ContEnts
Introduction
9
Part 1: Our Personal Journe Journeys ys in Regard to Healing
1. Rndy’s Journey (Rndy) 2. Bill’s Journey (Bill) 35
11
13
Part Pa rt 2: A Theology of Healing 53
3. The Gits o the Spirit Tody (Rndy) 55 4. Unbelieving Believers nd Believing Unbelievers (Rndy) 87 5. Heling nd the Kingdo (Bill) 111 6. Heling nd the Authority o the Believer (Bill) 129 Part Pa rt 3: The Practi Practice ce of Healing 143
7. Creting Fith Culture (Bill) 145 8. The Po Pow wer o the Testiony (Bill) 161 9. Heling nd Prosperous Soul (Bill) 173 10. Words o Know Knowledge or Heling (Rndy) 191 11. The Reltionl Five-Step Five-Step Pry Pryer er Model (Rndy) 213 Index
241 7
intRoduCtion Randy
i
t is only air that I let you know I am not writing rom an impartial, neutral, dispassionate position. No, I am pssionte bout heling. I believe in heling. I hve experienced physical healing personally, as well as emotional heling. And I hve hve been used use d to bring heling he ling to thousnds o othe others. rs. Furtherore, I not pologetic or or being prtil pr til in y opinions on the subject o healing. This subject cannot be understood or experienced rom the detached, unbiased position o a reporter. reporter. To To properly understand healing, one must experience it. When it coes to heling, knowledge knowledge without witho ut experience is n inerior level o knowledge. This book has dual authorship. I am Randy Clark, and y co-uthor is Bill Johnson. We coe ro quite dierent bckgrounds nd experiences, but our lives hve been connected by the Holy Spirit. We love and honor each other, nd we hve gretly encourged ech other in the inistry 9
Introduction
o heling. We ech hve contributed chpters tht connect together into the book you now hold. The main purpose o this book is to encourage you to believe tht God could co uld use you to pry or the sick s ick nd work through you to hel the. These pges will lso inspire you with people’s stories about healing and educate you about not only how to pry or heling, but how to receive words o knowledge relted to heling. It is our hope that each o you will begin to pray or or others to be heled ter reding this book. It is our hope tht soe o you will disco disc over tht God hs given you you git o heling. It is our belie that “more people get healed when more people pry or heling.” It is our proise to ly biblicl oundtion within these pages or the practice o healing and or the belie that all Christins should be equipped to pry or the sick. We sk you to study the Scripture with us nd do wht the Berens did in the book o Acts: “Now the Bereans were o more noble character than tha n the Thessalonians, Thessalonia ns, or they received received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every dy to see i wht Pul sid ws true” (Acts 17:11). Examine with us the biblical truths and the theological bsis or believing believing tht the prctice prctice o heling is prt o the good news tht the Kingdo o God is ner. ner. And becuse o this truth tht the Kingdo o God is ner, we ust chnge the wy wy we think bout wht is possible. poss ible.
10
Part 1
ouR PERsonal JouRnEys in REGaRd to HEalinG
w
e tell our individual stories o how we grew in our aith ait h or healing healin g and were called into in to ministr min istry y. We We also relate how we came to see that the gits o the Holy Spirit in opertion tody tody re deonstrti deonstrtion on o the Kingdo o God on the erth.
1 Randy’s JouRnEy Randy
i
regained consciousness to nd mysel looking out o a dark place, seeing light. I was inside an ambulance, looking out the bck door tht hd not been closed yet. A high school riend ws beside e. I sked, “Wht hppened?” He responded, “You’ve been in terrible ccident.” I sked, “Is everyone oky?” He responded, “It ws terrible ccident. George is not bdly hurt, hu rt, but you you hve hve been, nd so h hve ve Mrge nd Joe.” I was taken taken to our county c ounty hospit h ospital, al, where where they X-rayed me nd sewed up y orehed, eyebrow, cheekbone nd under my jawbone. It took sixty stitches. My let eyebrow bone and cheekbone had been badly broken, my ractured jaw needed to be set and a nd three places in my orehead hairline had been crushed. (Later I ound out that doctors had debated bout whether or not I should hve plte put in y hed. 13
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
