Field of Dreams: The final out

When I began writing this series, I often could see the parallels within my own journey; but as I finish this series, those parallels do not exist. It is not because they are not true of the journey, it's just that I am walking in this right now.
It's always more difficult to reflect on the truth of an experience while forging through it, but when we come through to the other side things look very clear.


At the end of the movie we find our main character, Ray Kinsella, returning home to his family with his two new friends.
Terence Mann and Archie Graham are more important to the story than Ray's could ever be. You see, as I stated this before in the series, our journey is never just for us. Our journey always involves a community or fellowship. This is by design. God did not create us to be alone, thus the reason for woman. However, what we miss, is that God seeks fellowship with US.........I want to pause there and reflect for a moment.
Why then, does God not just make us be his friend? Would you feel an authentic connection with someone you made be your friend?
This will lead us down a slippery slope in a debate of freewill, but ultimately God seeks fellowship with you.


At the end of the day, our hero "Shoeless" Joe, tells Ray the players are going to call it a night, but stops before leaving and asks a question.
"Do you wanna come with us?" Joe invites Terence out with the players. What!!?, Ray asks. He doesn't get it, why would they want Terence and not him. Terence tells Ray why he is being invited instead of him, "I'm unattached, you have a family."
Ray is frustrated. It's not enough that miracles have happened, he wants to be a part of it all. He did everything he was asked to do, and never asked "What's in it for me?" until now.
"Is that why you did this, for you?...I think you better stay here Ray."
So many times we lose focus of why we started our journey in the first place. Someone else reaps a benefit we want, and selfishness takes over. This is the part I find myself in.
The journey is not over. My time has not yet come. I don't want to miss one thing, but my desires may be more of a distraction from the promise.
Ray did his part, but because of his willingness to bring others with him, he has expanded the influence of the Kingdom. This is not always evident when we seek our own understanding.
Because of Ray's boldness, Terence steps out into the unknown, and begins his own faith journey.
When we step out in faith and trust Jesus with our lives, we become a magnet for people who seek peace. The light of Jesus shining from our lives draws them like a moth to a flame. It's how we respond that makes the difference.
Ray's wife Annie tells Ray, "If all these people are gonna come, we got a lot of work to do."

"The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." Luke 10:2

People will come, people will most definitely come.


Then Joe smiles at Ray and says..."if you build it he will come." Ray sees his father, at a much younger age, but marvels at the miracle laid before him.
"Ease his pain" Ray says about his father...but Joe tells him, "No Ray, it was you."
Many times we set out on our journey to bring healing to others, but eventually we discover it was us who needed healing. Many people who return from the mission field, tell stories of redemption in their own lives because of the people they thought THEY were serving.
Once Ray realizes all that has occurred has brought him to this moment, his heart wells up with the joy of redemption and asks, "Hey Dad....you wanna have a catch?"


Since the beginning of creation to the present day, all God has wanted is to spend time with His children.

• "If you build it, He will come." Our obedience brings us into an intimacy with our Creator that we all find ourselves longing for. He wants to know you and you to know Him, and He does this through a shared task.
• "Ease His pain." Ever since the fall of mankind and the entrance of sin and death, our Creator has grieved for us, longing for an intimacy He once had. But out of His perfect holiness, He recognizes the grief in us, that He sent His one and only Son to pay the price for OUR sin.
• "Go the distance." The journey to find peace needs to walk through the purifying steps of pain. Only through pain do we remember the healing. Don't give up, don't ever give up!!
• "People will come." No matter what you experience on this journey, it is never just for you. We are being made useful so that God may bring salvation to others. We are His light bearers.

God will never tell you the whole story, nor will He explain His ways, He just wants to give you life and to have it more abundantly.

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."  

Psalm 119:105

Will you trust Him?....Will you follow?

Field of Dreams: Peace they lack

As I began to write this series on the movie "Field of Dreams", I never realized the journey I would go on. Much of what I have written has been born out of my personal journey. The heartache of failure, missed opportunities, and friendships that have let me down. Nothing truly prepared me for this journey of redemption.

