biography

I worked for years with Gene Behl in the Air National Guard where we shared and contrasted our Christian experience. Pat and I became good friends with Gene and his wife Barbara. Gene was my main link to the Foursquare churches. He grew up Foursquare, went to LIFE, the Foursquare college, and served in ministry in Foursquare churches. When our squadron was shutting down, Gene retired, sold their house in Hayward, and moved to Hawaii, their dream for many years.

Our church has been impacted by several ministries, among which are Harvest Evangelism (Ed Silvoso), Iris Ministries (Roland and Heidi Baker), Global Celebration (Georgian Banov), and Global Awakening (Randy Clark). We have had each of the above people in our church, plus others from those ministries. As I write, our pastor is at Ankeny, Iowa to teach at a Global Awakening healing conference. I think he’ll be teaching on deliverance. My son, Shandy is with him to help, and Pat and I are watching the conference on the computer.

One summer, our pastor was planning to teach a series on the gifts of the Spirit, so I thought it would be good to compliment that in my adult Sunday School class by focusing on one of the gifts, on prophecy. It seemed like a great idea until I realized how little practical knowledge I had. But I couldn't escape the notion that I was supposed to do this.

I’ve gone to Sunday School all my life, so when I became a member of Elmhurst Baptist Church, I began attending an adult Sunday School class. After some months, all the adult classes (except seniors) were combined into a Master-Teacher class. I became one of the four people who taught once each month. The job was study to teach the first half hour and to prepare a set of questions for discussion at the tables for the second half-hour.

I wasn't going to go this direction on the next blog, but we just got a letter and dvd from our friends Ronnie and Joyce Mask, Assemblies of God missionaries to Peru, and that got me thinking about the Pentecostal denomination I grew up in, and my wife and I attended together for about 17 years. I still have good memories of the Assemblies, and have no bad feelings for them, though we left in 1991 and have no plans to go back. When I travel, and look for a church, the Assemblies of God is on the list, just not very high. (Actually, the same is true for Southern Baptist, which is what I am now.)

Up to this point, I had not been greatly impressed by the area churches we had come in contact with through special events members of Elmhurst Baptist Church got involved with. One seemed to be struggling to find its way to kingdom power while avoiding the things learned by the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Another tried to take full advantage of both, but it somehow left a bad taste in my mouth, reminding me of drinking milk from a metal glass as a boy.

We have had a lot of amazing guest speakers in our little Baptist church, and have participated in some incredible conferences and moves of God. As I look back on my early years at the church, two names stand out: Greg Burson, and the Vineyard movement.

Greg Burson came from New Zealand to our church several times to minister. News of his coming always brought anticipation and excitement. Greg had a prophetic gifting unlike anything I had seen up to that time, and his teaching on the prophetic was simple yet profound. And of course, we always loved that New Zealand accent.

I was somewhat patient for change at Elmhurst Baptist Church, as these things take time. Then we had some excitement over a Fullness movement. We had guest speakers, and went to special meetings in the area. I let my expectations run high, thinking this was going to be the big breakthrough, and here I would see what God was doing in the church today. I guess it was exciting for some, but I found myself feeling disappointed. "Is this all there is?"

So there I was, a Pentecostal in a Baptist church; not just visiting, but in for life. Alone, the token Pentecostal; my background not a secret, but not broadcast. Where would I fit in? I decided to have no agenda, pursue no path; just see what came my way. My experience said things would come my way without looking for them.

As a Pentecostal young man, I had the understanding that the problem Baptists had with Pentecostals would be concerning speaking in tongues, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and healing the sick. Those are the core values of Pentecostals in comparison to other Evangelicals. That is, the Book of Acts applies today, not to a past dispensation.

And so it was quite a surprise to me to find out from my Baptist wife that the central concern Baptists had with Pentecostals was the security of the believer. It goes like this: Pentecostals are fearful that they will lose their salvation if they sin, and thus do not understand the finished work of Christ on the cross.