring you the most joy? What makes you think that somebody ought to be doing that? And maybe you're thinking that somebody might be you. Because I don't believe that god gives all the good ideas to the pastor at all. Not this pastor. Maybe some pastors, but not this one. And quite frankly, I thank god for that. I don't want it to be all me. Because this is not the church of Gayle, this is the church of God. This is the church of Jesus. This is the church of all of you. And I believe that the Holy Spirit is moving strong in this place. And I believe the Holy Spirit is moving strong through each one of us. And part of my calling as a pastor is to help you discover where in your life God is calling you. And to empower you to live into that.”

40s

#EveryPartMatters

“Indispensable. The people who do things and they get no credit for them. The people who are out welcoming, loving, caring for, making phone calls, keeping up with people. Maybe we never see that and yet it's happening and it's important. Because the church isn't supposed to be just a collection of people who look alike, who think alike, who have all the same gifts. The church is a coat of many colors. And god is still stitching us all together.”

57s

#MinistryForAll

“Our leadership team this year, Chris Steinhauser is stepping into the chair role, and Kathy Turner is stepping... Kathy? There she is. I'm like, she was right there. Now she's gone. Kathy Turner is stepping into the lay leader role, and they will help us to organize and support the work of our church. But the purpose of this structure is to be the yes people and support the ministries that the church is called to do. Support the work that you're called to do. Ministry doesn't exist to support the structure. We'll say that again because it's important. Ministry does not exist to support the structure, and the ministry belongs to us all.”

45s

#ImagineTogether

“And here's the thing, these are just my dreams. And I don't want my imagination to be the limit of Crossroads. Because my imagination is this much. And all y'all, if we're all imagining together, if we're all thinking together about what we can become, about who we can become, about what we can do, I I just can't imagine what we can be if we all dream together.”

57s

#CalledToServe

“In my own call story, it involves a whole lot of Jonah running away from God, arguing with God, frankly, a good bit of time just being really, really angry with God, Really, really demanding to know what the heck it was that god thought god was doing because this is not what I am meant to be doing. What is wrong with you, god? But my time at Duke reminded me of something important. Every one of us are called. Each of us are called. Each of us are called to serve god in some way. God is laying it on your heart to know where you are called.”

49s

#HolySpiritLed

“And I believe that the Holy Spirit is moving strong in this place. And I believe the Holy Spirit is moving strong through each one of us. And part of my calling as a pastor is to help you discover where in your life God is calling you. And to empower you to live into that. And that doesn't mean that all of us need a second job. I'm not asking you to to take out... Like, this... The church shouldn't be your second job. But the church should be someplace that you are called to serve in some way.”

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