When you say yes to following something or someone, it always seems to produce in you a loyalty and energy that cannot be derailed. Over time the fire begins to fizzle and you lose heart, at least until something or someone else comes along with the newest and greatest.
We all find ourselves with a longing to belong. A dire need to be a part of something greater than ourselves. Where it gets hard however, is when we realize that thing that we have devoted our lives to, is actually greater than ourselves. We feel overwhelmed and out of control, and we lose heart. Resigned to the fact that greatness has escaped us once more, we put our head down and drudge through life lacking purpose and hope. Looking at every new opportunity through our cynical lens and casting pessimism on anyone who thinks they've found it.
How did this happen? How did we grow for so many years and only progress so little? All is lost.....Right?
As I started the greatest journey of my life, I realized the next greatest thing. Someone or something, had been waiting patiently with His arms wide open. No condemnation, no judgement, no settling for second best, but unconditional love. No strings attached, no effort given to earn it, just freedom.
As a believer in Jesus Christ and the "Good News", I am astonished at how far away I stayed from the truth of the Messiah or what a Savior really meant in my life. Late in my teens, I had said yes to Jesus, and heaven everlasting was my reward. I've done it, I've called upon the name of the Lord, and now I'm saved from the perils of Hell. But did I really believe Jesus wanted more?
I didn't do anything, except say "Yes" when He called my name. On the sound of the breeze He whispered, "Brad....If you build it He will come."
I stepped back with a certain awe and wonder. Could He really be talking to me? What should I do? Why would He speak to me? Doesn't He know the failure I am? Doesn't He know how far away from Him I have fallen? Doesn't He know my past? Isn't He Holy, and pure? Why should He defile His Kingdom with the likes of me?
By all rights as creator God, He could have commanded anything, but with a gentle whisper He said, "If you trust me with everything, I will take care of everything."
Jesus didn't want my feet just inside the protection of heaven, He wanted me to love Him with an unconditional surrender, so that He may give me life.
Soon after saying "yes" to Jesus, those who were the closest to me, became my adversary. Why would they not just love me? Why do they have to oppress me with their judgement? I couldn't see how scared they were.
Change always bring discomfort on those who travel in your comfort zone, because their comfort zone is changed. They can't understand and continue to ridicule. They even attack those who support you because they are scared those people are leading astray. They even begin to think you've brainwashed your kids to believe your lies. It broke my heart. He loves me, but they reject me. Fear is so powerful, it will destroy you if you let it.
Then I heard God whisper gently again, "Ease his pain." What I realized was He said, "This call is not just for you, there are others who lack hope."
So with wide eyes I began to search. What's funny is, He never asked me to do the searching.
Full of confusion and grief, I began to question if I'd been asked to do anything.
Ready to walk away from it all because of the constant rejection and condemnation from others, He whispered again,....."Go the distance." "Don't give up. It's going to get real hard. You're going to have to walk through the fire if you want to be really useful."
Along the way I met many who are on the same journey. Suddenly, I didn't feel so alone. Suddenly, there was hope. Suddenly there were others who found the courage to listen because of me. Really? What did I do?
Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest, that a true Saint will be completely unaware of how God is using them to change the lives of those around them.
In February of 2014 my family was commissioned by Greater Europe Mission to be missionaries to Europe and bring the "Good News" to all the peoples there.
How did this happen? We applied, but my past should have disqualified me, right? What does God want me to do now?

"People will come"

I have taken some liberties with the famous speech by Terence Mann who was portrayed by James Earl Jones, but I think this is the crux of the whole movie for me:

People will come. They'll come to you for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up to hear the message not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll walk up to you as innocent as children, longing for peace. Of course, we won't mind if join our story, you'll say. It's only $30 per month. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the Kingdom; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have a reserved blanket somewhere along one of the riverbanks, where they sat when they were children and dreamed of their heroes. And they'll feel the love of Christ and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come. The one constant through all the years, has been Jesus. Humanity has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But Jesus has marked the time. His Kingdom, His love: it's a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come. People will most definitely come.

Listen closely to the whispers of redemption. God's bigger story. Eden reborn. The Kingdom of God.
Once we understand the importance of standing firm on the decisions we've made, we become galvanized to expect the unexpected. We become determined to never give up.
Archie Graham had gotten his wish of playing against big league pitchers, but now his true calling comes to life when Ray's daughter falls and begins to choke. He rescues Ray's little girl.
Through the tragedy of her injury, Ray's wife's family finally sees the supernatural, and realizes how wrong they were. They become determined as well.
Once they saw the miracle, they become determined to find the means to support any way necessary.
But more often then not, families never make it this far. Many never support the call of God that you feel so convicted to follow.
Henri Nouwen writes in his book "Making All Things New":

"To set our hearts on the Kingdom therefore means to make the life of the Spirit within and among us the center of all we think, say, or do."

