Do You Ever Stop Dreaming?

Langston Hughes, the great poet, once said, "That a man without a dream is like a bird with a broken wing, he cannot fly!" Does there ever come a point in our lives when we cease to dream? Do we ever mature to the point that we no longer see the need to dream? Can we ever expand ourselves or our horizons to the point that we settle for what we have and accept our present reality? Are our dreams simply unrealistic figments of a dissatisfied imagination? I began ministry when I was 16 years old, I was going to win the world! Off to Bible College to learn Greek and Hebrew, memorize the Bible, and to pastor a huge denominational church and more! As a college student on summer break I work in the stockroom of Furnas Electric in West Chicago, IL., it was the most boring job in the world, for hours I would stand there working, daydreaming about preaching and ministering, seeing myself as a denominational leader, preaching meetings where multitudes were saved and delivered, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, falling under God's power at the wave of my hand...then as I aged I dreamed of pastoring multi-ethnic churches, places where walls and barriers were broken down, where the multitudes were won, and people came to the house of the Lord and were changed. Dynamic worship, relevant programs, and heart felt fellowship prevailed, I saw churches where the Word of God was enacted on a daily basis, and the church grew daily, just like in the Book of Acts! Twenty-nine years have now passed since those initial dreams: I'm not a denominational leader, in fact, I'm not a senior pastor, but I still dream! I see my children growing up in the fear of the Lord, my daughters dancing before God and touching the hearts of those around them. I listen to my sixteen year old daughter Kaitlin, who with passion declares that she will make a difference in the life of a people, I see eight year old Madison, who knows what life holds for her, but I know she loves Jesus and will express the Kingdom of God in a future generation. I listen to my wife worship, I watch her worship with abandon, no fear of what men say or think, and I know the hand of the Lord is upon her! Me, I understand that dreams are what keep us in the journey, that before you can kill the dream you have to kill the dreamer! I dream of Africa, of the glory of the Lord being released upon the earth, of the people of Kenya prospering and overcoming political upheaval and financial oppression. I see a nation in revival, souls being won to the Kingdom and life increasing for them...not an American increase, but the increase that God has desired to create in their land. And I still see the multitudes worshiping freely, the glory of God flowing, souls saved, bodies healed, hearts and lives changed, churches growing, flesh dying, and ministry happening...the difference is today I'm not the one being seen...I'm just a voice...and a dreamer!