LIFE STORIES
My wife and I are supernaturalists. Over the years, our ministry has been punctuated by multiple encounters of the supernatural sort. I would like to share some thoughts about that, as well as excerpts taken from a course that I had to take it that liberty that forced me to examine my personal life and ministry. It was a psychology class that focused in on the development of the minister. The paper itself was comprised of 124 pages. Obviously, it was more thorough and extensive than what I submitting to you know, but this should help you to get to know us better. By the way, if you like these stories, as I think you will, I have many more where they came from.
One story that I love to tell revolves around an encounter that I had between myself and Anton LaVey in 1980. LaVey was the founder of the church of satan in San Francisco. At the time, I was working for Teen Challenge. Part of my duties revolved around the outreach and evangelism. This allowed me to be part of the leadership ministry of SOS San Francisco, a street ministry that began in 1979.
The story begins on a cold foggy August evening in San Francisco on Polk Street. During that era, Polk Street was the central focal point for the young male prostitutes, which made it a significant contributor to the difficulties and problems that were inherent within the San Francisco community. It was a great place to witness and confront the powers of darkness.
On that particular evening, I was in charge of two teams of approximately twenty people each who had been commissioned to go to Polk street and witness to the people who gathered there by passing out tracks, sharing testimonies, and reaching out as friends to the hurting souls in general. Things did not go as we had expected, however. That night we encountered significant resistance, as a number of satanist’s gathered to oppose us. Over the course of the evening they did everything they could to disrupt us and to try to prevent this from accomplishing our goal, which was to share the love of Jesus with people that we felt desperately needed to hear the story and the message of grace. Those who opposed us spat in our faces, attempted to rip up our Bibles, cursed at us, threw feces at us and condoms filled with urin, trying to chase us off the street. We would not be dettered however, as we had a goal and a task to accomplish.
As the evening progressed, I became engaged in a conversation with two young Satanists.’ At that time, I had been a Christian for about three years, and was able to spar with them fairly significantly, as I understood many of their perspectives, due to my pre- conversion experiences. As the night wore on, I was making headway in our conversation which was frustrating them. Our conversation was soon to be interrupted, as one of the men who was participating in the outreach came running across the street calling out my name. As he came up to us, he paused and asked me to go across the street, indicating that an emergency had broken out, and that I was needed in order to resolve the situation. He began to tell me that a gentleman whom we had led to the Lord that night before was about to get into a fistfight was someone who was accosting and confronting him over his faith. The new convert had been a body builder, an experience that had developed during a stint in prison.
As I began to head across the street, the two young satanists continued in their conversation with me, however their tone began to change. As we were crossing the street they told me that they were happy to see that we were about to go back to the good old days of Rome where it would be lions 10, Christians 0, obviously referring to the atrocities that happened in the Coliseum. As I came upon the group where the confrontation was taking place, I saw three or four men holding back Michael, the young convert. Facing him was a fairly tall gentleman who was brought shouldered and had a glaring feature that stood out: he was completely bald. As I drew closer to the crowd, I was also able to see a very distinct beard that the man wore. As I saw him as profile, I immediately recognized him. It was Anton LaVey. I put my hand on Michael’s chest and asked him to calm down, explaining to him that it would not look good in the next day’s paper to see a headline splashed across the San Francisco Examiner stating that a rowdy group of Christians were arrested for rioting and fighting at Polk street the night before. With those instructions being given, I then sent Michael away with another team member to go get a soda and calm down.
It was at that time that LaVey turned and faced me and began laughing, as he then asked if I was the leader of the group, to which I replied yes. He then told me that he was happy he loved to eat Christians for breakfast lunch or dinner, especially when they were leaders. He then began to release one of the most vile strings of vulgarities and challenges to my God that I had ever heard. As he continued with his comments I quietly began to gather my thoughts. I did this by speaking in tongues below my breath. I began to ask my Father for strength and grace in order to confront this individual. I also asked God for wisdom and the ability to speak up properly when given the chance.
After what seemed like an eternity, a pause finely opened in the one sided conversation. With a break finally occurring, I began to speak. What came out surprised me, as I began to challenge this individual in a strong, prophetic manner. I began to issue my own challenge and to denigrate LaVey’s god’s, by routinely indicating their lack of power versus my Jesus and his infinite abilities. One of the ways I did this was by dragging my foot against the concrete and creating an imaginary line. I then preceded to tell this profane individual that I knew he was very angry with me, as I had exposed him to a conversation about the blood of Jesus and the supernatural ability of Holy Spirit. I told him that I knew that the spirits that inhabited him were very upset with the words I was speaking and I knew that they would love to attack me. So I challenged him to do so, if he could. I told him that my God was bigger and stronger than his, and that I could prove it. I then threw out a test for him and the demons he served. I could see the anger in his face and I could sense the demonic stirring in his heart. I told him that I knew he wanted to strike me. Then I said “go ahead if you can.” I knew he possessed a black belt in numerous disciplines and that if I were hit by him it would hurt.J
My trust in Jesus’ surpassed my concern over taking a beating at the hand of this man that I faced. With that said, I told LaVey that he could try as hard as he wanted to hit me and that my Jesus would stop him every time. LaVey tried to hit me. He drew his arm back and moved forward, only to freeze. He then repeated the process. I told them that he could not hit me and that he also could not cross the imaginary line that I drew. He then tried to step across, only to freeze in his tracks. At that moment, his face began to change. Previously, the veins were sticking out in his kneck and he has head.His color had turned to a purple, his eyes were glowing with anger, and he could barely control himself. All this changed as his face began to flush. His eyes became very big as he took a step backward. Anger began to be transformed into fear. He turned and approached the light post that was next to us. Grabbing it with both hands, he began to bang his head against it screaming at the top of his lungs in a demonic language. I knew what he was attempting to do. He was trying to dislodge the words that he had heard me speak, knocking them out of his head and out of his spirit. I followed him and began telling him that the words I spoke were so strong and so powerful that the Harder he hit he is head, the deeper they would go in, and that these words would never depart his mind.
