Several years ago I had a dream Cam and I were outside teaching in a city square. It had the feel of an antiquated market place, almost in a different time era, but not. We still had on modern-day clothing but everyone else didn’t. A dream isn’t a dream without the mysterious and cryptic things that integrate themselves inside them. We were also in some sort of ocean side cliff village, water surrounded us. The most prominent part of this landscape was a huge mountain that backdropped the whole outdoor scene.

As Cam spoke to the people, more and more gathered. He began to move backward, looking for a better place to project his voice and ended up backing right into the mountain itself. I noticed as he spoke, he was also throwing pebbles of food toward the people, many were following, wanting to catch more and more of the food. They followed him all the way to the foot of the mountain.

When Cam finally got to the foot of the mountain, a wild metamorphosis took place. He transformed into the mountain itself. The entire mountain was Cam’s face, and without any break of consistency, he continued to teach, feed, and care for the people. As I watched the final scene of this dream, I could see everything as though I had a sky view. Droves of people were outside, like the whole village, intently standing with their faces to the mountain. Then the dream was over.

Planting a church has been the most beautiful and most difficult thing Cam and I’ve ever done. It’s given us such deep fulfillment and our most piercing pain. People come, and people go. And if I can be candid for just a moment, no matter the circumstance, sometimes that just plain sucks. There have been times it takes more obedience to stay than to abandon the ship.

When I had this dream many years ago, I always thought it was just the kindness of God to show us a glimpse of destiny. And who knows, maybe thats true. But today, all of a sudden, this dream came flooding back into memory and hit me like a ton of bricks.

The village is a place where things are constantly moving. People come in and people go out. There’s always weak areas and instability. There’s much to be built, as a village hasn’t yet been established into a city. There is still much to be ordered, created and governed. Some are craving the city where things are already built and there’s not so much work to be done. Understandably. But a mountain is solid and its position is fixed. Mountains don’t move. They’re consistent. Stable. They can be memorized and marked and trusted to stand secure. They aren’t going anywhere.

Today I’m praying for all of those who are called to be the mountain. I see you. God sees you. Amen.