Prayer Precedes Revival

In the year 2003, the Khasi Jaintia Presbyterian Synod (West) had their first gathering in a village called Mawkyrwat in the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. In this meeting it was decided to hold an ongoing chain-prayer movement for God to bring revival in the land once again as it happened a hundred years ago during 1905-06. As such it was also decided that the doors of the chapels would remain open every morning for believers to gather for prayers. They all acknowledged the fact that there was a major spiritual decline in the church and in the moral lifestyle of the people in general. This made the church to turn to the Lord in expectancy that He would send a fresh wave of renewal and transformation once again.

Meanwhile, beside the Presbyterian, many other churches of different denominational background in Shillong and Meghalaya had been having similar burden and were beginning to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the land, for God to send revival once again. And the God of Harvest did listened to the prayers and cries of His people, and in His everlasting mercy and grace, showered His blessings by pouring out His Spirit in an unprecedented manner among hundreds and thousands of people. Church buildings in many places were being filled with people especially youngsters who were crying with tears of repentance and seeking God in prayer at times throughout the night. Lives were being transformed. There began to grow a deeper hunger for God in the lives of believers than it ever was before.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Are You Willing To Give Your Children?

17/Oct/2006, 11:24 a.m., Shillong, India

A certain missionary gifted in the prophetic who had visited Shillong and attended the Global Day of Prayer (on the 4th June '06) was given the last slot to release the crowd that had gathered on the Malki Ground with a prayer. But as prophets are sometimes used to do stuff beyond and at times against our imaginations, he didn't pray at all, but simply said (and I quote, although not verbatim), "When revival comes will you be ready to give your children for the Lord?". The chairman leading the meeting and the rest of us were left bewildered as to what that actually meant. That question posed to us, before the revival hit us, did actually come from God. Today, parents, church leaders, teachers and schools authorities are more concern about their children's studies than their encounter with the Living God. As such schools have discouraged children from coming into any contact with the 'revival' experience and church leaders closes down the 'revival' meetings early (without being sensitive to the Lord's work and leading), so much so that my co-brother who's also a pastor and has a ministry in one village reported the children and young people experiencing revival not being allowed to enter the chapel (both mainline churches) to hold meetings. They knew that the church pastored by my co-brother was the only one in the village that believed in the work and the manifestations of the Spirit (Charismata). So on Sunday when some people from Shillong who are working with this pastor reached there, these kids and young people rushed to them to the place where they have their meeting with excitement, joy and tears. They had been eagerly waiting and anticipating their arrival. There was no space to accommodate all of them.

Indeed, our priorities are revealed during such times when God not only sends revival but also tests the heart of parents if they are ready to give their children for the Lord especially at such a time as this.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

More Revival News

6^th Sept ‘06, 11:48 a.m., Shillong, India

Yesterday some pastors and I on our way to a meeting in Jowai (Jaintia Hills) were chatting about the revival here and a pastor of a large charismatic church here in town told us that yesterday itself during daytime one of his sons called him up from his school. The news was the same. Children were coming under the power of God and even Muslim kids were seeing a clear vision of Jesus. One non-Christian girl was choking and couldn’t speak. She was holding on to her neck struggling to utter a word but she couldn’t. Some believers noticed an amulet on her neck and the moment they broke that off her neck she suddenly burst out and was able to speak once more.

This revival seems to be spreading further and wider still. Local newspapers are reporting that even non-Christians and those among the Khasis and Jaintias who are animists are also coming under the power of God. Many villages in Jaintia Hills are experiencing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Last Sunday, reported Mahip, Raju’s son (a member of our church), who goes to another English-speaking church in Police Bazaar, their hall was jam-packed to the overflowing with Hindus and other Non-Christian people attending the meeting even without anyone sending out invitations to them.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

God's Love Is For All

4^th Sept '06, 7:00 p.m., Shillong, India

Today, during early noon, at about 12:30 p.m., I received a call from a young sister from our church. She goes to a school called Buddha Vidya Niketan run by some Buddhists community. She sounded both excited and urgent as she told me that some children (although only a few of them) in her school had come under the power of God. She also told me that the school was declared holiday for the day. This caught my attention because this wasn't a Christian school like the others where students basically from Christian background were experiencing similar things. This was a Buddhist school and now it wasn't just students from Christian background but also Hindus and others who were having a direct encounter with God.

