January 20, 2014

In the early morning hours of Monday, January 20th I dreamed I was attending a meeting of several local pastors. They were not people I knew but the general location seemed to be in the New England area where I live. Initially, I wondered what I was doing there since my own experience with such meetings has left me with a tendency to avoid most of them. It is almost always hard trying to find common ground with a room full of awkward preachers.

This setting was different, however. After chatting with several of these men, I realized they were not as weird as I had assumed they would be and found myself thinking they were all pretty good guys. In this process, I realized I needed to locate my newest book, “Newtown’s Law”, as a way of letting them know a little about me and my heart for ministry. This caused me to begin searching around the room for my briefcase in an effort to find a copy.

Realizing I wasn’t sure where I had placed my things, I happened by a window and casually looked outside. Inside, everything had been so pleasant but out there it could only be described as urgent and deadly. I saw a massive tornado-like storm in the near distance heading straight for our building. Unlike many of the cone-shaped vortexes seen in even the biggest tornados, this thing was a solid vertical wall of wild, black, boiling clouds rising from the ground to the upper levels of the atmosphere. It was very wide, like many of the mega-storms we have witnessed in the midwestern disasters of recent years but it was unorthodox in its violence.

Immediately, I began to ask if there was a basement in the building and suggest that we all needed to head that direction. Somehow, I knew there was a large, cavernous area below us and could even see it mentally, as though I had been there before. Everyone seemed so lax and slow to take my questions seriously or offer up the information I knew they desperately needed. Some of the men thought there might be a basement, while others were unsure why it even mattered. I pressed the matter and began to insist that we were in danger and running out of time. When these pastors continued to drag their feet, I finally took control of the situation and commanded everyone in the entire building to do as I said and “move themselves, now”, in no uncertain terms.

Cutting it close we were able to file out one door and across a courtyard toward another door which led down beneath the place we had been meeting in. I noticed some snow and ice on the ground as we were crossing between the two areas. It struck me as strange this kind of storm would happen in this part of the country at all, especially during winter. By this time, the storm was pressing in behind us but I could see we were going to make it underground, if just barely.

I have had ‘tornado’ dreams before as I know many people have. They can sometimes be tied to our psychological condition during pressurized situations in life. This didn’t seem to be the case here, it felt more like a warning about something coming in the spirit realm that Christian leadership in this country is not ready for. The storm struck me as very abnormal and not necessarily weather related. Whatever it is, I believe it demands foresight on our part and the wisdom to know how to get to a deeper place spiritually in order to avoid its direct fury. Even then, bold voices will be required to save many from great loss. The snow might indicate the need to get out into an uncomfortable place to get back in a protective climate again.

Even the “good guys” in ministry are not ready to take authority and stop this. We must all get back to where the hidden man in the heart of God’s true church can be nurtured back to strength again first. I’m not sure what it all means but I’m sure it is a head’s up for believers and especially preachers to be alert and prayerful. My advice is to get past “good” and keep the things God has given you close. Carry His Word fresh in your heart. If you want to be prepared in the Lord ahead of time then be in a watchful place where others can help you see things coming. A real, good church is no longer a real good idea, its a life-saver!

One last thing happened, which made me think twice about sitting on this dream for awhile before sharing it, as I usually do. Later in the day, I remembered a movie someone recommended to me just the day before. So, during lunch, I pulled it up to see if it was something of interest to me. I was shocked when, during a similar set of dangerous but war related circumstances, an actor in the scene was forced to move people quickly when they were not ready. The words he used were identical to the phrase in my dream…”move yourselves now!”

If you’ve read “Newtown’s Law” you will know I don’t really believe in coincidences. If you haven’t read it, don’t make me yell at you.