With that being said, I challenged him to find real power. I told him that in his quest for power he’d been deceived and if he wanted true power, he would have to be and his knee to the Lord whom I served and whose power stopped him at every turn. With that, he began to run up the street toward a corner. Upon hitting the intersection, he turned left and ran full speed, only to disappear into the night. I then turned to the two young satanists’ who witnessed this event and said to them: “I guess tonight its Christians 1 lions 0. Are you next?” They then follow their leader and disappeared into the night. It was a powerful demonstration of the supremacy of Jesus over the powers of darkness.
Another story I would like to convey to you is taken from the period in our lives when my wife and I were pastoring for the Vineyard in Santa Cruz California. In 1989, a group of brothers and sisters in their twenties joined the church. Originally, they had grown up in Southern California and were next door neighbors to John Wimber. They were part of his youth group when he was still with the Quakers, as Wimbers children were their very close friends.
The story began on a Monday, which served as our day off. My wife and I had went to Monterey California to enjoy the beach and to do some shopping. At that time Clara was pregnant with our second child, which meant that our oldest was one year old at the time. We were tired and dirty. As we were driving along the highway, we came to an exit that you had to take in order to go to the local mall. Neither one of us wanted to do any additional shopping, yet as we approach the exit, I had a strong urge to get off the freeway and to go to Mervyn’s. We pulled into the parking lot, disengaged from our vehicle, and entered the store. Within 15ft. of the entrance, we were confronted by this brother and two sisters who grew up next door to the Wimbers.
When John and Carol Wimber had been immersed in Holy Spirit’s presence, and subsequently joined Calvary chapel, they followed him. They also became part of the very first Vineyard. As they came upon us, Chas, the brother, told me that they had been trying to call us all day long and that we should expect to find numerous messages left on our answering machine. He then told us that his mother had suffered a heart attack and they wanted us to pray for her. They knew it was a day off and so all they were asking was for prayer. I immediately asked them which hospital she was in an informed them that we would go and pray with her if they would let us then. After praying with them for peace, we got a car and drove over to the hospital.
Upon entering the hospital, I saw a janitor and asked him for directions to the cardiac unit. He asked who we were looking for and I told him Mrs. Ehrett. He took it upon himself to look up her bed number and which a room she was in. After telling me this information, we entered the elevator and went to the appropriate floor. As we walked down the corridor, we went straight to the room number, entered in, and began a conversation with Mrs. Ehrett.
I told her who we were and why we were there, and how we found out where she was. Although her children were Christians neither she nor her deceased husband had ever become believers. She expressed her fears and concerns. I then told her that I was there to pray for her. One of the fears and she expressed was a concern for her children. She didn’t want them to suffer or to be afraid for her well being. I told her I knew how she could give them peace the mind. She said she would love to know how to give them that type of assurance, so I told her that with her children would be very happy if she would receive Christ into her life. She responded with an affirmation and promptly prayed the sinner’s prayer. At that moment, a nurse entered into the room and began scolding us, as no one should have been in the room, much less a family of beach bums with a small child. We left following a quick prayer for safety and a request for angels to fill the room, keeping her safe.
The next day, I went back to the hospital. I was met by the very cheerful person who began to tell me about the events of the night before. Mrs. Ehrett told me that the EKG had identified that her heart had grown to an abnormal size. It was approximately four times its natural size. She said that as I prayed for her the monitor indicated a change that the doctors could not explain. Her heart had shrunk to approximately one and a half times its normal size. This was a miracle. She wound up living in additional ten years, but that’s not the end of the story. I was then told that during the night she had woke up in a panic. This was due to the fact that she saw a very large glowing person sitting at the end of her bed. She immediately thought an angel was there to take her away. Her fear melted away into a state of peace as soon as she saw what the angel was doing. It was quietly and gently folding the ends of her sheet into pleats. With that site, she slept soundly through the night. I was puzzled by the vision that she had seen, and expressed my amazement.
For years I had wondered why this happened to her. In 1992 I received my answer. I happened to be speaking at an Assembly of God church in Santa Cruz as a guest evangelist. Winnie and her family came to the service. I recounted the story that happened at the hospital with her and the angel. Everyone agreed it was a powerful miracle. I then express my curiosity over the pleated sheets. Winnie raised her hand and asked for permission to explain. She told us that when she was a young girl her mother would come into her room each time she began to cry because of a fear of the dark. Her mother would sit at the end of her bed and sing songs to her, as she gently pleated her sheets. Throughout her entire grown life, anytime Winnie was confronted with fear she would think about those moments with her mother in order to draw comfort and security. In her moment of crisis the Lord sent an angel to her with instructions to act in a way that would bring peace and comfort. God is good, all the time. These are just a few examples of some of the incredible things that the lord has allowed my wife and I to experience over the course of our Christian experience. The following excerpts may also help you to learn more about us. I hope to someday meet you face to face.