As soon as I put down my phone, I told my wife about it, changed my dress, hopped onto my motor-scooter and rushed toward the school. When I reached there at about 1:00 in the afternoon I saw a young man carrying a young girl of about 13/14 yrs old outside the school. Her relatives and neighbors were there too. I quickly recognized that she was from my community – Nepali. They were taking her home. The girl was crying and groaning and seems to be without any strength in her body. At first I thought to speak to them but felt I should see what was happening with the others in the classroom. But all that I saw in one room were some Christians trying to explain to the authorities and teachers of the school what was actually happening. Almost all the students had left the school. I felt no use to be there and felt the prompting to follow those people with that young girl. I ran towards the road and joined them. Her aunty and a young man were carrying her. I approached them and talked to them and helped carry the girl to her house which was not far from that school. There were lots of houses where she lived and as soon as we reached there some crowd gathered to find out what had happened to her since someone from the school had gone there earlier to inform them what had happened to this girl and to come to pick her up. There was panic in the house and in that compound. Of course, they had been hearing the news everywhere and had actually watched it in the local news channel also that such occurrences were happening with Christians in the churches and schools. Now they were seeing this with their own eyes happening to one of the kids from their own block and that to someone who wasn't a Christian at all. The small room was packed with some people and the rest simply flocked at the door. A little boy, about 10 yrs old scurried to the room with a Bible in his hand. The adults began to ask him to read the Bible. At that moment I told them that I was a Christian and that they need not be afraid or panicky and as such offered to read the Bible too. I came to learn later that the little boy wasn't a Christian at all but had been given a Bible by someone. Their idea was that since this is a Christian "phenomenon" reading the Bible would bring the girl or anyone else for that matter going through this manifestation, back to consciousness.

"What's this happening?" asked a lady. Then I opened the Bible and started preaching the Gospel to them. I got a rapt audience. Over and over again I shared to them about the Savior, Jesus Christ and their need of believing and receiving Him into their lives.

During some moments of pause I tried talking to that girl whose name was Pratima, but she was crying continuously and seemed to be totally unaffected by her surroundings. Later after over an hour in that house she slowly began to move her eyes which indicated that she had come to her senses. Just to check I asked her if she wanted to drink some water to which she nodded her head. She drank the water and lied on the bed again. I asked her what had happened. She softly answered, "He's calling me". I asked her again who the person was who was calling her. "Jesus" she said. At that moment I turned back to her people and reiterated that the Lord had indeed specially chosen her and that probably through her the rest of them. They just kept quiet and simply nodded their head. Her mother who probably was a widow seemed familiar to me. On inquiring I came to realize that she was a staff of State Bank where my father had also served (though in another Branch in town). On inquiring further I came to realize that she and her family actually knows my father very well and calls him "uncle". And also that her old father was actually serving at the same time in the same Branch office with my father. And soon I also came to learn that the other lady who asked me earlier, "What's this happening?" was actually a distant relative of mine. This made things all the more easier. And as some more other people were inquiring about the whole event I affirmed to them that this was God's divine plan to come and meet with Pratima in such a sovereign way that people would gather in that house, I would, out of nowhere reach there and get the opportunity to share the Gospel to all of them. I assured them that this was God's love for them and His divine plan for their salvation. It seemed to me that they were beginning to see the truth.

In the meantime Pratima was hungry and was served lunch. Soon she began to talk with her mother and others. When I asked her how it all began, she told me that she suddenly fainted in her classroom and after that all she remembered were some teachers trying to pick her up. She remembers nothing after that till the time she regained consciousness at home. During that whole time she was only crying and crying in a very deeply emotional manner.

Later in that house tea and biscuits were served to the rest of us. And after some more conversation I finally left them but not without offering to visit them again.

The surprising thing was those non-Christian crowds that had gathered in that house were also making an uproar about a similar incident in another school called Govt. Girl's High School, not far from that area. This was also another non-Christian school. In fact, what was happening here was in a much larger scale. And so after leaving that house I rushed toward this school hoping to catch a glimpse of what was happening there too. But when I reached there all the students had already left. I only saw a young girl on the road outside the school alongwith her relative trying to make some effort to walk. Her face too was wet with tears.

In the evening I went to visit my Dad and Mom in their house eagerly looking forward to share all this, seeing that those people were actually my Dad's close acquaintances too. Monalisa, a sister from our church was also there alongwith one of her daughters. When I began to share my story of the day my Mother told me that they actually had also visited the school and had also spotted my motor-scooter parked outside the school premises. But since all the students had left by then, and I wasn't there either, they however had the opportunity to speak to some of the school authorities about Jesus and also handed some gospel tracts to them and left.

