He would be a wonderful preacher

The other day I was having a conversation with my 83 year old father.  I was troubled in my heart as there had been some misunderstandings that were weighing heavy on my heart that was over the spiritual direction Rich and I have taken.  You see my husband and I have left the religious organizations that we were raised in.  Not our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ but in how traditional church has been done in our culture.

To back up a little bit I need to tell you that my father is not only my physical father but also the planter of my faith in Christ.  He and my mother planted the seeds of truth in my life as a young child.  It was more than the sinner's prayer, it was a world view... what the world was like, what God was like and how we were to navigate ourselves through it.  Our navigation instruction came from the Bible and my folks talked about the Bible a lot.  They not only talked about the principles of the Bible but they lived it.  No, they were not perfect and made mistakes but their hearts were true.

 

My dad came from an Amish home.  The roots of the Amish came from the time of the Reformation when people began to leave the power and control of the Catholic Church.  Some of the Reformers were Lutherans keeping with the church pattern just changing their tenants and some practices, then there were the Anabaptist that were considered radicals.  They began to read the New Testament for the first time in their lives and realized how far the organized religion had drifted from the pattern and truths set up by the Lord.  So they shed the religious system and began meeting in homes.  There were leaders among them but for the most part everyone was treated and respected as equal.  They were heavily persecuted by the organized religions and many became martyrs for their faith.  To say the least there was no financial gain in following their faith. Many lost all they had in this world but it was worth it to them as they had gained a treasure that moth or flame could not destroy.  They began to have congregational singing for the first time and everyone had a voice in the gatherings and fellowship.  They were a humble and simple people.  The Amish were a splinter group from the Mennonite people, all were Anabaptist believing in adult baptism after a confession of faith.  The Amish became more strict in pulling away from the world.  But they still retained basic truths of the Anabaptist movement.  They were the plain and simple people pulling away from the material things of this world.  Their pastors were chosen by lot and it was a life time position and had no salary.  They did not have church buildings only met in homes.  The groups remained small and only grew to the size that would fit in a home.  If it grew bigger then a new group would be formed.  My dad became disillusioned through a set of circumstances that he could not control and left the Amish when he was 15.  When he began to work for a Mennonite couple, who had a farm, they lead him in a prayer of repentance of his sin and accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  For the first time in his life he began to have a close relationship with the Lord and had a hunger to know more about what the Bible said.  He began to study the Bible very seriously.
  

 My mom's family were believers that had roots in the Anabaptist movement too.  My great grandparents were Brethren.  The Brethren church was formed in Switzerland by the Anabaptist.  They called themselves the brethren because that is how the Apostle Paul addressed the believers in his letters to the churches.  My mother's mom was filled with the Holy Spirit in the 1930's.  She was sincere in her faith, humble and obedient to the Lord and the Word.  She was not flashy or flamboyant as some were doing.  She knew the Bible account of the Day of Pentecost and wanted to walk in all that God had for her.  She experience several miracles in her life and many answers to prayer.  She raised all of her 9 children to serve the Lord.  So my mom grew up in a home where there was power, faith and a changed heart from within.
 

When my parents met and married it was a powerful combination.  My dad brought with him the plain and simple life and my mom brought spiritual power.  They both were born again before they met and walked together in their faith.  I knew that in the early years of their married lives my dad felt a calling to be a preacher.  In fact my mom's sister had met him first in one of her Bible classes and had told my mom about him and that he would be a wonderful preacher.  I know she did not say this because she thought he was a highly influential person, a real social kingpin and could naturally get a lot of people to follow him.  On the contrary, my dad was humble, not self assertive and he was honest and looked at the scriptures for what they said.  He had a very keen mind and a desire to share the truth.  According to the scriptures, not the world of man, my dad had all the qualifications but he was stuck in the religious system.  Not in a fellowship where all were equal and operated in the gifts of the Spirit of teacher, preacher, evangelist, prophet and apostle as the Lord willed.  In a group where the Lord was the head and no one lorded it over the other.  Where each person comes with something to share, a song, a scripture, a teaching and so on.  This can only happen in a small group and is practiced in token in the religious systems of today but it is not the main practice.  So my father had that in our home.  He taught my mom and us kids.  One of the teachings my father gave us was,  "Who is Israel?" It is not the geopolitical nation of Israel that is set up over there in the Middle East now, but it is all those who have believed in Christ from the beginning of time.  He did not believe in the dispensational doctrine that was being heavily taught in the churches of pre-trib rapture and then going back and dealing with the Jews in Israel in an Old Testament way so they could get in another way outside of Christ.  Israel has always existed of all those who looked forward to the cross until the coming of Christ and all those who look back to the cross.  Either you are grafted in or you stay in by accepting Christ, otherwise you will be put in the fire and burn.

When I began to share with my dad of what Rich and I have felt the Lord is leading us to do, he was in agreement.  I told him about small groups of people meeting in homes, all sharing and contributing and having a host or overseer with a seasoned walk with the Lord and not paid to do it.  Walking in the Spirit on a daily basis not a hour or two afterglow meeting once a month when they tell the Holy Spirit that he can come now but a lifestyle and walking in humility and power.  Putting away the material things of the world, not seeking financial gain becoming poor in this world so that the whole truth of the Word can be taught and compromise not coming in because of large church buildings and paid staff that has to be maintained.  Being able to go against this world without the need to please the culture to keep the people.  Being full of love and the Spirit, preferring one another and not honoring one above the other because of the position they hold in the organization.  I then reminded my dad of the words of mom's sister, "Some day he would be a wonderful preacher"  He began to weep and said that is what he has always longed for and has not seen it.  He said that he knew God could use anyone at any age but he thinks that he may die and not see this kind of work.  My dad has been discouraged for many years spiritually.  He was so hurt when my mom died and now he is in a situation that is very difficult, especially spiritually.  It brought so much joy to my heart to see a fire is his heart for God again.  People may think that what we are doing is insignificant, just a phase we will get over, or will never work because you have to have an organization and hierarchy to accomplish things.  Some think we are being open to heresy and deception.  I am already seeing deception and heresy in the religious system today and it is gaining momentum as the return of Christ nears.  I see from national polls that the young people are vacating the traditional religious system in epidemic proportions and not returning.  They are more open to small group settings and home meetings where they see true love and living out your faith in a real way.  The Lord has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the wise.  We need to cling to the truths of the Bible and remember all of Christ's words, not just the easy ones, and the ones that go along with our culture.  For the power comes from being obedient and then the Lord will confirm you and it will be a witness of the resurrection of Christ.  This is what is needed in the disillusioned young culture of today.  A reformation is needed, going back to the basics and becoming weak that He might be glorified.