Personal Background
I would like to explain just a little about my wife and me and our odyssey of faith. I gave my life to Jesus at the age of twenty in 1977, following a crisis of life. My early years were filled with turmoil and difficulties, as I grew up in a ghetto type environment. I truly needed salvations power. My wife Clara gave her heart to the Lord in 1979. We both grew up as Christians in non-Denominational settings with a smattering of more traditional influences through the Assemblies of God. We met in 1982 witnessing on the streets during an outreach in San Francisco and were married two years later in 1984 while I was attending Bethany College in Santa Cruz. We have two teenagers, William (17) and Garrett (16).
I began ministering full time in 1979 with Teen Challenge in San Francisco CA. Clara and I began our pastoral ministry in 1985. Our experience has been rich and varied, with both Vineyard Christian Fellowship and the Assemblies of God playing an integral role in our theological and experiential development.We have been ministering for the Assemblies at our current church for quite some time; we are currently in our tenth year! These have been times of blessing and outpouring for us as God has prospered us and used us effectively. But we currently sense His leading in other directions at this time.
I knew shortly after my conversion that God’s hand was upon me for full time ministry through prophetic words and the confirmation of elders. I was released to begin teaching and preaching within two years of my conversion, although I began believing God to move through my life with power and grace almost from the beginning. Whether it was in street evangelism, praying for the sick, visiting the elderly, preaching in Gospel Missions or any number of other ministry experiences, God continued to guide me along the pathway that He desired for my life in serving Him. God is good. All the time.
We not only have experienced the mighty power of God, but we continue to walk in it as the Lord allows. Healings and releasing of the anointing are things that we expect in our ministry and so far God hasn’t disappointed us.My wife and I love what we do in ministry. We love God and His people dearly.We love to tell what God has done for us and to proclaim His truth in a relevant way that is potent. Prayer and fasting are key truths that are integral parts of who we are, as we both have fasted for extended times of up to forty days on multiple occasions.
It is interesting to observe how much influence my personality influences those who exist around me. As a pastor, it is a fearful thing to realize the power and authority I wield over the individuals I minister to on an ongoing basis. This is especially apparent in my family, as those who live the closest to me see me at my best and at levels that dip far the benchmark I strive to live within. My church sees me in prayer during our 15 minute pre-service prayer ritual and during the varied prayer services I attend. My family sees or doesn’t see a consistent prayer life, depending on how faithful I am at the season I may be living at any given time.
My church hears about my quiet times and moments of meditation or confession. My family generally lives within those aspects of proper discipline.I can confess accountability to my church, but my family lives with the reality of those elements of hidden activity or shame in areas I may be less inclined to look at. My church may see the visible loss of weight from times of prolonged fasting, but my family lives with the pain and shortness of temperament due to the emotional impact of food deprivation.
Many of my most significant decisions have been made intuitively, as I have attempted to cultivate this factor in my life. This can be seen in the way my wife and I came to be married. We had met casually during a major City-Wide outreach in San Francisco California. I had been living in the ‘City by the Bay,’ since 1979, working for Teen Challenge, a Christian ministry that primarily focuses on people with life controlling problems. My wife came to San Francisco for an SOS San Francisco outreach in 1981 with a group of young people from her home church in Santa Cruz California. As an act of providence, she wound up on the team I was leading during the week, as we went into various venues on the streets for witnessing purposes. She led a gentleman to the Lord one night, which led to her turning in a follow up card. A friendship began to develop, although it only lasted a few days, as she returned to her home.
Later, in 1984, I left Teen Challenge to attend Bible College in Santa Cruz California, where I subsequently became re-acquainted with Clara. This happened as I became friends with a fellow student who invited me to his church, which happened to be the same church Clara attended. We resumed our friendship. Following a decision to go on a date, we talked about desires and inclinations in our relationship with the Lord and our compulsions to minister. Within one week of our first date, we decided to marry. We were married 3 ½ months later. Was this a little compulsive? Yes. However, we both sensed God’s blessing on us, as did those who served as our Elders. I am happy to report that we have been pleasantly married for over 20 years and our love for each other has grown throughout the years.
As a pastor, God has blessed my wife and me with a significant ministry concerning community involvement. One of the churches we have been blessed to pastor operated a private school that served over 400 children annually. This ministry enabled us to reach a significant portion of our population over the years that we never would have been able to reach had we not had the school under our corporate umbrella.
We also have run food programs that have touched numerous families within our community. Our churches have hosted the Convoy of Hope in the past, with that ministry approaching us occasionally over the years to see if we would consider spear-heading another Convoy in the future. A typical Convoy event distributes about 6,000 bags of groceries to the indigent and needy. We have been instrumental in helping to maintain the City Prayer ministry and we have pioneered two Hispanic congregations in the past that minister to about 2,000 people weekly. Our churches have hosted numerous conferences and concerts along with the blessing of inviting numerous prominent national and international ministers into the regions were we have pastored. Following the attack on the USA by Islamic militants, we facilitated a large city wide prayer vigil two days after the tragic attack on our countries soil. Over 2,000 people attended this event, with multiple dignitaries from our region being in attendance. It was powerful and cathartic.
