Drums?! You Have Drums!!

“Drums?! You have drums?!”

 

Flashback:

The memory came rushing back of that first time, he walked, no he ran into a church, ran into Church! Can you imagine that? Walking into the warehouse building, they were fifteen minutes early. People rapidly flowed in as they opened the doors, rushing inside almost like they were going to a Baseball game. This WAS church, wasn’t it? The Vineyard Christian Fellowship, late 1985, was born of the Jesus Movement in the mid ‘70s, yet a cross-section of Southern California.

Uncle Wayne had introduced Tim, who was a typical “Surfer dude”. Tim was leading the way with his wife, as the Korean War Baby rushed to keep up. Excitement and energy filled the large room, already half-full and filling up as people of all ages streamed in from many doors. Tim lead us right up to the left hand section, where the Large Ministry Teams had reserved six rows for them.

 

What is that? Up on the simple stage the worship band was tuning their guitars; bass, rhythm, lead, and acoustic. Eddie Espinosa was leading worship that night I remember, he looked up and eyed us, nodding towards Tim.

“That’s a Rock band! A Drum set?! You have  drums!” The lead guitarist went through a rift and the bass joined in. The KWB looked around, several long haired hippie types stood next to well dressed upper class types. They were already bobbing back and forth, clapping in time with the band. The crowd was a definitely Southern California, across age, class, ethnicity, fashionable to pure laid back surfer dudes and babes.

 

A roar of pure pleasure went up…after Eddie called out over the mic, “You guys ready to worhip the Lord?” Most were standing, while others quietly sat, in minutes most seats were filled. The drummer played the intro to the first song of celebration. Some of the lyrics to the first song, “You brought me to this place” hit home.

The KWB knew, just knew that THIS is the place, he felt at home. God HAD led him to this unusual church, where they worshipped with songs of celebration, praise, hey, they really liked church. Songs sung TO GOD not just ABOUT him.

They were more personal, in the second person, “You are My King, and I love You”, “You are mine and I am Yours”, “Jesus, I love You”, “Change my heart, oh God”, “In your Arms of Love”. Sounded like Love Songs…to God! Many people were crying, laughing, dancing, sitting, or jumping, doing whatever they wanted to do. Totally free worship. This was weird but cool, he thought as he scanned the crowd.

Reverse Culture Shock!

 

The KWB had just arrived three weeks before from the Philippines, going through reverse-culture shock after living outside the country for ten years. He felt like Rip Van Winkle, staring at the scanner at the grocery store, until the checker lady asked him, “Are you visiting our country sir?” (Are you from some backward country or Mars? She meant). “Oh, No…I heard about these but they don’t have them yet in the Philippines, I’m American but I have been out of the country for a long time!”, he answered slightly embarrassed.

He had bought a car, license to drive, bought clothes, settled into his Aunt Anna and Uncle Wayne’s home in Long Beach. When Uncle Wayne asked him about a church, he introduced him to Tim just down the street, noting that I might like the church, more contemporary in style. (You Think? This was blowing my doors off!)

 

The sermon by John Wimber was cool, simple and easy to understand. John had been a musician and promoter of some well known bands before getting saved. VCF had started just in 1977 and in 1985 had exploded in growth. John then gave a call for those wanting prayer to come forward. Hey, this is just like an Evangelical church, an altar call. Tim and the other Large Ministry Team members spread out among the people who crowded into and filled the front area.

Then John prayed a simple prayer, “Holy Spirit, Come…Come and touch your people”, as the music played softly. In moments a woman cried out in a long wailing groan; others sank down, some burst into tears, some smiled as if experiencing great pleasure. Team members went around and “blessed what they saw God doing” touching on the shoulders or forehead lightly. Soon many were crying profusely, with tears and runny noses dripping snot down their faces.

Tears and Snot, running down their faces!

 

“OH, why doesn’t somebody DO something, they had Kleenex boxes on the edge of the stage,” thought the KWB, remembering the many times he had wept in guilt and remorse over the last year since THAT night, on March 2. Boxes of Kleenex were placed on the stage, but no one was handing them out.

 

The KWB had to do something, he jumped up and grabbed a box of Kleenex, went to Tim and pressed several into his hands. The woman, the Prayee, had a huge snot hanging down from her nose. Tim gingerly ‘caught’ the snot, nodded thanks and encouraged him to pass out more to others.

Hey, you know what they say, “Dirty job, but somebody has to do it”. He went around to people and quietly pressed tissues into their hands, or gave them to team members. One woman on the stage was observing him and smiled at the KWB, then gave him a ‘thumbs up’. Turned out she was John Wimber’s wife. Thus began the KWB first calling, as the ‘Kleenex Man’, coined by John’s wife. 

He began to attend church three times a week, then four, five times, finally everyday they opened the doors. He volunteered for the “tape lending booth”, coming in for half days 3 days a week, easy since he worked the night shift as a security guard. (From movies then reduced to a security guard! Oh, the horror!).

In the small alcove of the Tape Lending Booth, he was making copies and mailing cassette tapes to people all over the country. One perk was he could listen for free to every teaching tape he wanted. In one month’s time he was no longer known as Tim’s friend, everyone knew him as “Kleenex guy” or “Tape Cassette man”.

What is happening to her?

It was in the seventh week, that “IT” happened. Something weird happened, something he had seen before, a power encounter, darkness against light…the event would radically change the level of his involvement to a new plane.

A Chinese-American girl… smiling sweetly and “receiving God’s love” one moment, then...all hell breaking loose!

(To Be continued)