Thnkully, they did Thnkully, di d not do it.) I ws in excruciting excruciti ng pin. It elt like soeone hd stbbed e in the bck with threeinch knie blde. The doctors shortly transerred me by ambulance to a lrger hospitl hos pitl in nother county cou nty. During the ride, r ide, I slipped slippe d in and out o consciousness consciousness.. My Grandmother Clark and my mother were in the ambulance with me. I remember coming to. My grandmother told me I was lucky to be alive. I responded by pointing y nger ng er up to tow wrd heven. heven. I ws in too much pain to talk. I remember thinking, I’m sure glad I gave my lie back to God our days ago. I have no ear o death because I know spiritually I’m ready to meet God. I lso reeber thinking, How diferent this would all be i I were still backslidden. To come so close to death and not be right with God would be a scary thing. The next ew days were a blur. I drited in and out o consciousness. Doctors Doctors inserted tube through y nose to pump my stomach because my intestinal i ntestinal tract was paralyzed. They put in a catheter because beca use my kidneys kid neys were were not working properly prope rly. For For dys there the re ws blood in y urine. ur ine. I ws sedte se dted d almost round the clock due to the intensity o the pain. I received 50 milligrams o Demerol every three hours, yet I would wke up ro the eects o the edicine nd sk or another shot to deaden the pain. pa in. My ace was badly swollen, swollen, nd y eyes were swollen shut or severl dys. During this time, the doctors told my parents I would need hospitalization or seven to eleven weeks. In addition to my other injuries, I had a broken rib and thoracic disc and vertebrae damage. The impact o the accident had caused 10–15 percent copression in y spine. Three specilists were we re treating me: an internist, an orthopedist or thopedist and a neurologist. (In 2008 I would undergo n MRI or dierent spinl proble. The doctor t tht tie sked s ked e wht wht I hd done 14
Rndy’s Journey
to my spine because the MRI revealed revealed old ractures o almost every vertebrae. I told him it was rom a car wreck thirtyeight yers prior.) I was told not to move because or several days ater a spinal injury, the swelling can cause permanent damage. I could become paraplegic p araplegic or suer charley horse–like cramps or the rest o my lie. I I needed to move, move, three nurses would would logroll me, one at my shoulders, one at my waist and one ner y knees. knee s. I could co uld not ev even en use pillow. pillow. In spite o ll y injuries, I ws optiistic. I told people I would be out o the hospital in time or an evangelistic crusde in our weeks t y hoe church, the First Generl Bptist Church in McLensboro, Illinois. I ctully ws unwre o soe o y injuries t the tie. Several days went by beore I was nally told that my second-best riend, Joe Barker, had died rom a broken neck in the accident. When my parents told me about Joe’s death, they also showed me pictures o the car we were in. Hit by nother cr tht hd just coe out o bnked S curve, it had fipped end over end, hit a telephone pole nd lnded upside down in ditch. When I sw wht the cr looked like ter ll tht, I thought, It’s a miracle that I lived! God spared my lie—He must have a purpose or it. I remember praying, “God, You spared my lie. I give it bck to You. I will do whtever You wnt with the rest o y lie.” Not knowing how serious my injuries inju ries were, I was was certain cer tain I would be out o the hospitl hos pitl in tie to ttend the upcoing evangelistic ev angelistic meetings, called c alled a revival revival in Baptist churc churches. hes. And God heled e—I let the hospitl in twenty dys. How was I healed? In stages. First God healed the parlysis o y digestive digestive syste. I ws scheduled or trnser to the lrgest hospitl in St. Louis becuse o the prlysis. prlysis. 15
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
But the night beore the trnser, y riends t the church prayed or me at midnight. They elt a great peace and sensed I would be okay. When doctors examined me the next morning, my digestive system was working and the tube ws reoved. Next, one o y specilists ce to set y jw. He sid, “Put your teeth together. together. Do it gin—gin— gin—g in— again!” again!” Then he sid, “I don’t understnd! The X ry indicted tht your jw needed setting, but it’s lredy set.” These words words made me realize that th at God was indeed healing h ealing me. Two o my three major problems were healed already, though I was still in excruciating excruciating pain and still taking 50 milligrams o Demerol every three hours. Ministers visited to pry or or y heling. h eling. My gret-uncle, g ret-uncle, Pentecostl Pentecos tl precher, precher, came to pray. pray. My pastor and his wie w ie visited vi sited me to pray. Ater At er one extreely pinul night, I wok wokee up to discov di scover er tht I elt no more pain. I remember thinking that morning, God healed my jaw by setting it, and now I believe He has healed me o the severe pain! Then nother thought ce: Get up and walk. I thought to mysel, The doctors emphasized that I am not to move my back. back. I am not to t o lit my head of the bed. I haven’’t even been allowed to use a pillow haven pi llow.. I’ve I’ve been told t old that i I move, move, I could become par paraplegic aplegic or have charley charley horses in my legs or lie . . . Then the thought came again: God has healed me. I should trust Him and try to walk. I believed God was encouraging me to get up and walk. I believed it so uch tht I slowly rose up in bed, let down the gurdril, slipped slipp ed y eet over over the side nd then stepped out onto the oor. oor. I grbbed the bck o y ir-conditioned i r-conditioned hospitl gown nd held the two sides together, nd I begn to wlk. 16
