Seven years ago on a back stretch of Alabama road I asked a question of Andrew Shearman that exploded in his soul and called him out of obscurity.

"Have you done it yet?"

"Done what?"

"Your dream."

I didn't know it at the time, but years earlier, Andrew had asked God for 100,000 trained leaders. He felt his request was so holy and audacious that he'd only ever told his wife, Mo, about it. But he knew the answer to my question was, "No."

After he'd told me all about it and how preposterous and inadequate he felt for such an overwhelming goal, I said, "I'm going to help you get your dream. I'm going to give you the tools to see those 100,000 leaders."

Both of us were speaking about something so outrageously impossible that we wrestled within ourselves to even talk about it. But having expressed it, I know that neither of us can die happy if we don't give the dream our best shot.

Part of my growing up as a father is learning how to be a good son. What better gift to give a spiritual father than to help him see his dream live so that one day he can die happy?