SEASON OF WARFARE #26

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, August, 1989)

“Why?” Some have asked, “Why a Season of Warfare?” And they have asked with good reason. Admittedly, it may sound a little more like “Championship Wrestling” than Christian theatre. So, why did we dub the coming year Season of Warfare? Believe it or not, the answer is not simple.

The naming of a season is a very important and sacred decision for Stained Glass Theatre. We believe that our season title says something about who we are and what we’re about. It captures the spirit and goals of the season. Two years ago when we selected Season of Praise, it was out of a real heartfelt sense that we should be about the business of praising God for His goodness in having shown us our Promised Land and for the many other miraculous blessings He had poured out on the ministry. Last year, our Season of Victory title was chosen in anticipation of the victory which would give us possession of our Promised Land. That victory came, of course, and we are now in that beautiful new building. Yes, season titles mean a lot to SGT.

But what about this year’s title? Well, it all started with the selection process for deciding which plays would be presented in the coming season. That process began in late fall of last year and continued through this spring as the SGT Board read scripts and listened to ideas for proposed plays from SGT’s resident playwright, who shall remain nameless for fear of incrimination. Scripts and ideas were read over and prayed over and passed on to others. Then in late spring, the Board met to make the final selections. Again, prayer became a part of the process as we prayed together for God’s direction and leadership in the selections.

By selection time, we had already tentatively chosen another title for the season. However, as the discussion, voting, and selection process for the plays went forward, it seemed that each new show which was added to the lineup had something to do with spiritual warfare. Of course, that was not apparent to any of us at first. Then, as we made the decision on the last play, it was as if God spoke to all of us at once, seemingly at the same moment, as we suddenly realized what had happened—we had selected a season of warfare. It was startling, exciting, and too obvious to ignore. The Holy Spirit had led us to select five plays for five different reasons and had unified those selections with a common theme. Yes, we had selected five different plays of different styles and moods and targeted for different age groups, yet ALL had a message of WARFARE, even the children’s show. It was amazing, for the theme of spiritual warfare had not been a factor in the selection of any one show.

So, what do you do when the Lord hits the entire Board over the head at once with the same conclusion? Well, if you have any sense, you don’t ignore it. You don’t ignore it even if it does scare the life out of you. Could we, with good sense, be so daring and bold at to stand up and say to the world that we intended to declare a Season of Warfare as a hallmark for the year? Actually, we could do nothing less and be obedient to what God was telling us. Are we scared? You’d better believe it. Satan is real! Spiritual warfare is real! We do not take the Enemy lightly. Yet we take comfort in knowing that “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:30).

The title was selected not yet knowing or understanding all that it imports for us. Yet we do know that it is God’s call upon the ministry. And we sense that God is continuing to give us direction through the book of Joshua. After crossing into the Promised Land, the children of Israel did indeed have a season—many years, in fact—of warfare which was necessary in order to possess the land. Likewise, we at SGT intend to be about the Lord’s business—the business of possessing the land. Our prayer is that we will not stand alone. We pray that you, our friends, will rise up and march with us and that you will intercede for us daily. We know that the prayers of many can stand in the gap and bear us up in perilous times. So, please be diligent! We need prayer warriors now more than ever.

Let us rejoice together! Let us move boldly forward and watch the mighty hand of God work miracles! Let us remember our charge from Him—To be a showcase of praise where God the Father is glorified and Jesus Christ is proclaimed as Lord and Savior! And in all things, we give thanks to the Lord. For He will sustain us! Thank You, Father. Praise Your Holy Name, Jehovah!

COMING NEXT: HUNGRY FOR REVIVAL!

We look to our future with expectant hearts. We do not understand all that is happening at SGT, but we do know that we feel the urgency to be ready!

AND THE ARMY OF THE LORD HOLDS FORTH! #25

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, June, 1989)

If you remember, we have been sharing with you what we believe have been some answers to a simple and beautiful prayer of the heart prayed by Larry Sneed. That prayer, “Lord, send them an army . . .” was prayed over four years ago, yet, at Stained Glass Theatre, we still feel and see the results of that prayer every day. Thank you again, Larry, for your heart and spirit.

Since that prayer, so many Spirit-filled, committed men, women, young people, boys, and girls have joined ranks with SGT to form a mighty army of volunteers to march shoulder to shoulder in carrying the growing load of a ministry the Lord has raised up. Some have served for a few months and some have served for years, but all have blessed the ministry.

It might surprise many to know just how many people and how many “man-hours” are required in order to produce one show each season—and remember, we mount five shows a season. On the average, it takes 25 to 35 people per show. This includes cast, director, writer, light and sound crew, stage and prop crew, costume and makeup workers, and individuals who perform pre-show entertainment. To have so many who come and work what is the equivalent to a second job is nothing less than a miracle of God. This is even more astounding when you consider that no one gets paid. That’s right, hundreds—nay, two thousand plus—“man-hours” volunteered, not once, but five times a year. Yes, that is indeed a miracle of God. Everyone serves because they want to serve the Lord and they believe that SGT is a ministry of God. They have to believe that SGT is a work of the Lord, or else they would not be working their hearts out week after week. No one would work that hard just to serve a work of man.

