a cautionary tale .....

I've heard said, someone who has been through one revival,
will not be involved in a second one !

The theory is, that person will, for the rest of their life,
try to replicate what happened in that move of The Spirit.

I am not sure, if what I was involved in, in the late 1970s
through to the mid 1980s was a revival or a move of The Spirit.
There will be people with a better knowledge and memory than mine
on the events, but this post is one of broad strokes, rather than specifics.

I went to an Anglican sunday school irregularly;
to church with my mother, only occasionally, through primary school;
christened at ~6 years old, confirmed at ~12 years and
an altar boy for a few months, then, very dis-interested until ~25.

School was easy until I was ~15.
I started drinking, smoking and challenging authority about then.

I was drawn when a friend told me about this experience with God.
I wasn't drawn to the people, the doctrine,
only to an experience with The Spirit.

Baby Boomers were experiencing the Baptism of the Spirit
throughout Australia in a rapidly expanding network of this group.
People were coming out of confused lives.
Heroin addicts, alcoholics, and other addictions were being freed.

Healings were happening.
Excitement in a new empowered lifestyle became reality.
The group relied on an organised hierarchical system
more like a military system.
Pastoral elitism and nepotism were common.

We knew little of this, Holy Spirit was filling people
and the expected speaking in a new language
followed. We were full of expectation and confidence.

The group was quick to get us in order
and soon lowered our expectation for the miraculous.
Newly appointed pastors from the group were very proud
when their group expanded. They took a lot of personal credit.

Holy Spirit just spoke through us, and more seemed to happen
when we had fun away from the highly ordered meetings.

The yearly convention expanded in numbers, filling theatres,
then City Halls then larger indoor sports stadiums.
There was much kudos if the groups had moved from renting
in their respective cities and built or bought a hall.

There were a series of miraculous healings.
My 10 month old son was one of them.
(a story i will post at another time).

The group was quick to reinforce that all the above was happening
because of their superior doctrine.
We were told that nobody is saved
unless they were full water baptised
and had the "evidence" of speaking in tongues.

I was excited by all the blessing I received in the first four to five years.
It was like we had the key to people knowing God.
I was involved in breakthroughs in the church.
Though with more order and doctrine,
there seemed to be less happening spiritually.

From a peak of numbers in our group in the mid to late 1980's,
everything started to decline.
We became highly religious and judgmental of others and ourselves.
Pastors were always playing a political game at their conventions.
There was always "some problem" that needed to be stamped out.
The New Testament was interpreted harshly.
People became bitter and resentful.

The ones that left the group were said to be backslidden.
Even pruned from the vine !!
The group liked "putting people out" for differing lengths of time,
depending upon the seriousness of their "crime"!!

The ones that stayed became more disillusioned but hoped
that they might be able to usher the change needed
to bring more than a shallow joy.
Prayer meetings, fasting days, home help groups,
dinner nights, big plays, small plays, musical outreaches,
beach camps, easter camps, bush camps
and special study groups, never brought Holy Spirit
to that intensity we had experienced in the early 1980s.
The politics, divisions, unhappiness and anger increased;
now thankfully,
most people have left that group in my town.

When I left, the intensity of the Spirit had returned in me.
That was so blessed, because I had seen people,
who had left disheartened,
fade under the group's curse of "back-sliddeness".

I have sought out Loved five fold ministers and found them.
The Spirit of Jesus is teaching me the centrality of His Grace.
I think I will see a sustained non-religious revival.
I want to share this one, as playful
loved children of Abba God.

Yes.
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