On The Road
I am in Las Vegas, near the end of a week with Dennis and Lynnie Walker. They run a school of the Spirit here called Dunamis ARC (Apostolic Research Center) and have put a lot of good resources online. Many are free.
I have had ministry times in the meetings – I preached on Sunday – and have had a lot of good conversation with Dennis and Lynnie in an “iron sharpens iron” sort of way. They have given me several good suggestions about my own school of the Spirit, confirming what my wife has felt, and they have helped me with the nuts and bolts of putting it together.
As always, a learning curve goes with it: I need to start producing DVDs that will be usable for individual study, for groups, or for churches.
I’m going to stick with the format I use on my teaching CDs: to break the material into four or five short segments so people have the option of listening to all at once or to take it one section at a time.
I was soaking when this idea came to me; I pictured people in a home meeting, playing one track in each meeting for several weeks in a row. Because each track ran for 12-14 minutes, they could listen for a few minutes and then have time for discussion, testimonies, and prayer for one another.
Incidentally, Dennis has several worship leaders in his group, but he doesn’t always use live music. Often they begin their workshops with soaking music on CD and many of the people lie on the floor for this part of the meeting. Others stay in their seats.
Dennis has written a downloadable flyer about soaking. Not too long ago, I wrote on the theme of having a soaking party in each of my blogs: The Miracle Lifestyle, Prophetic Song, and Culture Shapers. If you have never done any-thing like this before, download Dennis’s flyer. It’s nicely laid out, it’s in PDF format, and it’s simple and clear. Visit http://www.dunamisarc.org/images/stories/public/Soaking-Flyer.pdf.
While I’m on the subject, another free download you don’t want to miss is Mark Virkler’s flyer about the four keys to hearing God’s voice. This too is in PDF format, and it’s a classic. Click http://www.cluonline.com/4Keys.pdf.
I have received a lot by visiting Dennis and Lynnie’s school and brainstorming throughout the week. But there was also a moment when God dumped a new idea into Dennis while we were out doing errands. I won’t share it here because it is still in the formative stages, but I was impressed with how Dennis handled it.
He had the idea at lunchtime Saturday. He blurted it out, then we stopped in a restaurant to eat and excitedly started exploring what the idea would mean and what opportunities it would open. By the time we got home, he was on the phone, inviting a few core people to his home so he could present the idea to them.
Then we went to Office Max to buy a whiteboard so he could put the facts and figures before them. That night, about ten people showed up. Dennis shared what God had given him; they seemed enthusiastic about the idea; they agreed to process it and get more info about the nuts and bolts for a week and then to meet again next Saturday.
Dennis had the idea at noon. By the time he went to bed that night, he had set the idea in motion.
How long would it have taken you or me to take the first step?
Romans 1:11-12 talks about this: “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established – that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” This is what ministry is all about. God uses us, but He also pours something into us through those He sends us to.