As with most anything, I guess, there are those who seem to be in positions where they receive recognition, while there are those who serve with equal loyalty, diligence, and love who often go unnoticed. This does not seem exactly just. So let us take time now to focus on those unsung heroes who work behind the scenes and hardly ever get the credit they deserve. I dare not start to name names, for there have been, and are now, so many it would not be practical. Even so, names or not, these individuals should know that their faithful work is greatly appreciated.

For certain, those who are up on stage in the spotlight deserve the recognition, applause, and words of praise which come to them. They have faithfully worked many hours learning lines (for major roles, that is not an easy feat), spent, long days and nights in rehearsals, and committed almost three months of their time from beginning rehearsals until final performance. There is no doubt that these faithful performers deserve our respect and gratitude; however, we must also never forget that there could be no show without the dozen or so, just as faithful, individuals who build the set, make the costumes, run the lights and sound, sell the tickets, seat the audience, sell the concessions, or park the cars These dedicated heroes deserve our hearts perhaps even more than the performers, for they do their work quietly behind the scenes. They aren’t motivated by the glare of the spotlight or the roar of the crowd. They don’t leave the theatre each night with the memory of applause still fresh on their ears. Nor is their weariness of a long evening of work eased by the many “thank yous” and compliments they have received; for, more likely than not, they will have heard none. When I used the term “dedicated heroes,” I was not using the term lightly. They are heroes—the unsung heroes of God’s army. SGT could not function without them. The ministry would not be possible without them. They are the backbone of all we do. So we want to say thank you to all who serve SGT behind the scenes. You work so hard and ask so little. You are very special to us. We love you and we praise God for each and every precious servant He has sent to us. Thank You, Father. Praise Your Holy Name, Jehovah!

COMING NEXT: SEASON OF WARFARE

The naming of a season is a very important and sacred decision for SGT. It captures the spirit and goals of the season. So why a “Season of Warfare”?

ALTARS OF REMEMBRANCE #24

ALTARS OF REMEMBRANCE

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, February, 1989)

When I sit down each month to write this article, I think of the title and ponder and pray. I seek God's leadership in deciding if this is the time for looking forward or glancing back. With all of the exciting things that are happening in our new building and with all the exciting plans for the future, it might seem to be a good time to let you look forward with us and dream a bit. However, at the moment, my heart is filled with the blessed memories of God's overwhelming goodness—of the years of blessing and miracles that have brought us to such a wonderful time. I walk through our beautiful building and my heart fills to overflowing. It is still hard for me to believe that it is ours. I pause often to silently praise God for such a miracle. And I also pray that we will never take God's blessings on this ministry for granted.

One of the interesting things that has struck me over the past couple of years as I have read through the Old Testament is how often God did such MIGHTY MIRACLES for the children of Israel and how often and quickly they seemed to forget. Perhaps that is why God would often have the people pile up stones and make an altar or place of remembrance—so they wouldn't forget. Yet it seems that the people did forget and soon fell away to worshiping other gods and/or complaining that Jehovah hadn't done anything for them. How ungrateful! How selfish! You would think those people would never forget miracles like pillars of fire, the parting of the Red Sea, the manna, water from rocks, the parting of the Jordan, the walls of Jericho, a hundred and thirty thousand Midianites destroyed by Gideon and three hundred men, etc. How could they forget?!

For me, one of the blessings of reading in the Old Testament is that the pattern of human nature is so easily discernable. We see how man tends to make the same mistakes over and over. And even if we learn from our mistakes and make changes, it seems that eventually we forget and return to our old ways. Yes, it seems that we never learn. But my prayer for Stained Glass Theatre is that we can beat the odds, that we will not be just like the children of Israel and soon forget all of the MIGHTY MIRACLES God has poured out on us—from the time we started until now. God has truly done some wonderful things in and for this ministry—things we should never forget or become "blasé" about.

I know that we don't pile stones into monuments any more, but if we did, we could fill our parking lot with stone reminders of God's grace upon us. That might not be practical today; however, we still need to be reminded from time to time of some of the exciting ways God has blessed us. So remember with me for a moment, and let's praise our Lord for His lovingkindness. Remember when:

         —we had no building and no money and GOD touched the heart of a restaurant owner to let us begin our ministry using the basement of his restaurant RENT FREE—a miracle! We remember. Praise You, Father!

         —we needed $500 to pay bills and open our next show and GOD touched a man and wife from Fort Leonard Wood to give us FIVE ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS—a miracle! We remember. Praise You, Father!

         —we needed $1,000 for a new light board and GOD provided in JUST TWO WEEKS—a miracle! We remember. Praise You, Father!

There have been so many other needs met in ways that the hand of God is the only way to explain them. Yes, miracles—miracles that need to be remembered, never forgotten. And how can we ever forget our need for $60,000 to purchase our "Promised Land" debt free? HALLELUJAH! GOD DID IT! And we do remember! In our minds and in our hearts we pile up stones to remind us of Your goodness—Your miracles! Thank You, Father. Praise Your Holy Name, Jehovah!

COMING NEXT: AND THE ARMY OF THE LORD HOLDS FORTH!

Thank you, Larry Sneed, for your "beautiful prayer of the heart" prayed in 1985. It is still bearing fruit 32 years later!