This weekend, Jan, Anna and I had the rare opportunity of ministering
together at the Crescent City Foursquare Church in Crescent City, California.
While Anna was conducting a Prophetic Art Workshop with Jan, I took the
opportunity to spend the day in the city walking and praying. I was scheduled to speak at the evening
service later in the day.

As I walked along the coastline, I saw in the distance the
Battery Point Lighthouse. Built in 1856, it was one of the first lighthouses on
the California coast. A sign said it was only accessible if the tide permitted.
It was now low tide so the rocks of the exposed seafloor between the lighthouse
and shore were visible. The only way to
get to the lighthouse was to walk across the exposed seafloor. So off I went
hiking across kelp, moss and slippery rocks.

While I know tides don’t rush in quickly, I was still a bit
uneasy walking across the wet rocks out to the lighthouse. I was hoping I would
not experience what the news would report later that day, “Breaking News! A
rare and unexpected returning tide has left tourists trapped at the Battery
Point Lighthouse awaiting rescue. Stay tuned as details of the rescue
emerge.” I also had images of my host
pastor, Roger Bodenstab, looking at his watch wondering why his guest speaker
was late for the evening service.

As I walked out to the lighthouse I felt the Lord was using
that moment as an illustration of what is taking place in this moment of a slack
tide in the spiritual realm. I stopped
and took a picture from the seabed looking out toward the lighthouse in the
distance. The photo captured the isolation that comes when sorrow and unease
drain a culture of its excuses to not discuss the real reasons why we are so
divided. The recent tragedies in America have left many things exposed that
were covered during the full tide of life. In this moment of exposure, God is revealing new ways to approach each
other that before seemed distant, isolated and impossible. We have a rare
opportunity to stand together if we are willing to walk across the exposed
ground that has separated our lives.

In the coming days some of you will stand before people and
institutions that previously would have not allowed you to approach. The pain
and the heartbreak you see has drained away their prohibitions. You will see before you a pathway leading to
critical conversations that were hidden beneath the stormy dialogue of racial
division and separation.

This is a time for you to walk out and engage these
conversations with grace and mercy. Lead with you heart, not with your head and
you will have conversations you never thought possible.  Standing together in this Spirit-led dialogue you
will become a warning signal to those approaching a similar season somewhere in
the future on how to avoid the hidden reefs that were embedded in your history
and almost shipwrecked your culture.