RETURN TO THE DREAM #10

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

During our second year, in addition to the resident shows, we developed a travel troupe. The travel company began with a short twenty-minute production titled THROUGH STAINED GLASS WINDOWS. This show was made available to churches, banquets, Christian camps, etc. The group proved to be in demand, and it was the “love offerings” brought back by the travel troupe that kept us afloat at many periods of financial crisis during our second and third years. At first, the travel commitments were met by the actors working in the resident company. However, as the bookings increased and as the request for full-length shows kept coming in, it became necessary to develop a separate travel company.

It was during the third year that the Salvation Army became interested in Stained Glass Theatre and began to request performances at their youth camps around the country. They were very enthusiastic about our shows and were very generous. We were excited to be involved with the Salvation Army.

During the Spring of 1986, the Salvation Army asked us to come to St. Louis for four weeks during the summer. As we struggled during the third year, the Salvation Army often talked to us of the opportunities for us in St. Louis. We were invited to move to St. Louis with their help. We did not seriously consider these offers until we were invited to come for just a four-week run during the summer of 1986.

We were skeptical that it was financially possible to do what they wanted. However, again they were very generous and offered to furnish a free 400-seat building, pay the utilities, house and feed the cast free, and help us with promotions. The man who worked out all these arrangements, Captain Marshall, told us, “We want to make it a no-risk situation for you.” The offer seemed too good to turn down. We began to view the engagement as a test market for us—if it went well, we might consider doing it every summer or even open a second theatre in St. Louis.

In preparation, we did what we believed to be all the right things, planning trips to St. Louis, news releases, radio talk shows and public service announcements, mailing thousands of letters and promotional materials, and preparing a first-rate show. We were to perform the four weekends during August. When the time came, we felt ready and left for St. Louis full of excitement and anticipation.

By the end of our first weekend, all we had left was disappointment and dismay, for you see, we had everything but an audience. No one came—NO ONE! Okay, I exaggerate a little—that first weekend we did have five people. We were devastated. “Why, Lord, why?” was our prayer the whole of the next week.

The answer came on Friday morning just before we were to leave for St. Louis and the second weekend of performances. While praying that morning, still seeking some understanding from God, the Lord revealed to my spirit these words, “Excellence in Residence—Focus—No Distractions,” and later that day, “Return to the Dream.” These phrases spoke to my understanding, and I knew what God was saying to us. Simply and in no uncertain terms, I knew that we were to turn our full attention to creating an excellent resident company. We were to focus on that and that alone. We were no longer to travel: it was a distraction from our original calling and dream. That original dream had been simply to begin and develop an excellent resident theatre in Springfield. Yes, God wanted us to “Return to the Dream.” And as far as the ideas of additional summer tours or a second theatre in St. Louis, God was saying that door was closed. Had I misunderstood what God was telling me? The next three weekends would tell. Again the second weekend, no one, the third, no one, and the fourth, no one. For the whole four weeks, we had less than fifty people, total. There was no mistake. We knew what God wanted. So we returned from what others might see as failure with renewed spirits. The entire company had a sense of a new mandate from God. I later expressed that mandate in a letter to our patrons:

To Move Forward in Developing Stained Glass Theatre into a “Jewel” Among Theatres of the Midwest—A “Showcase of Praise” Where God the Father Is Glorified and Jesus Christ Is Proclaimed Lord and Savior.

COMING NEXT: A PROPHECY OF HARVEST TIME
Discover the lesson a city boy had to learn from God about the harvest.

SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS #9

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, April, 1987.  Bracketed information has been added.)

The spring of 1986 proved to be a wonderful time as God’s “Showers of Blessings” continued to pour out on Stained Glass Theatre. We had just seen God set us free from the bondage of debt, fill the theatre for the run of NARNIA, and give us two beautiful billboards on the Springfield roadsides. Could we ever expect more? Expect or not, God wasn’t through.

The next several months were filled with dozens of blessings. Our monthly financial pledge support began to grow almost overnight. New pledges (mostly unsolicited) soon took our support from a little over $100 per month to almost $500 per month. This amount met, almost exactly, our rent and utilities [for the building on Commercial Street].

Entrance to the building.

A rehearsal in the auditorium of the building.

