For the next three weeks, I want to feature some “Amazing Community Mothers!” To start off, I want you to meet my mother-in-love. So, without further ado…
Meet Bama, formally known as Patricia “Patty” Lakeman Dillon. She came into this world on September 12, 1952, blue-eyed and blonde haired. She would be the middle child in her family. She grew up near the sea of Virginia Beach. She met her forever love when she was only sixteen. She would fall head over heels for him and they would marry before her eighteenth birthday. It’s almost been 51 years since that ceremony of matrimony. This June will be their 46th year of serving as founding pastors at Rock Church. When you combine their marriage and church heritage, they have almost 100 years of service—it’s something momentous! I just had to celebrate this lady, right here and right now!!
This lady has Holy Ghost power. She has inspired many. She has worn so many hats and had to adapt to whatever the week demanded. This is not easy, yet she has done it with grace and a smile on her face. She has worked many jobs throughout the years, but I believe one of the more rewarding ones was teaching piano lessons. This can be a lifeline to play a chord and sing a rhyme for it’s a way to connect with the divine. Bama loves the arts, y’all. She has directed school plays, assisted in state and international Rock Church school performances, and much more. From high school, to Bible College, to asking the Father where He wants her family, to getting planted here in Franklin, VA—nothing is short of a miracle.
Some people are lifers and the Dillon’s are those kind of people for this community. The impact of their lives is beyond measure. From funerals, to weddings, to National Day of Prayer Rallies, to food distribution—just to name a few—the list could go on and on with all the energy given to this community at large. The lives saved. Folks, I have to take a moment to pause, for my heart is feeling tender just writing the truth of these faithful kingdom impact pastors. Pastoring is a calling. It’s not glamorous. It doesn’t pay with a yearly raise. Yet, their faithfulness has not waned. I am writing in the singular and plural, for Bama and Poppy, as we like to call him, are one. They came together and shared their faith in this community together. Yes, they are very uniquely individually fitted for this community and have been placed here with an eternal mandate. One soul at a time. Until this city is completely accounted for, no soul is left behind. It’s our corporate mission—faith, family, future is our vision. This family has enough faith to carry your family into their eternal future. Our future was rocked in 2017. And yes, we are called the Rock Church. And, this community has been called a bed and breakfast community, but I want to say we are a bedrock community.
“I give you the name Peter, a stone. And this rock will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of death will not be able to overpower it!”
Matthew 16:18 TPT
I want to share The Passion Translation footnotes on this verse, for it’s so good:
“I give you the name Peter, a stone”
Or Keefa, the Aramaic word for “stone” or “pebble.” (See Matt. 4:18 and footnote). There is an obvious pun only found in the Hebrew Matthew. The Hebrew word for “stone” is eben, and the Hebrew word for “build” is ebeneh. The greek text does state that Peter is the “rock” on which the church is built. However, the implication is that it is Peter’s revelation from the Father and his confession of Jesus as the Son of god that becomes the “bedrock foundation” for the church. The earliest writings of the church fathers all acknowledge that the Rock is Jesus Christ, not Peter.
“And this rock will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly”
The Greek word for “church” is ekklesia and means “legislative assembly” or “selected ones.” This is not a religious term at all, but a political and governmental term that is used many times in classical Greek for a group of people who have been summoned and gathered together to govern the affairs of a city. For Jesus to use this term means He is giving the keys of governmental authority in His kingdom to the church.
“and the power of death”
Or “the gates of hell,” a metonymy for the power of death.
“will not be able to overpower it”
Or “all the forces of hell will never have the power to win a victory over it!” There is no power of darkness that can stop the advancing church that Jesus builds.
Not even the power of death can overtake the revelation of the cross.
The revelation of our founding pastors from the Father and their confession of Jesus as the Son of God is one of the bedrocks of this community. Pastors are gatekeepers in the Spirit for this city. For, the tender spirit of a saint rises to intercede for those in need. May this be said about all of us. No title is needed to intercede for another in need. It’s that simple. Stop, look, and listen for the Spirit within—It is often ready to move close to the one that is in need most. You might be the only Jesus they ever meet. And, that’s pretty humbling.
Well, I think enough has been said here. Bama, thank you for serving. Thank you for loving in the best of ways. Thank you for your intentional gifts. Thank you for your spirit of intercession. Thank you for your words from the Father impressed upon your heart. And finally, thank you for being born. For without you, I would never have become a mother at all. And, for that I am eternally grateful.
I will end with this passage I spoke on my wedding day:
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
Ruth 1:16 NIV
Amen and amen.
Until next time,
Stay tender.
Connect to the Mender.
Be a sender.
P.S. My son’s favorite stuffed animal is Peter Rabbit. Looking at the footnotes, I think it’s pretty neat that he wants to name one of his future son’s Peter. Peter…a stone!! Only God holds his future story, but I believe it will come to pass. I like the story of a son named Stone naming his son Peter.
I hope you enjoyed this little inside goodness from my family planning son. He is only eleven, but this has been on his mind for years now. Even with all this turmoil he has lived through, he is still planning to have a family too.