Rndy’s Journey
I walked out into the hallway. That was not smart! The nurses were very upset. They yelled t e nd de e go back to bed. But I kept getting out o bed. I believed God hd heled e. Finlly, Finlly, the hed sister sis ter o St. Joseph Ctholic Hospital came to talk with me. She told me how oolish I ws being to risk pernent prlysis. I told her, her, “I will not n ot be paralyzed. God has healed me and an d hs purpose or y lie.” She continued to appeal to my common sense. We went bck nd orth or while, nd nlly I sked her he r, “You “You believe in God, don’t you?” “Yes, o course,” she responded. “So do I,” I sid, “nd I believe in heling. God hs heled e.” The doctor relesed e on the twentieth dy nd told e to go hoe nd go to bed. I told hi, “I’ not going to bed. God hs heled e, nd I’m going to my church church to testiy about what God has done.” That night, a Wednesday, I went to church and shared with my youth group what God had done. I was eighteen. The ollowing Sundy evening, the cobined ipct o y heling nd Joe’s deth were instruentl in cusing true revivl to brek out in y church. It ce week hed o the evangelistic meetings. meeting s. The presence o God was so strong strong that the pastor called the evangelist and asked i he could come the very next night to continue what seemed like a revivl outbrek ong the high school youth. The evangelist came, and our meetings lasted orty-two stright nights. n ights. It ws in the iddle o the Jesus Moveent, Moveent, nd hundreds o high school youth ttended ro our surrounding counties. counties. A high percentge o the students in y high school also came to this little Baptist church in true revival. reviv al. Eleven young young men me n rom sixteen sixte en to twenty-three twenty-th ree years years 17
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
old were were called into the ministry during these meetings. I was one o the—b the—but ut I getting hed o ysel ysel.. I wnt to go urther bck in tie nd tlk bout ew other events tht built y ith or heling.
Why I Came to Believe in Healing Three things happened that raised my interest in healing, nd one thing cused c used e soe so e doubt. First, Firs t, when when I ws our our or ve, ve, y ternl grndother grndo ther told e story stor y bout her heling. I loved loved nd respected y grndother grndothe r nd thought though t o her as very spiritual. She was always singing hymns as she worked, nd she lo loved ved to go to t o church, where where she ws “shouter.” She would sit on the let o the pulpit with other woen “shouters,” nd I would sit with y grndp on the right, in the “Amen “Amen corner” with other men. I ound out later in lie tht the reson she lwys listened to Christin rdio ws tht she ws illiterte. Grandma told me that one time in the bedroom o her little our-roo, ceent block house, she herd the udible voice o God tell her to go into the other bedroo nd nd pry, then He would hel her. She hd lrge goiter in her throt t tie beore doctors discovered how to tret the with iodine. She chnged roos, begn to pry in obedience nd elt something like li ke a hot hand go down her throat. Her goiter disappeared. This healing made a huge impression on my little hert nd ind. The second thing that caused me to believe strongly in Jesus, heaven and the supernatural took place when I was six. It borders little on the “out there” kind o experience some readers may nd unnerving, but I believe my mother genuinely had a po pow werul experience with God through it. She hd ttended ttende d hoe eeting eetin g where where there hd been worship 18
Rndy’s Journey
and sharing. shari ng. The meeting had not n ot been overly overly emotional, and she let clly to return hoe. On the wy to the cr, ll o sudden she elt s though she were cught in whirlwind. She passed out and elt her spirit leaving her body. It went through rough plce ollowed by pece severl ties, nd then she ws in heven. heven. Jesus ce nd indicted indi cted to her tht th t everyt ev erything hing in i n her lie was going to be okay. The experience experien ce repeated itsel until she was back in her body. body. Then she came to. I heard my mother tell this story many times. I did not think it ws psychologicl occurrence, but very true, rel experience. For over orty yers Mo could not tlk bout it without losing it eotionlly, overwheled with just the thought o o her visit to heaven. heaven. When I was in college, I wrote pper bout Mo’s experience. exper ience. I interviewed inte rviewed the two two en who hd ound her on o n the sidewlk while while she ws out o her body. They were both ministers by the time I interviewed the, though t the tie o the incident they