As background, I need to give you some idea of how God set me up to receive this dream by putting me in a place completely out of my sphere of experience.  God will often shake up our perspectives by taking us out of our “comfort zone” of experiences.  He gets us out of our routines and sometimes even our surroundings so He can allow us to look back and realize the ways we have been living under false assumptions  and taking things for granted – and, at that time in my life, no place on earth could be more “off the map” for me than Australia. It was a wild and radically different atmosphere where I knew almost nothing about what was normal or routine – in short, the perfect place to confront me with change! What a trip!

On my first night in Rockhampton, I was trying to get over the jet lag of my twenty six hour trip. So, shortly after dinner, I excused myself and went to bed early. However, since my body was still operating on Central Standard time.  So, I woke several times in the night thinking it was midday. Finally I gave up trying to get back to sleep and got up just before dawn. Stepping out on the back patio outside my room and peering through the rising mist at the distant extinct volcano tops on the horizon, I was abruptly startled when a seven foot kangaroo stood up in the lawn about twenty feet away from me!  He just stood there and stared at me with a look that seemed to say, “You're defiantly not from around here, are you?”  The scene was so “out of the ordinary” for this Midwestern born, American that all I could do was stare back dumbfounded, unable to move a single muscle for about thirty seconds. I was trying to decide if I was actually awake or not. something about it seemed more “dreamlike” than real.  “Come on!” I thought, “This isn't a zoo it's a pastors back yard!” 

When I finally regained my composure, I had the thought that I should try to slip back inside to get my camera.  I barely started to move toward the door and suddenly I learned how fast a large kangaroo can move!  It bounded in the air, as I gasped at the fact that it could cover about twenty five to thirty feet per jump, and, in less than ten seconds, it disappeared in the under brush a hundred yards away.  It was a memory that was the stuff that travel agents can only dream of offering to Australian visitors. That was the start of what proved to be an equally unusual day – one in which I stood under a tree full of Koala bears, ate fresh mangoes off of another tree out back of John's home, and stood three feet away from a frightened little wallaby that had stopped by the roadside that evening when our car lights rounded a bend.  (Did you know you can actually approach one of these little, two-foot critters, if you're careful, and they will stand motionless until they figure out that you don't want to eat them?)  It was a day full  of new experiences that I hope  expresses a sense of how surreal it all was. By dinner that night, my camera was full of memories and I was anxious to know more about my host and his family.
As we fellowshipped together, John began sharing about how God was releasing people in the area of dreams. This was a topic about which I was somewhat overly cautious.  In fact, I had almost entirely shut off this portion of my life because I had heard some negative teachings about the perils of trying to order your life based upon dreams.  I shared this with John and told him that I believed we always need to be careful how we approach spiritual interpretation issues.  But he countered with the fact that this is true about every aspect of our Christian lives.  Just because something may seem difficult or unusual, is not a reason to avoid it.  In fact, most of the Christian life flies in the face of what is “normal” for most people. Then he drove his point home!  John said, S”teven, if you remove dreams and visions from the Bible along with their subsequent effects upon those people's lives, you have to throw away nearly one quarter of the Scriptures!  If God didn't want to speak to us in this manner, then why did He use it so often in the book that was written to teach us how to live godly lives?”

I was caught!

I then confessed that I truly missed this area of my life and I was disappointed that I seldom remembered any of my dreams any more.  I asked God to forgive me for stifling any communication that He wanted to send me and John prayed a simple prayer asking God to restore this area of my life.  I felt a weight come off of my shoulders and a relief in my spirit. So, anxious to “try out” this renewed communication arena again, I went to bed.

That night, much to my surprise, I had three dreams which I remembered in perfect clarity the next morning. In fact, I still remember them to this day and I have been released ever since to hear from God in this manner again. However, one of the dreams from that night, though crystal clear in imagery, was somewhat difficult to understand. I knew God was speaking to me but I was unsure what I was suppose to do in response. So I decided to do what has now become my standard practice when I don't fully understand something like this – I chose to meditate on the images of the dream so God could bring more clarity. I am still in that process on this dream because it appears to be what I would call a “Life Dream” that contains a foundational message about my life and work in the ministry.

