It was the first Sunday of the month, June, 1985. There was nothing at all unusual about the morning as we prepared to head off to our AM Worship service. Nothing to indicate what was about to happen as we met. My sermon was prepared. I was preaching through the Book of Acts and we would be looking at Acts 3 and the account of the man at the gate of the Temple. Being the first Sunday of the month meant that I would also lead the Communion Service as part of our overall worship.
I preached on the healing of the lame man. I felt good about what I had said. It wasn't a sermon that would set the world on fire but I felt that I had communicated those aspects of the story that were important for us at that stage of our journey.
Again, I had no idea of what was about to transpire. It was during the Communion Service that God interrupted our "agenda" and established His own! As I was praying a thanksgiving prayer for the bread and the cup, I had what my charismatic friends call a vision. Somewhere, somehow my mind was filled with a picture of the Apostle Peter reaching out to the lame beggar.
Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man's feet and anklebones were healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. (Acts 3:7-8 NLT)
So real was this vision that I stopped praying for what felt like a long time as I watched this drama unfold on the screen of my mind. Suddenly the picture changed. Instead of the scene with Peter reaching out to the crippled man, now it became the "arm of the Lord" reaching out to His crippled Church and causing its weakness to be replaced by strength so that instead of begging on the precincts of all that the Temple represented, now the Church walked, leapt and praised God as it entered into the fullness of God.
I felt I was transfixed by this revelation (if you don't mind me using that term). After what felt like a very long time, I re-connected with the immediate situation and the servers distributed the bread and cup throughout the congregation. As I sat waiting for their return and pondering what had just happened to me, God launched part 2 of His agenda.
I became aware of what I can only describe as a divine presence settling upon the whole congregation. It was as though a blanket of warm air came down from the ceiling and rested upon us all. Even now, that description seems woefully inadequate.
The servers returned and went back to their seats. I just had to know if all this was merely my imagination linked to something I had eaten the night before or was it much more profound than that. So I simply said to the congregation, without explanation, "Did you feel that?" Everywhere, right across the church family, heads nodded. It seemed that everyone knew exactly what I meant.
"I'm not sure what we are supposed to do". No one jumped up with "a word from the Lord" that would tell us how to respond. We were all captured in a dynamic that none of us had ever experienced before.
"I think we are to invite the Lord to minister among us in whatever way He chooses. So, if you are here this morning with a particular need, I want to invite you to come to the front and meet with the Lord"
"Now I really don't know what to do!"
I had not completed that invitation before people came from everywhere. There was not enough room between the pulpit and the front row of seats to accommodate everyone who came. People were up on the platform behind the pulpit. Some were standing. Others were kneeling. Some were crying. Others just bowed their heads.
"Now I really don't know what to do!" [This confession from a Pastor who always knew what to do]. What eventually happened was that the elders moved among those at the front laying hands on them and blessing whatever God was doing in their lives.
Why have I told you that experience? Actually, I have shared it with you because of what came next. Two days later when our Leadership Team met on the Tuesday, the 'afterglow' from Sunday was still very evident. There were lots of unanswered questions. What really happened? Why did it happen? Was there a particular lesson we needed to recognize? How did it happen? What were we doing when God 'showed up' in such an unexpected manner?
But the most revealing question of all went something like this: "If we repeated what we had done that Sunday morning could we make it happen again?" I don't recall the question being asked that directly but the essence of the question was clearly there. I think that the Apostle Peter was asking the same question on the Mount of Transfiguration when he wanted to build three booths, one each for Moses, Elijah and Jesus. My sense is that he wanted to capture that incredible moment and make permanent what can only be temporary.
As we prayed on that Tuesday, we sensed God whisper within our spirits something that sounded like: "I want you to give me often the opportunity to minister to my people like that". There was no special formula that was required. There was no way to capture those special times.
I need to take your mind back to Samson because that is where we started this reflection. He was convinced that he only needed to do what he had always done and success would come. When it comes to leadership in God's Kingdom, it's best to wait on the King rather than seek a organizational formula.