He then goes on in another book, "A Spirituality of Fundraising", that fundraising is a very concrete way to help the Kingdom of God come about. The Kingdom of God is where He provides for all that we need. It is the realm of sufficiency where we are no longer pulled here and there by anxiety about having enough. Even a seemingly small act of generosity can grow into something far beyond what we could ever ask or imagine.
When you welcome people into this realm of the Kingdom, in a sense, you are giving them the very thing Terence Mann was talking about. "For money they have, and peace they lack."
The Kingdom of God is a collaborative effort of those doing the work, those seeking to be a part, and those supporting out of there God given resources.
Nouwen says, if we raise funds for the creation of a community of love, we are helping God build the Kingdom.
The call to follow God through His whispers has never been about us, it's always been about others. Submitting ourselves in such a way that we become useful for the Kingdom. Note: I didn't say make ourselves useful, but surrendering to our creator so that out of our humility we become a conquering warrior.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

"People will come....."

Field of Dreams: Redemption's Story

Many times we hear a whisper from God, and we take action without any further instruction. We stand back and marvel at our accomplishments. All we want is for God, family, or anyone to be proud of what we did. It's then that God whispers the reason why He asked us in the first place. "Ease his pain"
My friend Andy Flannagan is an accomplished musician, medical doctor, and politician; but his real passion is redemption. I love the way he talks about what God wants when He whispers to us. Here is an excerpt from and interview he gave:

"This is a story that was the highlight of my childhood. It was a Saturday afternoon when my dad would come into the house and say, "Andrew its time for you to help me wash the car." And I would swell with pride because my dad needed MY help to wash the car. It was really a gorgeous memory until I heard a guy on a Sunday morning talking about how he'd been washing the car with his son the previous day. He said, "You know what? It was a nightmare, cause he got a stone in the sponge and he scraped the paintwork and he kicked the bucket over."......I was left thinking....Well, I was only six or seven at the time. You know I could hardly reach the bumper. Why did my dad ask for my help? I'm sure I made the process take a whole lot longer. It was only then that I realized that my dad simply wanted me to be there, because he was there. He wanted me to be getting up to what he was getting up to. He wanted me to be getting to know him and for him to get to know me in the context of a shared task. And certainly I believe, right across this world, our Heavenly Father is healing the sick, bringing sight to the blind, releasing the oppressed; and simply calls us to be getting up to what He is getting up to. Getting to know Him in the context of a shared task."

So what God wants from us, is not for our benefit, but for the world He longs to see redeemed.
"Ease His pain."
What pain? Whose pain?.....I believe God calls each of His followers to embark on a journey that causes us to be a poured out as an offering for a lost and dying world. I think Andy is spot on when he says, God will do this through a shared task, so that we may know Him better.

Below are the steps our character Ray takes when he hears the whisper, "Ease his pain." I can relate 100% to every emotion, feeling, and question Ray must have had. As I look back, I wouldn't have it any other way.

• Begins to put in the work
• Explains the decision over and over
• Arrives at a place of satisfaction that the work is done
• Marvels at the crazy decisions made, but still feels completely nuts
• Waits impatiently for something, just something to happen
• Time goes on and doubt creeps in
• He feels more alone now than before he started.
• His decision seems to have sunk the family
• To go back seems impossible, but to move forward seems deadly
• Then it happens....the decision is confirmed by a glimpse of whats to come.
• Supernatural takes over from understanding
• He enters into an undeserved privilege
• When we take one step toward God, He takes one step toward us.
• Things happen that cause him to have butterflies as if he is in a dream.
• If it hadn't happened to him, he would've never believed.
• He's done it, he's accomplished what the voice asked him to do.
• Up until now the family hasn't understood everything, but when the supernatural happens, their life begins to radically change.
• He's still not convinced as to why he decided to this, but he knows he doesn't want to experience anything else.
• They funny thing is, his extended family doesn't get it either. Out of their compassion and love for their child, they begin to condemn and question every decision he makes. They're scared, nothing else.
• Something funny happens, his extended family and friends can't see what he and his immediate family see. He begins to REALLY feel insane, but then sadness for his extended family and friends takes over.
• Then he gets another message from the whisper. "Ease his pain"
• What pain?...Whose pain?
• This becomes really frustrating.
• In the most unlikely of places, someone comes to his mind.
• After doing some research about what pain they may have, his fire reignites to bring this person relief.
• What also occurs while he is trying to discern what in the heck is going on, his spouse jumps on board by becoming his greatest defender.
• As he feels confident about what he is to do next, his spouse throws on the brakes and tries to speak reason.
• He can't explain why he has to do it, but everything in him tells him to.
• Then something supernatural happens which removes all doubt for the both of them.
• It's almost as if God is trying to prove Himself as trustworthy.
• He goes through with it, and when he arrives, his arrival is not met with a welcome. The only thing that keeps him pushing forward is his desperation to see his choices be proved trustworthy.
• He might even take drastic measures just to force wide what seems to be cracked open.
• When he finally gets through, he isn't even sure why he's doing it, but he is certain to walk forward so more light will be shone on his path.