were were not. They both told me that they could not nd a pulse and that my o ws cold nd cly. They thought thoug ht she hd died. died . Mo’s experience, unusul though it y see to soe, de heven ore rel to e. Jesus hd tlked to y o in heven! This ws evidence to e tht He hd been rised ro the ded, tht He H e ws still live live nd tht He still s till heled people. The third thing that increased my aith in healing was the experience o y Sundy school school techer. techer. She hd been diagnosed with a tumor the size o a watermelon in her bdoen. Our church pryed or her the night beore her surgery surger y. When the surgery surger y took place, the tumor had already shrunk to the size o an orange. Further, its roots were not ttched to ny orgn nd it ws esily reoved. This hppened hppene d when when I ws bout bout thirteen, thir teen, nd she s he lived lived nother nothe r orty-plus yers. 19
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
At sixteen, something happened that set back my aith ai th in healing or or a time. My materna maternall grandather died o cancer at sixty-two. I had sat in the “Amen corner” with him at church, and I could not understand why he had not been healed. The same church that had prayed or my Sunday school teacher had prayed or him. Many churches were prying or hi, yet he died. This cused e soe doubt. I had just become a Christian the Sunday beore my sixteenth birthday, and I lost Grandpa to cancer that same year. That was hard, and it was already a hard time or e. Along with soe personl issues I struggled with, we were pproching the height heigh t o the Vietn Vietn Wr Wr.. My high school’s orer heroes were were coing hoe without legs. A young man who had been one year ahead o me in grade school ce hoe in body bg. It ws bd tie to be pproching nhood. Angry over the wr nd depressed about a personal relationship gone wrong, I got involved with smoking marijuana on an almost daily basis or ten onths. I wnted to experient nd strted slipping into the drug culture, music and all. I wanted to visit the ar country—but countr y—but only visit it. I never wnted wnted to sty there, so I styed sty ed in church, too, though I knew kn ew I ws ws big hypocrite. hypo crite. Yet I ws rid to stop going to church, lest I becoe so deeply trpped in sin tht I could not escpe y sel-de pigsty to return hoe. A girlriend’s older olde r brother ws Methodist precher. precher. He was the rst person I ever saw hold a healing meeting in a church, and I liked liked and respected him. God used him to bring bri ng me under conviction. Ater At er not seeing me or a while, while, he comented to y other tht I did not see like the Rndy he reebered. I thought thoug ht bout tht coent lot. Four Four dys beore the ccident tht hppened hppe ned when I ws ws eighteen, eigh teen, I got over y doubts nd gve y hert bck to God. 20
Rndy’s Journey
A Call into Ministry I entioned briey tht I ws clled into inistry t eighteen, during durin g the revival revival that ollowed ollowed my car accid accident. ent. I want to share sha re little ore bout tht. A heling ws the culinting ctor in y nnouncing y cll to becoe precher. I hd sked God to give give e soe signs sig ns conring y cll to prech, nd ieditely He nsw nswered ered two “eeces” I plced beor be oree Hi. The third sign He gve e ws the heling. My youth pastor, p astor, Fred, Fred, who was also the church’s worship leder, suered stroke in the iddle o the revivl. revivl. He ws thirty-three. thir ty-three. This de no sense to e. Why would would he suer stroke when he plyed such pivotl role in revivl tht involved inv olved so many youth? youth? When he got out o ut o the hospital hospi tal and ws recuperting t hoe, I stopped by ter church to tlk with him. I asked him i he could move his let hand. The stroke hd ected his let side. He could ove tht hnd, but with difcult difculty y. I went home and an d prayed, prayed, “God, “Go d, i you will let Fred play the piano tomorrow night in church, without pin, I will stnd up nd ieditely nnounce y cll to prech.” (I wnted to ke sure the previous two signs hd not been coincidences coincidences.) .) The next day I saw Fred again. He still could not move his hand normally, but he attended church that night. The church churc h lled up with young young people until no seats were let, and people were stnding everywhere. everywhere. I herd the pino begin beg in to ply nd turned turn ed round. There ws ws Fred Fred plying the pino. I thought, He’ He’ss playing play ing with w ith one hand somehow som ehow.. But the music seeed too good o orr tht. Ater worship there was a spot let or one person to squeeze into, right in ront o me. That was weird considering how ull the church was. Fred sat down there, and I pecked hi on the shoulder nd sid, “Fred, let e see you ove your hnd.” 21
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