The Dream:

I saw a huge tent that stretched around a good portion of the world. This tent had no side walls. I would have called it  a “dining fly” in my scouting days.  As I looked at the tent I was thinking how easy it would be to come under it for dining and fellowship because you could enter or leave from any direction – there were no access barriers. The top was shaped like the Bedouin tents that are common in the Middle East. I was struck by how unique of a structure was because I could not work out how one could build a tent around a spherical shape like the globe.  But then I saw that each section was made up of a many sided piece of fabric that was simply sewn to the neighboring sides of the other sections around it. Each section had its own unique shape and none of them were entirely symmetrical – the material had been made to fit whatever shape it joined to on the next section. It was like each section had to be “in agreement” with the others to work out what was needed to build the tent. There were obviously numerous tent poles under the canopy because you could see them protruding on the top of the tent.  Each section had at least one tent pole under it but no pole seemed particularly preeminent in height over the others. I also remembered thinking how easy it would be to add a new section to the tent at any point around the circumference by just adding more cloth and placing a pole or two under it. 
Then it was as if I was suddenly zoomed down for a closeup view of the fabrics that made up the outer shell and I saw that each section was composed of a strong, tightly-woven, coarse, natural fiber.  Each section was somewhat unique with its own color variation but somehow all of the different colors worked together.  Finally, the entire surface had been rubbed repeatedly with oil to make it withstand the elements.
The tent was remarkably strong in a storm, due in part to the fact that it was not rigid – it could move and each section would adjust to give or take up slack or tension without tearing.  It would shift and rise with a breeze, but otherwise seemed very secure. The main structure was anchored at three points to stakes that had driven deep into the earth. The stakes themselves were made of a metal that I couldn't recognize and they appeared to be stronger than anything known on earth  One stake was in Australia, another in central Russia, and the third was in England. The corners of the fabric were attached to the stakes by a dark colored, braided rope made out of an unusual synthetic substance that, I somehow realized was what they call, Kevlar, which is the same substance from which they make bullet-proof vests.  The idea that went through my mind as I stared at these ropes was, "Twenty times stronger than steel!"

The fourth corner of the tent was left unattached and flapping in the breeze.

I saw individuals, small groups and even whole multitudes of people walking under the tent from all sides.  Some liked it so much that they stayed under the tent from then on.  Others would come and dine for a season and then move out the other side of the tent.  The Lord said, “When they come in that doesn't mean you should say that they are 'With us' and when they leave that does not mean they are 'No longer a part of us' –  this tent is for dining and ministering to one another's needs in mutual respect and love.”

In the dream, I flew over whole nations like an astronaut orbiting the earth and viewed many nations that were almost completely under this tent.  Some were only partially covered and others  hardly covered at all.  I was overwhelmed at the sheer enormity of what I was seeing and the majesty of it all.  I remember thinking, “No man created this.  Only God could have done something of this magnitude!”  I finally cried out to the Lord, "Lord!  What is this?" and, in the dream, He replied, "This is the 'New Tabernacle of My Blessing!'  It is the 'New Tent of Relationships' that I am building over all of the earth." Then He said, "I never really liked living in a house made of stone – I rather liked traveling about in a tent! I could move it anytime I wanted –    wherever it was needed.” 

As I flew over North America I noticed that it was only partially covered by the tent.  Like a typical presumptuous American, I asked God, “Are you going to tie that loose corner down in America?” He replied with a bit of irritation in His voice."I haven't decided yet about America, yet! If I bring America into this you guys will want to elect someone to run this thing. You'll want to elect a President over it.  You'll want the 'bank account' to be in America because everything is about money to many of you.  And that is NOT what this is about!  This is about relationship – not about power or money!  The tightly woven fabric is people and ministries that I have called to be a blessing of relationship for the whole world.  It is NOT people who will want to control everything that happens under this tent.”

Then as the dream ended the Lord said, “I will show you more about this later, when you are ready for it but, you are called to be a part of this and I want you to give the rest of your life to it!”

Meditating Upon The Message

As I meditated on the dream for some months, bits and pieces of what the Lord was saying seemed relatively clear. However, His exact message still eluded me. In November, a year later, I was visiting my friends Roger and Sue Mitchell in London. The Mitchell's have been used mightily in the current renewal and have helped to put together a group called, "Building Together" which is a partnership of churches throughout the UK. The Mitchell's have taught several times in Toronto at the Airport Christian Fellowship and elsewhere in North America, South America, Africa and other parts of the world. While we were visiting, the phone rang and we found out that it was John Arnott who pastored the Toronto church at that time and who happened to be in town on a lay over.  He said he wanted to drop in the next day to see Roger and was tickled to find out that the three of us were in town at the same time. It felt like a family reunion and made us realize that God had set an appointment for us.

In the course of our conversation the next day, John Arnott was asking for input about forming the new network,"Partners in Harvest", that he was helping to set up. When he asked for my opinion, my only comment was that he should not make it some heavy organizational structure but rather keep it a relational structure open to participation with any church or ministry regardless of denomination or "stream". I remember saying, "John, right now you belong to all of us in the Body of Christ. But, if you are not careful you could be perceived as belonging to a new organization instead of being a gift to all of the Body. God wants people from all over the world to be able to feast, fellowship, minister, and serve under a new anointing and in a relational way."