Then it happens...the whisper says, "Go the distance."

Field of Dreams: God whispers

The scene begins with our main character who seems to be doing something that seems quite usual for him. Nothing out the ordinary, nothing strange. He is doing what he always does.
Then it happens......

"If you build it, He will come."

Build what? Build where?....
You see, much like our character, we want clear direction and clear purpose before we move into the unknown.
Over the last few year of my life, I have discovered how similarly God speaks. I've learned valuable lessons in discerning the voice of God, and although He seems cruel in His whispers, He really is showing you the utmost love.
God is not unprepared for what He is asking, we are. If He were to give us the full picture, the complete story; could we handle it? Would we even begin the journey? The question I believe He is seeking: Will you trust Him?
I learned for the first time in my life, how very little I did trust Him.
Waking up everyday, doing my ordinary life, living under the protection and provision of God, I never really needed to depend on God. I was trained from an early age to be a self-reliant. Depending on someone or some thing made you vulnerable to hurt and disappointment.
"If you want something done right, you might as well do it yourself," and I was content to lead my life the way I saw fit, just as long as I remember to play within the boundaries of morality.
February 5th, 1995, I realized for the first time I couldn't rely on my own ability to keep me from eternal separation from God. I needed Jesus Christ to be my advocate, and pay the price of eternal fellowship with God that I couldn't ever pay.
September 17th, 2011, was the day I heard the voice. I had been fed up with the life I was living. I wanted a life with purpose and meaning. So I did what any Bible believing Christian would do, I demanded that God giving me an audible word on what He wanted from me. Essentially, I came to the end of myself and told God I was done giving orders. My efforts were only producing empty successes and broken relationships.
I would love to tell you, the skies opened and a dove descended onto to my shoulder and a thunderous voice spoke from heaven, but what I heard was silence.
I was out for a midnight walk when I hoped for such a message, but even though I heard nothing, I began to feel an ease to the burdens that I carried.
A scripture verse came to my mind, but I couldn't quite remember it accurately, so I hurried inside and grabbed my Bible to hunt down the verse that escaped me.
I never found that verse, nor can I remember what it was, but I believe the verses I did find were the whispers of God.
When I began to see the pattern of the scriptures I then heard a voice well up from the depths of my heart. It said, "I've already told you what I want for your life, I even wrote it down for you, I will not repeat myself just so you will believe."
That's when I was left with no other choice. I could go back to the life that left me lifeless or I could take a step toward the will of God and truly live.
I want to recap the events that happened to Ray Kinsella, our main character, so below you will find it listed in bullet points. For me, the call to take up my cross and follow (Luke 9:23) has been exactly in line with Ray's call to build a baseball field.

"If you build it, He will come."

• the voice hits you when you least expect it

• question everything, nothing seems to make sense

• can't sleep, it consumes your thoughts

• you begin to feel a bit insane

• start to become irritable with the family, because you want concrete answers

• you feel very alone to what is happening or in your understanding

• when you tell people, they think you're nuts

• then it happens, you find the vision that has been nagging at your heart.

• nothing else seems to matter until you see that thing begin to take shape

• your spouse wants to be supportive, but she can't see what you see

• both of you begin to discuss how improbable that the voice could be real

• then it hits you....you've been living your life trying to find significance, only to find your significance could only be found by following the whisper. 

Don't wait to truly live. Call upon the name of the Lord and He will answer, but be quiet so you don't miss the whisper.

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind whipped the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire there was a still, small voice.  

1 Kings 19:11-12