For years, Andrew Shearman dreamed about a training center in Spain. When he first described it to me (see a video here), it centered on the arts. But as it took shape in his imagination, it became more of a place for young leaders to be trained.
It took years for the dream to take on form and substance. Here was Andrew, an expatriate Brit, with his family in Phoenix. His aging father and many of his friends are back in the UK, and a group of churches for which he’s responsible are scattered around the States.
Where would he go? Who would follow him there? Who would help him make it happen? How would he pay for it? How would he manage all his other responsibilities? His dream promised to be costly. Would he have the moxy to make it happen? He set off for Spain “not knowing.” As he entered his 60’s, he sensed it was time to give the dream a shot. The lack of answers wasn’t going to hold him back.
Yes, we need people who will be faithful to a call and stick to their God-given assignment. But we also need people like Andrew who are willing to tie their colors to the mast and strike out for a distant land and a dream that God has been dreaming.
Paul first had a dream like Andrew’s. In his letter to the Romans (15:24) he describes his vision of going to Spain. Paul made tents for a living. Like Andrew, he already had enough responsibilities bogging him down without going to Spain. Yet he purposed to go there to take the good news of Jesus to a land that knew him not.
In a way, going to Spain is a metaphor that all of us need to embrace at some point in our lives. We all need a dream that seems well beyond our reach and our resources. We need to stare off the high dive into the water below, feel our pounding within our chest, and at some point, we need to jump.
I’m willing to bet that you’ve got a dream that looks not unlike Spain. There may be a hundred reasons why it can’t happen. But at some point you need to go there.
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Yup. One of my dreams is going back to Spain – literally. Great post. Thanks for sharing.
Dear Daddy Seth,
Greetings and blessings from Pakistan.
Great post.
Me and my team are praying for your visit in Spain.
May God bless you and use you aboundely for His glory during your time in Spain.
With love and blessings.
Emmanuel Sadiq
Hello compadre…..
It’s not faith if we can figure it out.
It’s not love unless you sacrifice.
It’s not “real” unless it is unseen.
Loved this post.
Awesome. I miss the Hearns. Loved the time we had in Germany!
Like the Man of La Mancha, it is only the truly sane who continue to fight when others believe we only tilt at windmills. We have it so backward in modern times – believing all the adventure happens when we are young. I love that God shows us in the men and women of the Bible that He has adventures for us whenever we show up with Him. Daniel was probably in his eighties in the lion’s den, Joshua and Caleb had to be in their fifties and sixties when they BEGAN to battle for the promised land. The time to go to Spain is when it’s time to go to Spain, you know?