SOMETIMES GOD MOVES VERY QUICKLY, FAST ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR HEAD SPIN!
Around March 6 or 7, some women in Ventura, CA met to pray for their church and for God to bring the right Interim Pastor to lead their congregation. Coastline Bible Church had been experiencing a great deal of strife and pain, and their numbers had dwindled by a hundred worshipers. They had met for this specially called prayer meeting to cry out to God for His mercy and provision and for the restoration of His church there in Ventura.
On March 9, I was awakened by a dream at 4am. It was God’s gentle dream about a young man whose days, for some reason, were numbered . . . limited. This young man was deeply affected by this newfound awareness, and he became determined to accomplish something before his time on earth was over. Technically, the young man in the dream was not me. But then again it was. Although I am not young in years, I knew without a doubt that God was gently speaking to me.
Stating the obvious, as someone about to turn 70, there are far more years behind me than there are in front of me. My days are numbered, my time to accomplish more with my life is limited. This dream came to me in the context of my being semi-retired, speaking occasionally in churches and at conferences, and working on some writing and other projects related to my ministry as a leader with Holy Spirit Renewal Ministries. But I was also squandering way too many hours in front of the TV. I was beginning to feel like I was losing a degree of my once very strong sense of purpose. I was convicted that I wasn’t using my gifts to the degree that I should. But I justified that by telling myself that I was almost 70, that I had labored long and hard over many years, and that it was okay to enjoy kicking back.
The dream on March 9 was indeed a wake-up call for me. I had to admit that since passing on the primary administrative leadership role for HSRM leadership to others (back in September), I hadn’t been accomplishing much. I’d been lazy and lethargic, in need of a quickening. It was time to WAKE UP from my spiritual slumber so that taking a breather didn’t become a lifestyle of laziness. I was so deeply impacted that I wrote down the dream and my response to it between 5:30 and 5:45am that morning. I wrote: “I’ve been lazy, watching way too much TV. I need to be quickened, renewed in hope, resolve, purpose, focus. I need God’s forgiveness — intervention . . . help. I need His:
- Restoration: hope, victory, healing, sound mind . . .
- Inspiration
- Motivation
I also wrote, “Will this be a turning point? A watershed moment? A defining moment?” And I prayed the following prayer at 5:55am: “Thank You, Lord, that I am forgiven. Please help me to respond in hope and faith and resolve. Help me climb out of the hole I’ve been in and to be quickened, inspired, motivated, blessed, favored, and anointed to serve you in fruitfulness. Help me to make a difference in this world for Your honor and glory. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name I pray – Amen.”
God is amazing! He heard the prayers of the few women gathered in prayer for their church in Ventura. And He heard my prayer in response to the dream that I have no doubt He gave me. The speed with which God has answered those prayers is mindboggling . . . amazing.
March 11 (two days after the dream): Willie Nolte, Mission Lead of Transformation Ministries, asked if Cheri and I were mobile, as part of the consideration in possibly placing me in interim pastoral leadership with one of its churches. Our answer was Yes.
March 24: Willie sent me an email asking if I might be open to serving at Coastline Bible Church (formerly named FBC) in Ventura, CA. The answer was Yes.
April 3: Cheri and I took an Amtrak train and met with Coastline’s Interim Pastor Search Committee.
April 9: We met with the Elders Board.
April 10: I met with the Finance Committee and two elders. They said they liked me, wanted me to be their interim Pastor.
“When do you want to start?” I figured they’d want me to start on July 15, after our upcoming pre-planned trips to Israel (May 14-28 and to Green Lake, WI for back-to-back conferences (June 25-July 7 – Holy Spirit Conference and World Missions Conference, where I have leadership roles). Their answer, however, was: “We want you to start YESTERDAY!”
Our first Sunday was April 17. We signed for a 3-bedroom fully furnished condo on April 15, and moved in on April 23. Zooom!!! Sometimes we all talk about the need for patience, that God’s timetable often takes longer than ours But in this case, God’s timetable has been FULL THROTTLE FORWARD! He’s been moving so fast our heads are spinning, and it’s all we can do to keep up!
I am so deeply grateful for all that God has done and is doing. We love our new church family, and already – in less than two weeks – God is doing miracles in the church to heal, unify, restore. There is an air of excitement and expectancy in us all. God is on the move! COME, HOLY SPIRIT!