Fred lited li ted his hi s hnd up nd o oved it reely, reely, not like li ke he hd shown e just hl n hour erlier, beore worship strted. I sked, “Fred, why did you decide to ply the pino?” He responded, “When I was sitting in the pew, I had a strong ipression ipression o hering the Lord sy sy to e, ‘I you will try to t o ply the pino, I will hel you.’ you.’ So I went to the pino, nd when I touched the keys, I ws instntly heled.” My nl question ws, “Fred, did you hve hve ny pin?” He responded, “No, none. All the pin let the oent I touched the keys.” I ieditely stood up. When the pstor recognized e, I made good on my promise and announced my calling to becoe precher precher.. It ws Noveber Noveber 22, 1970. Since Si nce the sevsev enth grde, y pln hd been to becoe history techer, but those plns pln s were given given up to ulll God’s cll on y lie. When I went to Oakland City College two months later, I jored in Religious Religious Studies. Stu dies. I wnted wnted to burn ll bridges bridg es to nything but preching. My rst dy on cpus, while I ws buying textbooks, I also received a strong impression im pression rom rom God—one God—on e I have have never orgotten, even now, orty-one yers lter. It ws, “The issue o your lietie will be the Holy Spirit.” Tht ws ws strnge str nge word or or Bptist student t t Bptist college. In response, the rst book I bought ater my required required Sp irit. That impression textbooks was The Holy Spirit. impres sion would prove prove to be truly rom God. Probably no other graduate o that college hs seen ore controversy over the Holy Spirit nd His ctions thn I hve. I graduated rom college in 1974 and rom seminary in 1977. In 1982 I not only preached a series o sermons on healing, I pryed or the sick. Soething hppened t tht point tht lost deriled e ro the heling inistry inis try.. A won who pretended to be heled he led deceived e. She hd bricted 22
Rndy’s Journey
her condition, and I did not discover it until ater I let her testiy in church to her healing. Then when she pretended another healing, I became suspicious. I ound out the rst healing was a ake. I was very hard on mysel and backed wy ro heling, not preching on it gin or yer nd a hal. I was so disappointed in my own discernment, so ebrrssed by being deceived, tht I did not wnt to pry or nyone. But God hd nother pln. Two things happened next that turned things around, culminating in a series o meetings that would orever change my lie. That is not an overstatement—these overstatement—these things ctully set the course cour se or the rest o y lie. First, I ws in y oce prying, “God, thnk thn k You You tht I’ not liberl. I believe Jesus did wht the Bible sys He did. And thnk You tht I’ not cesstio cesstionist. nist. I believe He still does doe s wht He did then.” I ws expecting expecting “W “Well ell done, thou good g ood nd ithul ithu l servant with whom whom I am well pleased.” But Bu t instead I heard rom the Lord, “So wht?” “Wht do you en, so wht?” I quickly sked Hi. I herd, “You ight s well be liberl or cesstionist. It isn’t enough enoug h to sy you you believe I still do wht I did—i you don’t know how to ove in My gits, you won’t be ble to do ny ore thn liberl or cesstionist does.” This communication rom the Spirit shook me. I deterined right rig ht then tht I would lern ler n how to ove ove in the gits o the Holy Spirit. Not long ater this, the second lie-changing event occurred. I invited a young man rom my college to come preach or me. He did a air enough job preaching on the woman with the issue o blood, but but insted o prec preching hing on heling, he spiritulized the text, giving it nonheling ppliction. I hd done the se ny ties. While listening, I begn to
23
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
have an experience with God that had nothing to do with the precher or seron. Hot ters ter s rolled down down y ce, nd I remember thinking, What’s going on? Why am I crying? This has nothing to do with the sermon. (I lter relized it was because o the visitation o the Holy Spirit.) I then heard heard the Lord strongly ipress ip ress on e, “I wnt you you to tech tht I stilll hel tody stil to dy. I wnt you you to hve conerence coneren ce on heling h eling in this church. I wnt you to prech dierently. No ore three points nd poe. I wnt you you to include ore o My words in your seron, nd less l ess o your own. I wnt wnt you to prech series o sermons on My works works and My words—My words—My ministry nd My essge.” The next dy I spoke with Dr. Dr. Lrry Lrr y Hrt Hr t o Orl Rober Roberts ts University Univ ersity.. I sked sked hi i he would coe hold conerence or me on healing. He told me that the best person he had ever heard at ORU ORU or equipping equip ping people p eople or healing h ealing was John Wiber. I hd never herd o John Wiber, nd I ws not excited bout inviting soeone I hd never herd to do the conerence. The next orning, though, I sw John Wiber on TV nd loved wht I herd. Ipressed, I clled hi. He told e he could not coe, but could