Evangelizing the Community:
As pastors, we have been blessed over the years to be involved in numerous outreaches to our communities. The most significant by far was our annual Christmas production that was attended by approximately 3,000 people annually. We have carried out yearly Park outreaches with Bands, hosted a all night Christian Rave during Spirit West Coast, conducted neighborhood outreaches, VBS’ and children camps, children’s programs, after school Bible studies, Summer concerts, Bounce House Extravaganza’s, and an Annual Harvest Festival that has seen up to 5,000 attendees. We have conducted Hell Houses, themed Home Fellowships designed for the unsaved (movie nights, BBQ’s, etc.), and many, many other expressions over the years, which have helped our churches to build solid reputations in our community.We have conducted annual Easter productions that have seen up to 1200 in attendance.
My understanding of the relationship between social concerns and evangelism:
The two can relate, but they are not necessarily one and the same.Evangelism is the specific act of proclaiming the supremacy of Christ. Social programs can be utilized in this proclamation, but when Christ doesn’t have the place of centrality, there is a significant deficiency that is advanced concerning the needs of the soul. Social programs are good in so far as they help us to maintain a strong society and grant us outlets to assist those who are less fortunate than we may be.
I would describe myself as a strong witness for our Lord, being ready in season or out to give an accounting of my faith to anyone who will listen. This can also include befriending the lost and being there for them when they are in need. Many of our neighbors are in this category.
Over the years I have been involved in outdoor evangelism, Missions, Jail ministries and Juvenile Hall outreaches and door to door witnessing programs.We have conducted evangelistic plays, conducted Christmas concerts and productions, held crusades (and conducted crusades: in country & outside the USA), as well as other avenues of aggressive evangelism.
I believe that we are the vehicle that the Great Commission is fulfilled through.We are to be effective in allowing our community to see a strong witness of the Lord in us and through us. We are to then proclaim Him through out the world. This can be done through us personally as we embark on short term missions trips, or through us supporting those who dedicate themselves to the task of proclamation in lives and regions that we cannot be effective in.We are regular supporters of our churches missions program, we regularly give to missionaries and missions projects, and we regularly support children in orphanages in foreign countries.
It is my hope and desire that the Inside-Out principle would serve as a fresh breath of inspiration to evangelize our community and beyond, as it is the focal point of the Great Commission.
Over the years, we have successfully raised up a number of internal leaders, including an associate who is left us to attend Law School in response to a call from God after serving on staff for 6 years, the former Principle of our Church School in California started as an attendee first, became a member, served on the Board, and was recruited for staff. When he left us, he moved to better attended to his family needs, due to his father suffering from Alzheimer’s, which led to his decision to move in order to better minister to him. One of the girls we led to the Lord through our ministry and who used to lead worship for us prior to leaving for the School of the Supernatural in Bethel Church, Redding CA, has been a mainstay leader in Jesus Culture. These people are close friends, and will always remain so. We have also seen about 23 young persons advance to Bible School’s, Seminaries, Colleges, YWAM, etc., with the majority of them serving in varying capacities today, including counseling, pastoring, missionaries, etc. God has blessed us with many other stories as well. Our church has a vision that embraces sending out people after they have spent time with us in rehabilitation, reorientation and impartation, as we challenge them to carry out the incarnational principles of modeling the life of Christ before men.
Future Plans for Working the Angle of Evangelization & Discipleship Personally & Professionally
It is my hope and prayer that as a church, we will be successful in implementing the V-12 Discipleship Program into our church. V-12 is a system that was developed in Bogota Columbia that incorporates multiple styles of ministry into the church that had been the primary models used in American Para-church organizations. The most significant forms of ministry include: Evangelism Explosion, Campus Crusade for Christ small groups, Youth With A Mission discipleship, Crusio Prayer Walks, and a one year Bible School that is coupled with three strategic weekend retreats. The objective is to take a new convert and prepare them to be home group leaders within one year, and training them to become soul winners within the first three months of their initial conversion experience. The program is fairly extensive and seems to be a workable model; however it is fairly untested in the American church system. It has been in use in Latin America for the past twenty years with proven results. The church that innovated the model has grown from 20,000 to 800,000 from the programs inception to now.
On a personal level, I am currently going through resurgence in my desire to be effective in evangelizing. As a young convert, I spend many hours in aggressive evangelism on the streets, both in Reno NV and in San Francisco CA. Some of my fondest memories relate to that period of my life. Faith grows when we put our lives on the line of service and find ourselves in situations that only God can resolve.
The Heart of Ministry: Worship
The establishment of a philosophy of worship is key to engaging the presence of the Lord. I believe that worship is the primary vehicle that helps us in the experiential aspect of our faith. It is the act of opening our hearts and minds to His supreme worthiness and then expressing our gratitude as we minister to the Lord. I believe that our worship experience embraces singing, devotion, silence, study and a number of other pensive modes that help us in communing with our God. I also believe that it is critical to tailor services around the experience and needs of the congregation in order to best facilitate an intimate worship experience.
