LeadWorship
19th July 2007, 12:47 PM
Hey! I'm Bob. I know I may have had words or disagreements with some of you here, but I think from reading the basis and general heart of the folks here, that I fit in more here than anywhere else. This is long, so grab some popcorn!
I grew up in a Charismatic family. I recieved the Baptism of the Spirit when I was 8, and I recieved the Gift of Tongues at the same time. It was an Assemblies of God church and the minister who preached was Danny Duval. He was a visiting minister. Since then my parents groomed me in the Gifts of the Spirit, learning of the power of the Spirit, and other Spirit-Soul issues. As a teen I read books by Kenneth Hagin Sr., Watchman Nee, Smith Wigglesworth, K.C. Price, Kenneth Copland, and a couple others. The emphasis was always spiritual growth, and gifts. They were grooming me... as scriptural as they could.
I knew at 17 years of age that I was called to be a worship leader. I didn't really want to do it at the time, and rightly so. I was more into if folks could hear me, than if my heart was right. From 14 - 23 years of age I went to the same Charismatic Non-Denom church. I saw it go from a fully functioning Spiritual church (prophecies, tongues, etc) to a spiritual desert. I married a wonderful Catholic girl who felt very uncomfortable there so we left. We could never find a church to agree on, until she met the Preacher's wife at a local Baptist Church. So we went there for nearly a year. During that time I was offered the leadership of a Life Group. I agreed on the terms that they knew I was raised Charismatic with the full belief and function of the Gifts of the Spirit. They said it was no problem! Praise God!! 6 months later it was a problem.
I respectfully stepped down from that position, and a couple months later my wife (who had become Spirit Filled because of the Life Group PRAISE GOD) felt it was ready to move on. I told God that I was tired of doing things my way. He blessed my Life Group, so I wanted to give him my life all over. I told him that I was His, and I would do as He said. I accepted the call of Worship Leader and started working towards that, both spiritually, instrumentally, and vocally. The only problem was I wasn't in a church!
A month down the road my wife wanted to visit my previous church. I thought it would be fun to see old faces, so I agreed. We went for 2 weeks, enjoyed the new Pastor, and then I got a call from him. He and his wife wanted to come talk with us. During that evening we learned that it had been prophesied over the church that old members, leaders, would start to return. I learned that this pastor had only recieved the Baptism of the Spirit 2 years ago, and was eager and excited to learn more and watch it transform the church. He was a Baptist Minister before with a strong conviction in his heart for God. I loved everything about him. The way he changed the church government floored me. I knew that this man had a heart after God.
I prayed about him and the church and God told me to go, and obey. So I did. Here I am, 1 year later, the worship leader there, and seeing the church restored to the spiritual fullness it once was. Last Sunday was the first time in YEARS we had people fall under the power of the Spirit. It was the first time my pastor had been involved in that and his eyes were buggin! It was awesome the obedience that was displayed, and the control exercised. The best part: Order remained. It never felt or appeared chaotic.
That's a little about me. I have strong viewpoints about certain things, and though I've studied individuals, I always back up my beliefs with scripture and prayer. I don't fit in any "camp"... I fit into a Kingdom.
Love you all!!
-Bob
I grew up in a Charismatic family. I recieved the Baptism of the Spirit when I was 8, and I recieved the Gift of Tongues at the same time. It was an Assemblies of God church and the minister who preached was Danny Duval. He was a visiting minister. Since then my parents groomed me in the Gifts of the Spirit, learning of the power of the Spirit, and other Spirit-Soul issues. As a teen I read books by Kenneth Hagin Sr., Watchman Nee, Smith Wigglesworth, K.C. Price, Kenneth Copland, and a couple others. The emphasis was always spiritual growth, and gifts. They were grooming me... as scriptural as they could.
I knew at 17 years of age that I was called to be a worship leader. I didn't really want to do it at the time, and rightly so. I was more into if folks could hear me, than if my heart was right. From 14 - 23 years of age I went to the same Charismatic Non-Denom church. I saw it go from a fully functioning Spiritual church (prophecies, tongues, etc) to a spiritual desert. I married a wonderful Catholic girl who felt very uncomfortable there so we left. We could never find a church to agree on, until she met the Preacher's wife at a local Baptist Church. So we went there for nearly a year. During that time I was offered the leadership of a Life Group. I agreed on the terms that they knew I was raised Charismatic with the full belief and function of the Gifts of the Spirit. They said it was no problem! Praise God!! 6 months later it was a problem.
I respectfully stepped down from that position, and a couple months later my wife (who had become Spirit Filled because of the Life Group PRAISE GOD) felt it was ready to move on. I told God that I was tired of doing things my way. He blessed my Life Group, so I wanted to give him my life all over. I told him that I was His, and I would do as He said. I accepted the call of Worship Leader and started working towards that, both spiritually, instrumentally, and vocally. The only problem was I wasn't in a church!
A month down the road my wife wanted to visit my previous church. I thought it would be fun to see old faces, so I agreed. We went for 2 weeks, enjoyed the new Pastor, and then I got a call from him. He and his wife wanted to come talk with us. During that evening we learned that it had been prophesied over the church that old members, leaders, would start to return. I learned that this pastor had only recieved the Baptism of the Spirit 2 years ago, and was eager and excited to learn more and watch it transform the church. He was a Baptist Minister before with a strong conviction in his heart for God. I loved everything about him. The way he changed the church government floored me. I knew that this man had a heart after God.
I prayed about him and the church and God told me to go, and obey. So I did. Here I am, 1 year later, the worship leader there, and seeing the church restored to the spiritual fullness it once was. Last Sunday was the first time in YEARS we had people fall under the power of the Spirit. It was the first time my pastor had been involved in that and his eyes were buggin! It was awesome the obedience that was displayed, and the control exercised. The best part: Order remained. It never felt or appeared chaotic.
That's a little about me. I have strong viewpoints about certain things, and though I've studied individuals, I always back up my beliefs with scripture and prayer. I don't fit in any "camp"... I fit into a Kingdom.
Love you all!!
-Bob