send te in three months. I agreed, but asked him to make it six months so I could conclude my series on “The Words and Works o Jesus.” I began planning how to carry out the Lord’s assignment to preach dierently. dierently. I determined deter mined to look l ook at all our gospels, go spels, try tr y to reconstruct the chronology nd include everything in the gospels in one on e series. I gured it would take about about six months mon ths to prech through the teril, teri l, nd I lso sked the church’s church’s decons to coe co e to n extr eeting with e ech onth to discuss the gits o the Spirit and the baptism with the Spirit. My pln pl n worked worked beutiully be utiully.. I concluded c oncluded those tho se specil s pecil eetings with the decons nd then tught y position—which 24
Rndy’s Journey
all the deacons now understood and agreed with—to the church’s home groups six weeks prior to our conerence con erence with the te ro John’s church. In that preparation time, two more things happened o jor iportnce in y experience o heling heling.. First I went to Dlls nd herd John Wiber in Jnury 1984. For the rst tie in y lie, I sw rsthnd the pow power o God ecting people physically and causing them to tremble and/or ll. I ws so excited. All I hd seen prior to this ws God’s power po wer touching soeone soeon e eotionlly eotion lly. I hd h d seen people cry under conviction or their sins or cry when touched by God’s love lo ve ter conversion. conversion. And An d s child, I hd once on ce seen people p eople lughing lughin g or joy in the Bptist B ptist church I grew up in. This ws dierent. During the meeting in Dallas, I had the opportunity to hve h ve John John Wiber pry or or e. I ws rid he ight tell t ell e everything wrong with y lie l ie through the git gi t o prophecy prophecy,, but instead, he told me many highly encouraging things. Wht I reeber ost os t ws when when he sid, s id, “God sys s ys you you re Prince in the Kingdo o God.” Soetie lter, John’s vice president o Vineyrd Ministries Interntionl told e tht the rst two ties John nd I hd et, John hd herd God tell hi udibly tht I would one day go around the world laying hands on pastors and leders to iprt nd stir up spiritul gits in the. John John did not tell me this himsel until shortly beore he died. A ew days ater the outpouring began in Toronto, though, John did tell e tht I ws now strting on wht God hd shown hi bout e ten yers erlier. Second, a ew weeks beore the team rom the Anaheim Vineyrd Christin Fellowship rrived or our conerence, I clled hed nd spoke with Lnce Pittluck. He hd recently let the Presbyterin denointion denoin tion nd ws ws being entored 25
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
s n intern there. I sked hi i he could tell e nything that might increase our anointing or healing the sick. He asked i I believed in words o knowledge. That is a story in itsel that I will tell you more about in chapter 10. Our whole phone converstion opened e up to new rel o inistry I hd never experienced beore.
The Healing Conference When the conerence began at my Baptist church, I was shocked by how ny pstors nd leders ce. We were pcked out. I hd written letter to ll the Aericn Bptist pstors in Illinois, Wisconsin nd Missouri; s well s ll the Bptist, Methodist, Luthern nd other Evngelicl Evngelicl pstors in southern Illinois, nd soe pstors in Missouri. The letter began, “I you, like me, are tired o going to the hospitl nd prying ‘God, guide the surgeon’s hnd,’ then I invite you to conerence on heling. I hve invited people rom the Anaheim Vineyard, who are seeing more helings nd nd who who cn help us lern l ern ho h ow to ore eectively pry or the sick.” I will never orget orget my rst impressions o that conerence. The leader, Blaine Cook, was tremendously gited with words wor ds o know knowledg ledge. e. He ust us t hve hve given bout twenty the rst morning. People came orward or prayer, and many were healed. The The pastor o the First Baptist Church o Chillicothe, Illinois, ell t y wie’s eet. He got up heled o serious bck injury injur y ro cr ccident, reov reoved the hlinch lit ro his shoe nd threw it wy. The de herd, sight was greatly improved and many people were healed o pi pin. n. Not only did di d healing occur, occur, but impartation impart ation as well. Many people in my church were were activated activated in gits o healing, tongues 26
Rndy’s Journey