I am inclined to favor the contemporary variety of services. I think a quality music program is critical in the engagement phase of service as well as supportive expressions such as specials, drama, etc. depending on the talent levels and the openness of the church. The conveyance of vibrant activities is a strong component of the service time coupled with the receiving of the tithes and offerings. This can be done traditionally or utilizing multimedia productions, again contingent upon talent and resources. The major focal point of the service should always center on the communication of the Scriptures. My preference is in topical preaching laced with a heavy dose of expositional dialog, although I am toying with the expositional style as a primary methodolgy. The message should be informative and practical, containing both elements in order to challenge and minister to all in the congregation, despite length of time as believers or theological background in the faith. When necessary, an altar call can be an effective means to further cement the necessary truths being espoused, helping the recipients to integrate the concepts deep in their lives as they practically commit themselves to their implementation. I personally enjoy the worship portion of the service to be about 35-45 minutes long. The sermon should be about the same length as well.
My philosophy concerning worship is simple: when music is the medium, employ the style that moves the community of believers into the divine presence. Worship is designed to bring us into the fellowship of the Spirit, encountering God in the place He resides. This is accomplished through our devotion to the Word, through our fidelity to the disciplines, through our exaltation of the King eternal, and by our facilitating an atmosphere of communal unity. When we enter into God’s love, a joy is released that is infectious, showing the world why it is good to taste of the Lord’s Table. Anointing and blessing are found under the auspice of a dynamic life experience fostered through the manifested presence that is released as we embrace and facilitate an atmosphere for God to come and rule, making it “on earth as it is in heaven.” Much of my approach to worship as a practice and approach has been molded through the ministries of John Wimber and Jack Hayford’s perspectives, as their views seriously impacted me during my formative years in the faith. I am a worship animal on a personal level, loving to love God.
Prayer
Although there are many good guidance systems or models that a church or pastor can adopt as a guide into the portals of successful ministry, without prayer, Bible reading and direction of a spiritual nature, ministry can become a hollowed out tree. Although things may appear to be in proper order on the outside, a closer examination will reveal a lack of substance and strength internally.
It is the adherence to the internal forces that comprise personal character that should be of critical importance to the modern expositor of Holy Writ.Scripture makes our character out to be an issue of extreme importance. This approach to principles operates on a high plane when the aspect of pastoral integrity is broached. In the act of emphasizing prayer, Scriptural adherence and spiritual direction, Peterson places a value on matters that are less than glamorous to many pastors. Often, churches emphasize the need to act competitively, advancing external aspects of ministry as holding the highest places of honor within the boundaries of church life, due to insecurities and an over exaggerated sense of self importance.
The emphasis is often placed upon degrees earned, abilities to manage finances in ways that are similar to the CFO in the corporate world, and communicative mastery that is synonymous to the best of the best infomercial salesmen who can be found hawking their wares in the nebulous hours of televisions twilight time slots. Added to this mix is a dab of Dr. Phil’s loveseat advice, the wisdom and shrewdness of the high profile ambulance chasing attorney, coupled with a healthy dose of personal attractiveness and charismatic appeal. Throw in a good speaking voice that is calm yet authoritative, soothing yet directive, placating yet convincing, and the net result is the perfect example of the modern prototypical pastor.
Prayer, in an ongoing manner, is witnessed as the appropriate vehicle that enhances this relationship. By its very nature, prayer sets itself against the modern iconoclastic ideal: that of the rugged individualist. Prayer, rather than promoting a sense of self worth and ingenuity, forces the neophyte into a tacit acknowledgment of dependence. Weaknesses are presented as the prominent features in prayer that is conducted in private transparency, not self reliance. I am including an analysis of some of the prayer topics during the course of my deliberations for this class, taken from my times of prayer.
Supernatural Impact:
It was in January of 1999 Ford Explorer I was driving and towing another vehicle with, flipped after experiencing a right rear tire blowout on the Freeway.I survived a near death event. The top of my head was torn away as the car slid down the road, almost leading to my bleeding to death. One of the miraculous occurrences that transpired during the aftermath that ensured my survival was a minor accident that happened a ways up the road from the accident I was in. An ambulance had been dispatched that was on the scene almost instantaneously. The attendant’s aid and responses led to my survival, as they had an Air Ambulance at the site expeditiously. When the accident was in process of unfolding, my head became lodged between the door frame and the collapsing roof, making it impossible for me to remove my head from the grating road that had intruded itself into the cab of the vehicle through a Moon Roof that had shattered due to the damage it underwent.
As I felt my head grinding away, I shot up a quick prayer, telling the Lord I was ready, and if He didn’t do something quick, I would be with Him soon. It was at that point that I felt a sudden jerk with a sharp pull on my left rib cage, which dislodged me. Later on, the attending nurse would tell my wife that she was lucky I survived, as it was her experience that people in my condition never made it. Her biggest difficulty was in the bruising on my body, as she saw all the normal forms with one exception, a large bruise on my left rib cage that indicated profound internal bleeding, but the MRI showed no evidence of this type of injury. To make a long story short, the bruise eventually took on the form of a large hand. It is hard to explain what happened apart from it being and out right miracle, and I am grateful to the Lord.