Suddenly the Lord's Presence was so strong in the room that we all began to weep. At this point, the Lord immediately took me out in the Spirit to speak to me privately.  It was as if I was drawn away in a mighty wind to the other side of the room and out of earshot of what was going on with Roger and John.

The Lord said, "This is what I was showing you in the dream in Australia last year!  I am going to build a 'New Tent of Relationships' made up of people, churches, and ministries from all over the earth. These are people who are fed up and burnt out from trying to set up 'little kingdoms' in the Body of Christ. They will desire to live and work together in relationship, instead. The last structure of the Body of Christ will be based solely upon relationships – not heavy authoritarian or sectarian structure."

Suddenly, the verse in Matthew 20:25 came to mind in a whole new way, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. YET IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU!”  The Lord said, “That means I have prohibited church structures that look like the governments of this world!  If it looks like that type of authoritarian structure, it is an invention of man – not of Me. Such authority is prohibited in the body of Christ.  Whoever desires to become great among you, let him become a servant and whoever wants to be the greatest, let him be a slave. That is how I did it when I was among you and you must behave in the same manner towards one another or I won't remain in such structures any more! I am coming to feast with my people!"

I then felt the Lord said "Many people have already been called to build this new structure. That was what was represented by the tightly woven fabric that you saw that was rubbed with the oil of My Spirit. Each section of the tent that I showed you in the dream represents a particular person, church, or ministry that I have called to work together in building this work. They are stitched together in love and respect – yet they each have there own uniqueness. They have no walls that separate them from each other and they have no barriers to keep people under the tent or keep others out. People will be able to come in and go out as they please from any direction because THERE WILL BE NO WALLS. They can remain a part of their denominations and movements as they please because they will only come to dine on my Presence and to share covenant relationship. The reason I said I had not decided about America yet was because this will be very difficult for some Americans to participate in. They will want to control it and make it theirs. They will be bothered that it will not be centered in America nor have any perceptible central government."

"The anchors or stakes are already in place in the nations I showed you. These are not men but works of My Spirit. The braided ropes are strong relationships I have called together which will attach the tent to these stakes. You have already met some of these people in these countries."

(NOTE: Curiously enough, after the dream in Australia, the bulk of my time that next year was in these countries – six weeks in Australia, eight weeks in England, and five weeks in Russia. However, these trips had already been arranged prior to the trip to Australia and the dream. Also, I have, in fact, met a significant number of people in these nations who are called together solely on the basis of covenant relationship and who desire to relate with other people, churches, and ministries in this manner.)

He continued, "I never wanted to dwell in a heavy, rigid, organizational structure. I want to dwell in relationship. That is why I said, "I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God".  (Rev. 21:3)  In relationships like those under this tent I can command a blessing - Life evermore! (Psalms 133:3) In this 'New Tabernacle' you will not be able to say of those who visit the New Tent, 'They are ours!' Nor will you say of those who go out, 'They are no longer with us!' But they will be free to come and dine as they please. If they go out from the tent for a season, you must still value them and welcome them whenever they decide to return. Relationship will keep them coming back for more. This is why I told you that this structure will be 'twenty times stronger than steel'. It will be able to adjust and move in a strong wind without blowing away and it will be stronger than any organizational structure that has ever been even though the relational strength will not be as obvious as the organizational structure to many who don't understand it.”

“I want you to give your life to help facilitate seeing this vision come to pass. The work has already begun all over the world in the hearts of many! I have also put a 'New Church' in your heart that you will help build to be a part of this New Tent. Every person in this 'New Church' will share in ministry together. You will train each person to be the church everyday in everything they do instead of merely attending a church assembly periodically.  They will be woven together in relationship as they share their lives together and many will be called to dine with them.  Your work in this vision will be two fold. You will plant many churches with many people which will represent the section that you will add to the tent.  You will also work at stitching the other sections of the tent together as well.  But you are a part of this tent from now on and forevermore.”

The vision faded and I found myself looking across the table again at my friends who were looking back at me as if I had fallen into a trance in front of them (which, of course, was exactly what had happened).  I had no idea how long I had been in that state but I know I was tremendously tired as if I had been up for hours.  I excused myself, as best as I could, and said that God had been dealing with me about something that I needed time to process.  Even the clarity of that experience left me with many new questions.  But I determined to begin seeking the answers to those questions because I knew God had spoken to me very directly.

That quest was destined to change how I saw almost everything in my life and it started a trip that would take me around the world many times.