@Carl Emerson Your post reminded me of a God dream I had. It was of my church's then leader steering the church with his hands on an old type ship's wheel. And God showed me that His own hands needed to be on the wheel steering the church. I shared this dream with our leader and he was gone within weeks.
I was also inspired to write a poem likening our church to a sailing vessel.
HMS CHURCH
We’re going on a voyage
To find new souls for our King;
A journey of discovery,
Who knows what it may bring?
Our ship must be a cutter,
Not a liner on a cruise.
It will not carry passengers,
But will need a well-trained crew.
Our ship must be made ready;
The limpets all removed,
Her hull may need re-caulking;
Sea-worthiness be proved.
Our sails will need re-setting,
To catch every little breeze;
And the nets will need repairing,
So let’s get down on our knees.
Our ship must be provisioned;
Bring on board the wine and bread;
Fill the casks with living water,
For we’ll need to be well fed.
At last, when all is ready,
We will cast off from our berth
And put out to open waters
Amidst cries of joy and mirth.
We’ll begin our epic voyage
To fish for men – at his command.
His breath will fill our sails
And we’ll be guided by his hand.
If we pass through troubled waters,
Fear not, please keep calm,
For our Master and Commander
Will keep us from all harm.