I was born and raised in a Presbyterian Church, and have been a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ. I received the baptism with the Holy Spirit when I was 21, and continue to be an advocate for the gift of tongues. I pray in tongues as often as possible and have experienced 8 out of the 9 gifts of the spirit. I graduated from Rhema Bible Training Center (RBTC) in Broken Arrow, O.K. in 1985. I was a founding Member of an Assembly of God Church; a Deacon Board Member of a non-denominational church; and a Men’s Fellowship Group Leader in a nondenominational church.
I participated in:
• The Charismatic Movement 1970-1985
• The Word Movement 1980-90
• The Times of Refreshing 1994-1998
According to King James English, Jesus made "himself of no reputation." In that I am endeavoring to walk in His footsteps, it is my desire to make of myself no reputation. Therefore, I reluctantly offer this list of accomplishments as a way for you to know something about me.
I participated in:
• The Charismatic Movement 1970-1985
• The Word Movement 1980-90
• The Times of Refreshing 1994-1998
According to King James English, Jesus made "himself of no reputation." In that I am endeavoring to walk in His footsteps, it is my desire to make of myself no reputation. Therefore, I reluctantly offer this list of accomplishments as a way for you to know something about me.
I have known of Jesus my entire life because of circumstances early in my childhood. I considered Him my best friend, though I did not know His name. In the Presbyterian Church, church members go through a confirmation class. At the end of this class I gave my heart to Jesus and my best friend became my Saviour. As I grew up I learned of the gift of tongues. I also learned the gift of tongues was a controversial subject and I took great delight in finding two people with opposing view points to set against each other in conversation. After getting the conversation started I would set back and watch the sparks fly. It was great fun. I learned how to keep these conversations going when they reached a natural lull.
I finally met my match when one clever believer invited me to come to his church to experience the gift for myself. He had really put me on the spot and I couldn't get out of this invitation with any credibility, so I visited his church on a Wednesday night and witnessed a display of the reality of the God I served.
Growing up I had heard all the wonderful Old Testament stories of the God of the Bible but by the time I had reached 17 years old, I realized the God of the Bible didn't exist today. I still loved Jesus, but I thought He stayed in heaven, and didn't interact with man today. I became disillusioned in my faith. It was during this time I learned of the gift of tongues and its controversial nature.
After I experienced God's reality through the gifts of the Spirit, I decided I wanted a relationship with this God of the Old Testament and started seeking the Gift of Tongues. I asked every minister I could find to lay hands on me and pray for me to be able to receive this gift, from full gospel faith ministers to mainline denominational ministers. Even though some of these ministers tried to get me to give up my quest, I was doggedly determined to receive. After about six months of this, I was in a prayer meeting on a Friday night and the leader asked all those present to join hands and pray in tongues. Not having the ability to pray in tongues, I prayed silently in English. After just a few minutes he interrupted us and said, "Some of you are trying too hard, just relax and let it flow." As they started back praying in tongues, I opened my mouth to speak in English, my native language, but another language flowed out of my mouth. I was so excited I stayed up all night praying in tongues. This was the beginning of a great adventure for me and I have spent untold hours praying in tongues over these many years.
That was thirty seven years ago. Shortly there after the Lord placed a call on my life. I struggled with this call for several years before attending Rhema Bible Training Center. It wasn't that I was unwilling to fulfill the call, but I didn't know what to do. Even after Rhema I didn't know what I was supposed to do and like many of the Old Testament saints I have lived my life waiting on God to do something, to provide some direction.
David was called to be king of Israel as a boy, but he lived through much of his life before he sat upon the throne. Moses was a man who had a divine appointment that was 80 years in the making. Many of the modern day scholars and prophets are teaching and prophesying that we are on the brink of something new. A new day in God. It looks to be a difficult time, but it may be the time I am called to.
I have been studying and teaching on the baptism with the Spirit, the gift of tongues, and the gifts of the Spirit for many years. To date, I have written ten books on the subject. There is very little overlap of material in these books. Jesus said, "Be careful how you hear, for the same measure of importance you measure by, will be the amount of truth you receive" (my translation). I have realized through my own study that the commandment of Acts 1:4 is the key to understanding the whole of the scripture. If the importance of this commandment is watered down, the understanding of the whole New Testament is distorted.
The world-wide Church has, for the most part, removed this commandment from the scripture. The full gospel Church has inserted an invitation in its place. The mainline denominational Church, with its offshoots, have interpreted this commandment not to apply to Christians at all, even though this is the only commandment Jesus issued after establishing the Church. The importance of this commandment in the lives of believers in Jesus would be self-evident if it had not been interpreted by Church leaders.
If this sounds the least bit familiar, you might look up Martin Luther. In the early 1500's he realized that what the Church (Roman Catholic), was teaching concerning salvation and what the Bible said about it were two very different things and he set about to correct it. Today the truth held by Martin Luther is held universally. There is precedent for what I purport.
I am just a regular guy, much happier playing with my toys and animals than preaching or teaching. However, I confessed Jesus as Lord early in my life and He exercises His right over it. I am His willing servant, ready to do His will.
This is me and my pet Guinea, Ginniegin and no I am not holding his legs. He is merely laying in my arms. He has since been killed by stray dogs, but was so tame he followed me wherever I went.