At the request of my wife, extended periods of time are being devoted to prayer for divine encounter purposes. We are at a crossroads in our ministry and are crying out to Jesus for direction. Prayer is an ongoing practice in both of our lives, and has been a rewarding experience at a personal level for many years, that has undergone varying degrees of intensity, almost from the starting point of introduction into Christianity at the age of 20. The individual who discipled me was a person of prayer, who through his modeled practice, imparted a deep appreciation for the routine of cultivating the presence of the Lord through the portal of prayer on an ongoing basis. What was learned during a regularly scheduled daily meeting for an hour of prayer has reaped huge dividends over the ensuing years. We would go into a room that had been devoted to the Lord with his mother and get down on our faces and cry out to the Lord regularly. They were Charismatic Catholics who were deeply devoted to Jesus. Once they encountered the Lord in a personal way, their lives were never the same again, and I am grateful for the time I spent with them in discipleship.
At one point in my life, 3 – 4 hours a day were being dedicated to intercession. Today it is closer to 1-1 1/2 hours. That season lasted about two years and did I ever enjoy one of my most spiritually productive times. Prayer is a funny thing. The typical attitude entertained upon entry, is one of acquisition. Prolonged prayer seems to have a decisively different net result.Rather than molding the activities of God along personal requests, prayer engagements help the individual to see the bigger picture of fitting into God’s will and plan for life. Prayer has this uncanny ability to mold the person into the image God desires for them, not the other way around. The discipline of ongoing and extended prayer also teaches the participants invaluable lessons about the faithfulness of God and His incredible immensity. Distractions and tiredness are continuing pestering problems in the practice of prayer.However, the grace portion of God’s presence more than compensates for this deficiency, even when prayer becomes preeping (pray/sleeping) inadvertently.God is great and prayer is an effective portal for personal entrance into the depths of proper relationship with Him that I for one am personally grateful to be privileged to have a limited understanding of the submissive nature of prayer. Its funny how much Foster’s book reinforced the principles I was in the process of mastering when the book was first published. The Celebration of Discipline has been a mainstay in my life from the time it was first introduced to the reading public.
Fasting as a discipline is a practice I have tried to enact over the course of my adherence to Christianity. I have a love/hate relationship with the discipline. I understand the central idea: denial of the substance that gives us life as a witness that we are familiar with the real substance of existence that matters: eternal life. The voluntary denial of food and fluid is a harsh practice, but one that is worth undertaking. I have devoted my life to the discipline of fasting, undertaking virtually every type. The most intense fast happened about 23 years ago during an especially intense time of prayer.
I felt compelled to undergo a total fast as I was interceding for San Francisco. I lived and ministered there from 1979 through 1984. I didn’t know how long I would go without food and water, but I knew that I was supposed to trust God and just do it. I hesitate to say that I heard the voice of God, but I heard the voice of God! The total fast lasted a total of 10 days. It was the most intense experience I have ever had with God and the practice of the any disciplines. The Lord sustained me. This was made truly apparent when I went to cut the fast. I had planned to slowly break it by taking sips of water the first day, a little lettuce the next, and so on.
When I had the release to break the fast I felt the Lord speak to me in a way that indicated that I was to eat whatever I wanted to. I initially rejected the impulse, chalking it up to the flesh or the enemy, as it could kill me. I do realize that the fast itself should have, but that’s another discussion, as I continued to work and function in a normative fashion throughout the fasting period. At any rate, when I rejected the impulse to eat, I heard the Lord tell me a second time to eat. This time it was rather forceful, in a way that sounded like: “I sustained your life through the fast, I will sustain your life as you break it. Go and eat.”
It just so happened that some friends had come by to check up on me, as they were afraid for my wellbeing. I told them what I wanted to do. Their response: they called me crazy. After much debate, they acquiesced but determined to stay with me in order to rush me to hospital if necessary. I cooked a T-bone steak, a plate of Nacho’s, some Tater Tots and green beans, opened a Coke and feasted. It is probably obvious that at the time I wasn’t into health food, although I am rethinking it at this time in my life. Breaking that fast was the most amazing thing. It was as if I had never missed a meal. There were no, I repeat: no adverse effects whatsoever. Praise God. That’s why I say I heard the voice of God.
Fasting is a significant methodology that enables the participant to enter into the depths of the love of God. Another fast was entered into December 2nd 2004 by me in accordance to course anticipation. This fast has been combined with the challenge of a faith endeavor as well. The projected end date for the fast was December 20th, the day my wife’s long lost sister comes out to California for a visit. She had disappeared for almost 10 years, with us being in the dark as to her status. We didn’t know if she was dead or alive. My wife finally tracked her down after she reentered the working world and had her SSI number placed back into the system. This is a mini miracle, at least for my family. My youngest son has been praying for her safety as long as she has been gone, telling us not to worry. He held out a hope that she was alive, which she was! My wife Clara is an avid faster as well, having embarked on numerous fasts over the years. She led a group of fellow fasters on a forty day fast prior to the first election of President Bush.