Can you believe it? We couldn’t. We just kept praising God! Another unbelievable blessing that occurred last spring reminds me of an old expression I remember hearing my mother use, “Well, whoever would have thought it?” Indeed, who would have thought that a man would suddenly come by and tell us that he owned a doughnut shop and would like to give, that’s right, give us doughnuts to be sold at our concession counter. Unusual, right? But true. Bob Leasure, owner of Delta Dawn Doughnuts, has for the past year been furnishing SGT with doughnuts from his business to help us. That’s hard enough to believe without, as Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story,” which is that Bob later informed us that he felt God was blessing his business for helping us, so he wanted to do more. He wanted to furnish all the canisters of Coke for our fountain. Yes, it’s true, thanks to a wonderful Christian man and his family, we now have no cost for operating the concession counter. Yes, Mother, who would have ever thought it?

We want to say thank you to Bob Leasure and his family for their wonderful and unique support of SGT. We appreciate you so much. We pray that God will richly bless you for blessing us. Also, we would like to thank all those generous friends who support SGT with a monthly pledge. Your support is so important to keep the ministry at Stained Glass going and moving forward. May God bless you in every way! We thank you so much and we do remember you in our prayers.

Even in the midst of great blessings, life and ministry is not without times of testing. Such a time came to SGT last spring during the run of SAUL OF TARSUS [later renamed as The Damascus Road].

Ron Boutwell (Luke) and Pat Edmonds (Paul)

The cast closes Saul of Tarsus singing "I Know Whom I Have Believed"

Our dimmer board began to give us trouble and the lights would go out during a performance. The dimmer board was a very old, repaired “throw-away” from Southwest Baptist University. It was now too old to get replacement parts for, so we knew we were facing the necessity of purchasing a new board at a cost of $800. We agreed to trust God for the need rather than go back into debt. Within three weeks, all $800 had been given by our patrons. The next week, Terry marched into A.T.C. and paid cash for a new dimmer board. The employee at A.T.C., who was familiar with our past financial troubles, said to Terry, “Cash? Well, y’all must be doing pretty good!” Terry smiled and said, “Yes, I guess we are.”

I think you can begin to see, as we have seen, how obedience brings blessings. In the beginning, we told God that we would not go into debt. We did, and we suffered. God reminded us of our commitment to stay debt free and to trust Him to meet our needs. We obeyed and God has blessed us so wonderfully ever since. Praise God!

COMING NEXT: RETURN TO THE DREAM                           

See how the Stained Glass Players learn that something “too good to be true” may not be from God.

BILLBOARD BLESSINGS #8

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, March, 1987.  Bracketed information has been added.)

It was January, 1986, and the new year began with spirits high. We had been set free from the bondage of debt and were resolved to trust God to meet our needs. We had just experienced the “Gideon” miracle and were still in a state of joyous shock. We had seen God move in a mighty way and didn’t even consider that there could be more. Little did we know at that time that we had seen a few sprinkles of God’s love but that it was only the beginning, for He was about to open the windows of heaven and pour out showers of blessings.

The third week of January we opened NARNIA, Pat Edmond’s adaptation of C. S. Lewis’ THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. The showers of blessings began to fall. For the first time since we started the theatre, we were full for most performances and had to schedule additional shows. It was unbelievable! We had a new problem, a wonderful problem: not enough room! By the time we closed the two-month run of NARNIA, we had paid off our $1200 debt (which still existed in December) plus had $2400 in the bank. We weren’t on “easy-street” by any means, but we were able to meet all of our bills and have some extra to see us through the summer when we would have no income. Praise God! During the run of NARNIA, God worked another fantastic miracle. In February, Larry Sneed, a man who had seen NARNIA, came by the theatre to talk to Pat. God had told him to do something for the theatre. Larry said that he worked for a sign company and that he had persuaded his boss to let us use two billboards—one on I-44 and the other on 13 Bypass. The rent alone on these billboards was $300 each per month, to say nothing of the hundreds of dollars it would cost to have them painted. We had thought of billboards before, but had known for a long time that there was no way, absolutely no way, we could afford billboard space. So, can you imagine how stunned we were when Larry informed us that we could have them RENT FREE and that if we would buy the paint, he would personally paint them for us at no charge. God had done it again—that which was impossible was made possible.

It was so exciting to see those billboards a year ago. And even now as I drive down the highway and see one of those beautiful signs looming up, my heart leaps up and tears come to my eyes as, once again, I am reminded of God’s power and goodness.

Again we are left without adequate words to express our thanks to the man God used to bring about this miracle, or I guess I should say “continuing miracle,” since the signs are still there and we still do not pay rent on them. All we can do is simply say, “Larry Sneed, we are truly grateful. Grateful for the way you gave of your time and talent. Grateful that you were willing to let God use you to help us. We love you! We thank you! And, we praise God for you! ”

COMING NEXT: SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS                          

See how God, by keeping His promises, keeps reminding us that obedience brings blessings.