nd words o kno know wledge. Mny received bptis with the Spirit, soe bece drunk in the Spirit nd hd to be driv driven en home, many were seized with laughter laughte r, others ell into a state o peace, some had demons maniest and others received miraculous healings. I personally received an impartation tht cused jor increse in words o knowledge nd in healings. Several members o my congregation received an even stronger nointing thn I did. During y iprttion, I elt electricity so strong tht it cused cuse d e to shke. My wie received received eotionl eotion l heling, physical healing and an d activation in words words o know knowledge. ledge. She S he ell to the foor under the power o God. This was something she hd gret v version to. I soeone on Christin television televisio n hppened hpp ened to ll under the po p ower er,, she sh e would sy s y, “I you believe tht’s rel, you’re the biggest ool I’ve ever et!” She did not believe it ws rel—tht is, until it hppened to her. The next night, a young lady named Tammy Ferguson pproched e nd nother no ther n, n, John Gordon, or pryer pryer.. He hd pryed or her in previous service, but she needed more healing. She was born with spina bida that caused her to lose control over her bldder, so she wore dipers t night. She also was hydrocephalic hydrocephalic and had undergone und ergone twelve twelve surgeries to put shunts into her head to drain uid. We We prayed, prayed, and Tammy Tammy was healed! She Sh e never had to wear diapers again. ag ain. Neither did she ever need another shunt because now the uid ws owing down into her he r spine spi ne norlly nor lly.. She ws lso healed o seizures, which she did not even tell us she was was having. We We did not pr pry y bout tht, but she ws heled o the anyway. She would not no t need to take eleven kinds o medici medicine ne or seizures nyore. By September ater the conerence, I had resigned the pstorte t the Bptist church. I thought God hd clled 27
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
e to go to dierent city nd plnt new church. Since I did not know where yet, I told soe o the people who wanted a dierent kind o chur church ch that I would pastor them until I knew where to go. In about our months, I knew where I was called—St. Louis—but it took a whole year beore I would begin work there. Tht yer ws like sbbatical. With those people who were were looking lookin g or something dierent, I started the rst Vineyard in Illinois. We saw many healings, and I do not know i I have ever had a higher percentge o people who oved s powerully in the gits s the group who let the Bptist church to strt the Vineyrd with e. One o the ost eorble eorble helings occurred on Sundy d y night. My orer ssocite pstor o the Bptist church, church, To Sipson, hd coe with e to strt the Vineyrd. He and his wie, Sandy, had both been activated in words o knowledge, know ledge, hd h d received received the git o tongues nd were seeing people healed when they prayed. They were also activated in the git o prophecy. On this prticulr Sundy, To hd seen n open vision. (An open vision is dierent ro seeing a mental picture. In an open vision, your your eld o vision is lost nd you see the vision s i you re wtching it on lrgescreen scre en TV.) TV.) In this t his open o pen visio v ision n he s s w young boy b oy,, probbly prob bly eleven or twelve, who was naked. The boy’s muscles were withered on the let side. As Tom watched, the boy’s right side begn to wither s well. well. To did not know wht wht to do with this vision. vi sion. He ws conused about its interpretation. He did not know i it ws sign tht the new church would would wither nd die, or i i it should be interpreted inter preted literlly rther rthe r thn syboliclly sy boliclly.. Due to his conusion, he did not share sha re the vision during our orning service. Tht ternoon, he nd his siblings et t their prents’ hoe with ll the grndchildren. During 28
Rndy’s Journey
this amily day, the vision came to him again as an open vision. Agin, he ws conused by it. Then t the evening service, servic e, the vision ce c e third tie. This tie To To ce nd told e the vision. vis ion. He told e this ws the third tie it had come, and that he did not know how to interpret it. I relted the vision to the church nd sked i it de sense to nyone. A won who who ws visiting ro the locl Church o God (Anderson) sid, “I know who tht’s or! It’s or boy who hs rre disese tht is cusing his uscles on the let side o his body to wither. He’s supposed to go to the Shriners Hospitl toorrow or ore testing. The prognosis is tht the disease will gradually move to the right side and cause those uscles to wither lso.” This woman called the boy’s mother and asked her to put her hands on her son. We then prayed as a church or his heling. he ling. When he ws exined exine d the next dy, the doctor said, “I don’t know how to explain this, but the disease is gone. Not only is it not ecting the right side, but the let side uscles re being heled!” Tht ws just one o o nuerous helings we sw tht yer. yer. From March 1984 until January 1986, the key leaders who helped e strt str t tht rst Vineyrd in Illinois dro drove ve to Texs Texs our times to see either John Wimber Wimber or Blaine Cook. C ook. We We also drove dro ve to Michign Michign,, Ohio, northern norther n Illinois nd Nshville Nsh ville to lern ore bout how to ove in the gits o the Spirit nd how ho w to pry or or the sick ro the Vineyrd Vineyrd leders. leder s.
