A GLIMPSE OF THE “PROMISED LAND” #13

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, August/September, 1987.)

In the past we have shared the struggles, challenges, blessings, and miracles at Stained GlassTheatre. We’ve told you of our past and the way God has met our needs as we were obedient to His will. Now, we want to begin to share the challenges and blessings of the present and of the future as they are happening. We want you, our SGT supporters, to walk along with us through the good and the difficult to truly be one with us and the future.

As we are preparing now to begin our fifth season, A Season of Praise, we view this next year as the most exciting and challenging we’ve yet faced. As you must have read in our special announcement, we have stepped out in faith and made the decision, we believe under God’s leadership, to purchase a building. This decision was not made lightly, but after much prayer, counsel, and a continuing sense of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. As we looked at the events which brought us to a point of decision making, we were overwhelmed by the obvious signs of God’s hand guiding us. I would like to share with you, as I’ve done in the past, some of these very personal moments which led to such a major decision.

It began on a Saturday morning several months ago. Terry Beasley and I were at a business men’s prayer breakfast (FGBMFI). As guests stood to introduce themselves, my spirit was quickened as a young pastor, Merrill Pember, spoke. I felt a sense of the Holy Spirit urging me to speak to this man whom I have never met. This was the first of a series of events which turned out to be God’s wonderful way of bringing two unknown parties together in order to accomplish His work. Though there was nothing particularly unusual about the first event, there was about the second. A few moments later while we were eating, Charles Fuller, the president of the fellowship, came over to my table and said the Holy Spirit was directing him to ask me to give a brief testimony. I was surprised, but agreed. Now the really unusual thing about this was that, as I found out later, it was while I was giving my testimony that the Holy Spirit also spoke to Merrill Pember with a sense that he should speak to me. When we met and talked a few weeks later, we both felt that God had put us together for some reason, but we didn’t exactly know what. Merrill was the pastor of Christian Life Center. He and his wife, Vicki, were working on beginning a Christian TV station in Springfield. We thought maybe God planned to use us in that area some way, but we weren’t sure. We only knew that God was leading, and we wanted to be sensitive to His will.

Merrill Pember 1987

Over the next couple of months, our friendship grew. Merrill, Vicki, Terry, and I met and prayed together. We continued to seek God’s will, but had no clear indication as to why God had brought us together. In June we invited Merrill and his family to speak and sing at SGT’s annual appreciation banquet.

It was on the night of the banquet, June 9, that God began to reveal to us His purpose—a special blessing, a great gift! After the banquet was over and people were just standing around chatting, Dennis Stachura, Merrill’s Associate Pastor, mentioned to me that we should see their church and all the stained glass. As he described the building to me, it seemed like a perfect building for SGT. So I asked, “Is it for sale?” Dennis said maybe, that there had been some talk of relocating the church. I spoke to Merrill. He said to come on by and look. That night on the way home, I drove by the church. As the church came into view, I pulled to a stop to get a better look. My heart almost stopped. I knew—the Holy Spirit told me—this was it, this was the reason, this was God’s special gift to SGT—your “Promised land.” Needless to say, I could hardly sleep that night. A few days later, Terry, Jim, and I toured the inside, and then we prayed with Merrill. Merrill wisely said later, “We’re not trying to make anything happen. We don’t even know if we are to move, but if God is in this, He will affirm it.” And affirm He did.

Christian Life Center 1987--Our "Promised Land"

As we explored detail after detail, the building seemed perfect in every way, even to the beautiful stained glass windows which appear to be an affirmation of our name. The size of the auditorium with seating for 200 is exactly the size that we have felt for a long time would best serve our needs and dreams: parking lot, offices, sound and light booth, basement, reception area, kitchen, restrooms, space upstairs for dressing rooms and costume construction, etc. The church building has recently been completely rewired and brought up to code, even to emergency exit lights. The sanctuary has new carpet, and all of the beautiful, curved pews are the original pews and have been refinished. It sounded too good to be true. But what about the cost? We wouldn’t have been surprised at a hundred thousand plus, so you can imagine our near disbelief to learn that we could have it for sixty thousand! That’s right! Not only did the building seem perfect, but so did the price. All that was left to do was pray. I prayed, we all prayed and prayed, seeking an answer. It seemed right, but was it God’s will?

The answer came in several ways: 1) an assurance beyond doubt in our spirits, 2) a peace and joy that we felt, and 3) an understanding of the conditions of purchase. This final understanding of what we should do came after much prayer about whether we should go into debt or not. A nagging question kept haunting me: Would the purchase of this property, which seemed so right, be the exception to our commitment to God that we would trust Him and not go into debt? Until I had the answer to this question, I would not know for sure what we should do. God gave me His answer. He gave me clear understanding in my spirit that He would not honor our going into debt. He had made this very clear to us in the past and showed me that there was no exception by giving me a vision of the church and land surrounded by a wall with corner towers topped with dollar signs ($). Like Joshua and the walls of Jericho, we must tear down the wall before we can “go in and claim the land.” We had God’s answer. The land was ours, but there was a price to pay. We are truly excited beyond words. It is a dream come true—a permanent home for Stained Glass Theatre. A home where we can truly become a “SHOWCASE OF PRAISE.” The dream is before us and so is the challenge. We know that we must tear down the wall of dollars that stands between us and our dream. We know that we must raise the full purchase price in one year, pay cash, and move into our “Promised Land” debt free. The “dream” is magnificent—the “challenge” is awesome. But God has spoken to us through His Holy Word, just as He did to Joshua when He said in chapter one, verse nine, “Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

COMING NEXT: THREE INCREDIBLE DAYS IN SEPTEMBER    

A beautiful story of God’s miracle-working power!