This fasting and prayer experience has been a rewarding encounter that marks approximately 35+- fasts that have been entered into over the past 26 years that have consisted of 30-40 day periods in duration. Words cannot adequately describe the internal conditions that are being affected through the course of this fast. The discipline needed is tremendous to proceed with this type of undertaking. Each time that this particular style of discipline has been embarked upon by me, new lessons have been learned as a result. It’s funny, I always know when I am fasting under divine direction or acting carnally in my spirituality. When it’s a God thing, I can undertake the discipline with some degree of ease, but when I am acting legalistic or out of compulsion, becoming spiritually braggadocios, I resist entering into the fast like you wouldn’t believe.
With that said, an ongoing practice that has been developed over the years has been to fast for 12 days at the beginning of each year, with each day representing one of the months of the proceeding year. This is done regularly with staff, and has been of great benefit by all who participate.
Theology & Doctrine
This is my position on spiritual gifts (including charismatic gifts):
Spiritual gifts are the legacy of Holy Spirits activities among men. Everyone who is born again receives Holy Spirit as an indwelling agent of redemption.He in turn grants us various abilities that help us in our personal walks and in the administration of Kingdom ministry as we yield to His presence and the desire for Him to empower us. They are grace expressions designed to bring glory to the Father as they visibly demonstrate the reality of the Kingdom of God in the midst of creation. These grace expressions are designed to enhance the ministry of the message we all carry, providing assistance for the Gospels proclamation and are available to all believers. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With these grace gifts comes the endowment of power for life and service. The bestowment of these gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry are for the entire Body of Christ (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). These experiential phenomena are experiences such as: an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:43; Hebrews 12:28), an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work (Acts 2:42) and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost (Mark 16:20).
An understanding of the doctrine of salvation (including free will, predestination, and security of the believer).
A) In regard to the doctrine to the doctrine of salvation, I believe that it is a free gift made available to all mankind through the redemptive act of grace as God the Son sacrificed His life as the point of exchange for our lives that have been devalued by the introduction of sin. Salvation is a free act of grace that cannot be earned meritoriously. We are “saved by grace through faith plus nothing.” Humanity has been given a freewill which is a reflection of our having been created in the divine image of God. This freewill can be directed toward good or evil, depending on the influences that come to bear on the individual and their personal choices. It is the force within humanity that allows us the freedom to respond the call of grace and to repent and be freed of our sin.
B) Predestination is a concept that is identified in Scripture that at times has an air of mystery that surrounds it. I personally believe that in the light of the corporate understanding of the people of God in both Testaments, predestination applies to the vehicle over the individual. By this I mean it is the Body of Christ that is predestined as we find our places within Him. This does not discount God’s great love for us as individuals or His oversight of us. It simply means we must respond to His grace first in order to become recipients of His predestined plan.
C) The security of the believer is a doctrinal position that I have struggled with over the years. My conclusions boil down to this: there is considerable data in Scripture that allows us to build a case both for and against a security position. As such, it appears to be a doctrine that is intended by God to be held in tension, granting weight and a semblance of truth to both sides. It is not an ‘either or’ doctrine. It is a ‘both and’ belief. Scripture tells us names can be blotted out of the Lamb’s Book of Life and that not one whom was given to Jesus shall be lost except the son of perdition. This creates an atmosphere for a theological conundrum that is not easily answered.
My personal approach is one that acknowledges that there have been many people much greater than myself who have had great difficulty proving conclusively this doctrine one way over the other. Men such as Calvin and Luther have advanced differing views, yet seem to say the same thing in the final analysis. Therefore, I have personally chosen to err on the side of grace if I must err, so you could call me a moderate Calvinist, if you must put a label on beliefs, although I prefer to be known as a Biblicist.
Preaching and Teaching
I use an animated and expressive style when preaching. I am not a shouter, however. I love using gestures, vocal inflictions and motion in order to express the power of thought. I try to be deep theologically, yet understandable at the same time. Some say that I am a very good communicator of the Gospel.This utilization of stylistic enhancements is a tacit acknowledgement of our cultural proclivities toward entertainment. I have seen that a more dynamic presentational style appeal to the type of people that our church generally attracts. I am as committed to an ever increasing garnishment of skill and ability in this area. My studies at Liberty have helped me to crystallize a philosophy of preaching that starting to gel.
Preaching the Word of God can be a daunting task, the work of the minister revolves around the function of transformation as it applies to the disciple’s of Christ in the modern context of life. This involves both the initiates who are in pursuit of the conversion experience and those who have followed Christ for any number of years. The work area isn’t simply a desk. Nor is it confined to a computer screen, as it extends deep into the soul. The laborer within the Lord’s kingdom who serves in a pastoral capacity may be called upon at times to oversee the construction of buildings, maintaining edifices in a proper manner and making sure that the properties which have been dedicated to eternal service are comfortable for churches congregants. But, at the heart of the work of the reverend, the minister isn’t a construction labor of janitor. All of these functions may serve within the task of ministry, but none of them define the sacred task as specifically as the presentation of the Word of God.