The Grand Experiment In January 1986 1 986 I resigned resign ed rom the Vineyard Vineyard church church and took too k job rying donuts in St. Louis so I would be in position to strt new church there. Fro Jnury until Noveber, 29
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
I worked worked in 80 Kroger stores, trining trinin g people peop le in the bkery. bkery. I would drive to the St. St . Louis Loui s area and a nd stay in a hotel ho tel on Sunday Su nday,, then return hoe on Fridy evenings. I de this 260-ile round trip every weekend. My wie, DeAnne, nd our son, Josh, soon joined me and stayed in the hotel where I was staying. DeAnne was pregnant with Johannah, our second child, who would be born in July. We could not buy house until our house in southern Illinois sold. In November, we nlly bought condo in the St. Louis re. During those erly e rly dys, dys, I hd to get up t 3:00 a.m. to ry r y donuts. I did not enjoy it. I ws ws night person per son nd hd oten gone to bed t tht tie in the pst—I did not like strting y dy then! Becuse the job ws so boring, nd becuse I hd been teching tht the ly people in y church should pry or or people outside ou tside o church eetings, I looked or or opportunities to pry or people t work. I told God, “Lord, I not going to prech nyore tht people should pry or people t work i it doesn’t work. I don’t wnt to put burden on the. This is going to be y grand experiment. I’m not going to tell t ell anyone anyone I’m a preacher preacher.. Insted, i You give e word o knowledge, or i nyone sys they’re sick or I notice they’re sick, I’ going to sy to them, ‘I’m a Christian. I’ve seen some people healed when I’ve pryed, pryed, but not everyone. I don’t do n’t proise you nything, ny thing, but i you’ll let e, I’d like to pry or you.’” The grand experiment worked! That year I saw more people heled in the Kroger grocery stores thn I did in our church or house group eetings. ee tings. Let e shre sh re with you you one o the ore eorble stories. I ws working working in the Kroger store in Centralia, Illinois. I noticed the head bakery clerk was quite nerv nervous. ous. Ater training her team, I was cleaning cleaning up y ess nd wshing the pns. p ns. When she ce c e over over,, I sid, “Don’t be nervous. I don’t work or or Kroger, but or or nother no ther 30
Rndy’s Journey
copny. I’ here s technicl representtive to help you nd your eployees eployees do better be tter job. So there’s no need to be nervous.” She responded, “I’ nervous becuse I hve terrible er inection, nd y er is so stopped up tht I cn only understnd bout hl o wht you’re sying.” I said, “I’m a Christian. Christian. I’ve seen people healed when I prayed, prayed, though not lwys. I’d be gld to pry or you i you wish.” “I’d like tht,” she sid. I sked her when she would like pryer, nd she replied, “Right now would be good.” We went bck into the “holy o holies” where the cloud o smoke lled the room (which (which interpreted means mea ns the break room ull o cigarette smoke). We We sat down, and I said, “No one will even know we’re praying. I’ll pray with my eyes open, nd you don’t hve to close yours. People will think we’re talking. I you eel anything happen, I want you to tell e.” When I beg began an to t o pray, pray, she sh e closed clos ed her he r eyes anywa an yway y. I pray p rayed, ed, “Lord, I bless Jne’s er (not her rel ne) nd cond it to open.” Immediately she opened opene d her eyes eyes and looked at me, startled. I sid, “Your er just opened, didn’t it?” Jane had tears in her eyes. I could tell she was shocked. She replied, “The oent you conded y er to open, ope n, it did, nd I cn now her very clerly.” I was actually surprised by how quickly she had been heled. I sked her how this de her eel. I lso sked her i she ws Christin. She replied, “I used to go to church nd ws even in ledership. But I ws hurt in church yers go, nd since then I hven’t gone.” I sked, “But now tht God hs heled your er, how do you eel bout Hi?” Then I told her she sh e should nd good g ood 31
Our Personl Journeys in Regrd to Heling
church to ttend. She told e she would do tht. This hed bkery clerk hd been pprehended by the power o God. We returned retur ned to the bakery baker y. I was nishing nis hing washing the th e pans pan s when y er clogged up. This This ws sudden nd very strnge. s trnge. I eel words o knowledge, so I turned to Jane and asked, “Did your er just clog up gin?” She nswered, “Yes! How did you know?” I told her sometimes I know what God wants to do by eeling the proble soeone else hs. This tie I knew the problem was was not a natural inection o the ear, but but was caused by n ficting spirit. I sked her i we could pry gin. She sid yes. I sked, “Where cn we pry?” “In the wlk-in reezer,” she sid. We went into the reezer and I prayed, commanding the ficting spirit to leve her er. She begn to treble. I ws not sure i it was the Spirit o God or the coldness o the reezer.. Howev reezer However er,, her pin let. le t. And soon I ws nished ni shed nd nd let the store. A ew onths lter, I returned to the store to trin gin. When I saw Jane, she told me she had rededicated her lie to God nd hd ound church to join. Also, she dded, her er inection hd never coe bck. I could tell many more stories o people healed in the Kroger stores. No one ever reused y oer oe r to pry or or heling, nd lost every person I pryed or ws not ttending church. Most were not Christins, yet I ws ws zed ze d by how receptive they were to pryer. It ws ws dierent sitution in the hoe eetings ee tings nd Sunday celebration meetings o the church. Some people were healed, but many were were not. I struggled strugg led with this odd situation. I elt s though soething soethi ng ws ws wrong with this picture. Why was it easier to see healing among the th e “believing unbeliev unb elievers” ers” thn ong the “unbelieving believers”? 32
Rndy’s Journey
The answer to that question is the basis o chapter 4 hed, “Unbelieving Believers nd Believing Unbelievers,” in which I identiy the source o the proble nd suggest some actors that have have contributed to the demise o people’s aith in i n healing. Beore we we move move on, though, t hough, let’s hear rom Bill about how God led him into the ministry o revival nd heling.
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