July 2008
One day (just before the Financial Crisis hit that fall) I was sleeping in our house on Cape Cod when I had what I would describe as a vision in my sleep (you could think of it as a dream). In the vision I was alone in the middle of an ocean. I could see a wave coming but it was far off. As the wave approached I knew it was huge (like a title wave) was headed straight toward me. As the wave approached, I instinctively knew the only way through this thing was going to have to duck dive underneath it. I dove to a deeper depth than I have ever had before. Eventually I popped out the backside. I made it through!
When I woke up, I heard the following phrase, “It’s going to be a while. 2 years.”
I wrote it all down in my journal and pondered what I had just seen and experienced and prayed. What does this wave mean Lord? Is it judgement? Is it revival? Hoping for the positive, later that fall I excitedly shared my vision with friend Pastor Doug Steeves at Apostle Jan Nel’s engagement party. Doug had made a type of Nazarite vow to God that he wouldn’t cut his hair until he saw revival come. So I was excited to share – Hey Doug, I had a vision where I saw an approaching tidal wave. Maybe that means revival is on the way and you’ll be able to cut your hair! Clearly I didn’t yet understand what I and our family was about to endure.
At some point back in 2007 I believe, my Pastor (Paul Teske) had what was perhaps a related dream with me in it. In the dream, he was having breakfast with a wealthy friend of his on an ocean beach. His friend had sold an industrial company and then had purchased an island in the Caribbean with the proceeds. He looked out at sea (remember he was a Navy Chaplin) and saw me leading a team of maybe a dozen men in what he described as a Dory-style row boat with a tiller. He panicked in the dream having grave concern for our safety, as he saw a giant wave rear up behind us in the boat. He thought surely this wave was going to wipe them out. Instead, to his surprise, the boat and its crew started surfing the face of the wave instead and we ended up having the ride of our lives. As we got out of the boat, I came running toward him with a big smile filled with joy. Instead of being shocked and scared I was thrilled and full of life.
In August of 2008, I travelled back to Morningstar Ministries to visit with Rick Joyner and Bob Jones. This was right after their historic 8.8.08 gathering. My father was with me too, as we made a trip out of visiting Morningstar in Fort Mill SC after racing my GT3 Cup at Virginia International Raceway.
In a private conversation with Rick, I shared my concerns with following God’s lead by faith to switch my business’ focus to the Storehouse vision that I had shared with he back in 2007.
I shared my frustration that people around me didn’t understand my calling. That I wasn’t called to be a traditional pastor and I wasn’t called to be a traditional business man. God had called me a “new breed” of business man that would be led by the Spirit (this is what Jackson Senyonga had prophecied over me June 2007). That my calling was a hybrid of ministry and business. Rick listened and heard me out.
One of the reasons I came down to see Rick, was to seek his council about our financial situation. While we were trusting God with this new direction in our business strategy, we were also running out of money. I shared with Rick my concern that if things didn’t turn around in the business, I was about to drive our family bus off a financial cliff and run out of money. He wisely said something to the effect, well I don’t have anything on that for you, but if you came all the way down here seeking an answer from God about that concern, He will warn you if you are off track. If you don’t get a warning, you need to listen to the last thing God told you to do and continue to do it.
Later that day we drove over to Bob Jones townhouse to pick him up for lunch. As we walked in Bob mentioned something about there is that Bahama Breeze again to Rick. This must have been some prophetic sense Bob had for something happening in the Spirit realm. Rick then says to Bob. Hey Bob, can you give Gregg that prophetic word. Bob said, which one? The one about the New Breed? My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. These were the very words I was sharing with Rick yesterday in describing my calling. But God!
Bob gave me that word (which was published the next month on his website here: https://didyoulearntolove.org/2008/09/02/the-new-breed/) and it really was a blueprint for what we are doing today. In fact you will see it echoed on our “About” page on the website (https://newbreed.co/about/).
That trip was another life changing, life confirming experience for me. While I was there Rick and Bob imparted all sorts of wisdom. We discussing the issues of leaders in the body of Christ who had fallen and how God wanted to help restore them, but also the importance of rebuking them and bring them back to the truth. That was what love was all about.
Early on in 2009 one February weekend we had Dennis Cramer in town, a well established prophetic voice in the Church. He gave Bridgette and I prophetic words (unsolicited) that were meaningful and confirmed many of the things God had already shown me. Part of his word was to complete the transition of my leadership responsibilities at Church (having run the good race, to pass the baton to others) where I had been President for four years. This was confirmation for me as God had told me the prior year through a dream / night time word that I wouldn’t be President forever and that he had a ticket to a “New Life” prepared for me. Denny had also said that God was bring me into a more dynamic spiritual ministry, which would include speaking around the world.
After the Sunday service that weekend, a friend and fellow parishioner Jen Reichle had left church that morning, but God sent her and her husband Philip back to give me a word. The first thing she did in an act of great humility (which caught me by surprise) was she bent down and kissed my feet as a prophetic act of obedience. And then she said to me that God had shown her a vison. She saw me wearing yellow boots like you would wear in a rainstorm. I was on one side of this lake/pond and Jesus and my family were on the other side waiting for me. She said you are to put one foot in front of the other. She said she saw me sink in the mud somewhat, but to keep moving forward and that I wouldn’t get stuck or go down. Keep walking across until you reach the other side. She said she saw Jesus smiling and he was encouraging me that I was going to make it.