While studying at Liberty, many of theses elements of ministry are beginning to crystallize for me. This is particularly important, as there had been a fifteen year break between the majority of my undergraduate work at Bethany College and when the doors to a Master’s Degree at Liberty began to be pursued. Courses such as Homiletics 591/92, two classes which specifically deal with the exposition of Old Testament Scripture, have forced me into an ongoing examination of the components that make up the work of the modern ministry as it relates to the pursuit of sound exegesis and exposition of the old and New Testament documents. Preaching is a task which I have been involved in since 1979, spanning 26 years of professional pulpit ministry. This deficiency in homiletic studies that relate to the Scriptures of the Old Testament was due to my lack of participation in any formal classes that focused exclusively on the Old Testament as model for preaching in the modern world. As a general rule, it has been my experience that most conferences and symposiums on expository methodologies usually concentrate more on the New Testament as opposed to the Old Testament portions of Scripture, which has been the major forum for skill acquisition since leaving Bethany in 1986.
The most challenging aspect of the current two classes on preaching techniques has been the forced labor in the Old Testament documents.Developing methodologies that view these documents as having equal value and status in the evangelical realm can be problematic at best. There seems to be a prejudicial bias toward the approach to the Old Testament as a source for preaching as a primary focal thrust by many Evangelicals, as some theological points of view have adopted a stance that treats the Old Testament as an inferior, or secondary revelation. Although this has never been my personal position, I must confess that I have spent considerably more time expressing the truths that are contained in the New Testament as opposed to the Original Covenant works.
I have found it to be particularly rewarding to force myself to find grace in the midst of the message that preceded the advent of the Christ incarnationally.The series that I eventually preached for the classes extended well beyond the ten sermons that had been required for the mentor’s evaluation.Additionally, sermons from the Old Testament as the primary text continue to spring up as a source of inspiration. Many within the church I pastor have found this emphasis to be rewarding.
Outside-In and how I address the topic of financial giving from the pulpit.
I approach the issue of giving as both a privilege and a responsibility. We are responsible to give as members of a family. We jointly create bills and we jointly contribute to the need to pay for them. As such, we must have a budget and the means to meet it. This falls under our responsibility as mature believers. It is also a privilege to give. We can return to God a tangible expression of our gratitude to Him for this great salvation He has given us. We do this in our giving of substance. I believe in the principle of the tithe as a beginning point of faithful expressions of gratitude and I am more than willing to teach on financial accountability and stewardship.
This is my experience of being called by the Lord to the pastoral ministry, both as an Inside-Out and Outside-In experience.
Shortly after conversion, I was told by various elders and pastors that they sensed the call of God on my life for ministry as a vocation. Initially, I believed this to be an evangelistic calling. In 1983, three men spoke into my life in what I have to interpret as prophetic direction. The first happened during a late night prayer meeting. The gentleman was an evangelist from India and he told me that he saw a word written over my heart: the name evangelist. I agreed with this. He then told me it was a penciled in word and that it covered the real word God had put over my heart: the word pastor. I disagreed with this assessment as my heart was set on following the course I believed I was to pursue. Without telling him this, he told me that God had shown him my stance and that God was now going to confirm this, and without being touched, I fell over backwards and hit a two by six that was part of a weight machine suspended about eight inches above the ground. I was standing on a sloped floor, so I was about ten feet above the point of impact. Upon hitting the beam, I split it in two, hitting the floor with a loud crack. The men I was with thought I was dead or seriously injured. I immediately sprung to my feet without a single mark or pain. That obviously made me stop to think about what was said to me. A few months later I was speaking at a very conservative joint church service. When the service ended, the two pastors in attendance came to me to tell me that they had an encounter with God unlike anything they had ever encountered before. God spoke to them in an almost audible way, telling them independent of one another to tell me I was called to the pastorate, not as an evangelist and that I needed to get into a College in order to prepare. Within two weeks, I was sitting in class. The rest is history.Incidentally, I have never regretted the decision to be obedient to the call of pastor.
This is my understanding of the spiritual gift(s) God has given me and list it/them in order of strength.
This is difficult to assess, as I believe that the deepest gifts we have are such things as adoption, salvation, Holy Spirit, etc. I make a distinction between the Dora gifts which are possessive (fatherhood, salvation, Holy Spirit, Apostolic, Prophet, Teachers/Pastors, Evangelists, etc.), and the Chrism gifts, which are grace manifestations (tongues, healing, words of knowledge, wisdom, faith, etc.). I believe that the gifts are for today and are essential in helping us to fulfill the Great Commission and to bring us into maturity. In terms of the grace chrisms, I operate in leadership effectively as well as the proclamation gifts. Additionally, I have seen God use me many times to effectively release healing in very dynamic, miraculous ways. I have been told that my preaching has a strong, prophetic edge in revealing the heart of God. I occasionally have words of special wisdom & knowledge, as well a strong sense of discernment coupled with faith. But most of all it has been said I showcase God’s love and mercy. I am also a strong exhortation teacher whose life has been marked by charitable giving.
An evaluation of me relative to each of the character qualities listed in I Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9, from an Inside-Out perspective.
These have been the benchmark focal points of my life that I have endeavored to live up to over the years. I have only been married to one woman, now for almost twenty five years. I have never hit my wife, nor am I quarrelsome with others. I currently partake of alcoholic beverages in moderation, and act with proper decorum. We have repeatedly allowed people to live with us over the years, and we are quick to entertain in our home. Our children love us and respect our calling. They have developing relationships with the lord as well.We are patient and have been Christians and leaders for many years.
