MY MARATHON Part FIVE - 2000 - the present
A Spirit of Control and Accusation
We see this same spirit affecting the atmosphere around David, even among his brothers...
We see this same spirit affecting the atmosphere around David, even among his brothers...
David's eldest brother Eliab was burned by the fact that David had been chosen over him by Samuel and anointed as the next king. He accused David of being an arrogant brat (your pride and the insolence of your heart) just minutes before David supernaturally kills Goliath.
8 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here
And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence* of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 1 Samuel 17:8
* your pride and the rude and disrespectful behavior of your heart
July 31, 2000
Steve came to town took inventory of the congregation, at the request of our pastor, Jim. Partly because Jim was fearful of losing his flock. But there was no one after his flock. Steve stepped in and relieved all the elders of oversight of the church and dismissed Jim from ministry as the senior leader. Many of the congregation left during that time because they sensed a spirit of control, in the way things were handled. Steve instituted a 90-day sabbatical from -September 1, 2000 - November 30, 2000, Jim and I were asked to take a sabbatical from any public ministry.
It was on November 30, 2000, that the 90 sabbatical ended for me and Jim.
More parallels to a Prophetic Timeline established by Dr. Stephen Jones. He mentioned Nov 30, 2000, was the prophetic timing of the reign of King David extending to the all of Israel. Again my life events are lining up with a prophetic event listed in Dr. Jones book.
At the end of that time, Jim was put through the gauntlet of having each of his elders tell him why he was not fit to be the primary leader. I was on vacation in New England, I returned on Dec 1, 2000, and was invited to join the "council" by this time a temporary Pastor was brought in from Kirksville, He was only there for a portion of a year.
In January of 2001, I was in at a conference and during a small group session at the hotel. The small group had David R., Steve Y, Jose A. from Chicago and myself, maybe there were one or two others.
I saw a vision of a wooden wagon wheel, with a large wooden hub. All the spokes were connected to the hub but there was no rim around the outside to form the wheel. As I watched, the wheel, a light began to circle around the outside of the spokes, faster and faster until it began to take on substance. and became a solid rim. Meanwhile, the spokes began to dissolve and with them, so did the hub, leaving only a circle around the outside, indicating a circle of churches equal in strength and relating as brothers.
Instead, I saw only a rim or ring, a circle of churches connected as equals.
I knew right then that Steve was going to be tested in the same way that he tested other leaders, that he was going to asked to step aside by his team. Steve was no longer going to be center of attention and his church was no longer going to be the hub, the singular place where all the churches came together to be joined. Within a year or so others on his team were inquiring into an abuse of power, a spirit of control, in connection with Steve and some of the methods he used.
Even the name they chose a few years later was a Circle of Churches. This post is the first time I have revealed this vision to a broader audience, at that time (January 2001) I had shared it with only a very few close friends, none of which were involved in the naming. I was surprised when I heard it used the first time, a Circle of Churches.
By July of 2001, we heard that another Pastor not out of Kirksville but rather out of Kansas would be coming to Mankato. Pat arrived in January of 2002 and became the senior leader to this small congregation.
This year 2014 marks two sevens since the acts and accusations of 2000.
Steve has never been back, inside this circle of churches, and specifically, he has never been back here.
If you have followed my rambling history through all five parts, please realize this was more for me to get my arms around some complex swirling concepts, then it is a statement of fact. It is truly a blog post or journal entry, an attempt to put the pieces together to see if the bigger picture emerges.
The rim is solidly in place.
Steve came to town took inventory of the congregation, at the request of our pastor, Jim. Partly because Jim was fearful of losing his flock. But there was no one after his flock. Steve stepped in and relieved all the elders of oversight of the church and dismissed Jim from ministry as the senior leader. Many of the congregation left during that time because they sensed a spirit of control, in the way things were handled. Steve instituted a 90-day sabbatical from -September 1, 2000 - November 30, 2000, Jim and I were asked to take a sabbatical from any public ministry.
It was on November 30, 2000, that the 90 sabbatical ended for me and Jim.
More parallels to a Prophetic Timeline established by Dr. Stephen Jones. He mentioned Nov 30, 2000, was the prophetic timing of the reign of King David extending to the all of Israel. Again my life events are lining up with a prophetic event listed in Dr. Jones book.
At the end of that time, Jim was put through the gauntlet of having each of his elders tell him why he was not fit to be the primary leader. I was on vacation in New England, I returned on Dec 1, 2000, and was invited to join the "council" by this time a temporary Pastor was brought in from Kirksville, He was only there for a portion of a year.
In January of 2001, I was in at a conference and during a small group session at the hotel. The small group had David R., Steve Y, Jose A. from Chicago and myself, maybe there were one or two others.
I saw a vision of a wooden wagon wheel, with a large wooden hub. All the spokes were connected to the hub but there was no rim around the outside to form the wheel. As I watched, the wheel, a light began to circle around the outside of the spokes, faster and faster until it began to take on substance. and became a solid rim. Meanwhile, the spokes began to dissolve and with them, so did the hub, leaving only a circle around the outside, indicating a circle of churches equal in strength and relating as brothers.
Instead, I saw only a rim or ring, a circle of churches connected as equals.
I knew right then that Steve was going to be tested in the same way that he tested other leaders, that he was going to asked to step aside by his team. Steve was no longer going to be center of attention and his church was no longer going to be the hub, the singular place where all the churches came together to be joined. Within a year or so others on his team were inquiring into an abuse of power, a spirit of control, in connection with Steve and some of the methods he used.
Even the name they chose a few years later was a Circle of Churches. This post is the first time I have revealed this vision to a broader audience, at that time (January 2001) I had shared it with only a very few close friends, none of which were involved in the naming. I was surprised when I heard it used the first time, a Circle of Churches.
By July of 2001, we heard that another Pastor not out of Kirksville but rather out of Kansas would be coming to Mankato. Pat arrived in January of 2002 and became the senior leader to this small congregation.
This year 2014 marks two sevens since the acts and accusations of 2000.
Steve has never been back, inside this circle of churches, and specifically, he has never been back here.
If you have followed my rambling history through all five parts, please realize this was more for me to get my arms around some complex swirling concepts, then it is a statement of fact. It is truly a blog post or journal entry, an attempt to put the pieces together to see if the bigger picture emerges.
The rim is solidly in place.
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