On the other hand, Monalisa had another interesting story to share. In the afternoon she was actually passing by that same Girl's High school when she heard and saw all the commotion. She noted a girl who also had been touched by the power of God and inquired what had happened to her. She said she actually saw an inferno and Satan was trying to pull her towards the fire. But suddenly in the middle between them a tall man clothed in white appeared and she knew it was Jesus. His face was shining with glory. She saw Him calling her to Himself, "come with me and I'll take you to Heaven." This girl was an Assamese Hindu girl. Before leaving her, Monalisa asked for her contact address and also gave an invitation to come to our fellowship on Sundays.

Another, somewhat staunch Hindu school also came under similar experience today. Some students who came under the power of God began to prophesy, "Jesus is coming soon, repent!" Sadly, some of the teachers and authorities (of course, non-Christians) of the school allegedly didn't like what was happening and in fact rebuked and discouraged them by making snide remarks that they should go home and do all the pretensions and dramas. Yes, there'll be those who'll try to oppose or even attempt to thwart the move of God and yet we confidently know for sure that in the end His love and power will prevail over and above everything else.

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come"!

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

The Second Wave

01/Sept/2006, 10:48 p.m., Shillong, India

It has been a couple of months now that people in the Khasi and the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya are experiencing a wave of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Almost every now and then the local TV news channel reports of such occurrences in this region not to mention of the local daily which carries the news headline every single day.

In the year 2003, the Khasi Jaintia Presbyterian Synod (West) had their first gathering in a village called Mawkyrwat in the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. In this meeting it was decided to hold an ongoing chain-prayer movement for God to bring revival in the land once again as it happened a hundred years ago during 1905-06. As such it was also decided that the doors of the chapels would remain open every morning for believers to gather for prayers. It was acknowledged by all that there was a major spiritual decline in the church and in the moral lifestyle of the people in general. This made the church to turn to the Lord in expectancy that He would send a fresh wave of renewal and transformation once again.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit actually started with the centenary celebration of the hundred years of revival that had hit this very land. Some months back the Presbyterian Church was preparing to commemorate this revival and people were enthuse with great excitement and anticipation, especially among the Presbyterian Christians and also others churches in general. Lots of fervent prayers and intercessions were being made for it to happen once again. And this indeed did happen. First it started right on the ground where the celebration meeting was going on – in Mairang area in the Khasi Hills. We watched on a local TV news how the people drenched in the rain were crying out to God and repenting of their sins, while many were shaking with the power of God. The heavy downpour seemed to symbolize the outpouring of the promised Latter Rain. This place where the meeting was going on was also the place where revival actually took place a hundred years ago. Then in the days that followed news began to pour in that it was happening in different places but largely amongst the Presbyterians and that especially among the younger generation. Then we heard that students in a school in Silchar in Assam were experiencing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The school authorities not being able to rule out the fact actually had those students taken to a hospital. Some people and pastors from Shillong visited that place while some learned about it when they were watching a national cable news channel based in Delhi. Not being able to ascertain this strange phenomenon the channel carried the news headline calling it a "Mass Hysteria". Of late such occurrences is happening not only among Christians gathered in church buildings but also spreading among students in schools.

Allow me to share some of the events I personally had a chance to witness besides other which my close friends and pastors have shared with me.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Signs And Wonders

24th Sept 2006, 8 a.m. Shillong, India

Following is my correspondence with Jonathan Lindvall in the US regarding the revival.

Hi Reuben. I got the following encouraging note from Barkos Warjri.

His final comments about a glowing cross seem really questionable to me.
I don't want to put limits on God, but also am concerned about superstitions. It seems contrary to what I would expect God to do, but then, I'm not God. What do you think?

Love,
Jonathan

(Copy from Barkos Warjri written to another Christian couple/friend)

I would like to share with you some of the events and our thoughts which we are trying to document. Events of the last fortnight have gripped our attention. You may have not read of them in the news but they have been God's answer to the prayers of believers in Meghalaya, the NE Indian state we come from. You may have heard of the Welsh revival of 1904. The same spirit spread to the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya in 1906. My grandfather was born in that year and had some stories to tell me of the faith of our ancestors. The Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Mission had sent missionaries to these hills early in the 19th Century. They won the first convert about the year 1846 and then set up the Presbyterian Church, which grew to become the largest denomination among the Khasi-Jaintia tribe. This church had been praying for another revival and in the centenary celebrations to commemorate that event, in a village called Mairang (where the revival broke out in 1906), in the month of March this year, there were fervent prayers accompanied, I believe, with a strong hope among some, that God would indeed do something new. Soon after, the revival fervor picked up in some villages. It did not move to the urban areas for several, months. When I had occasion to visit Shillong, for a week, in August, I heard some inspiring stories about what God was doing. There were some miraculous incidents which took place, and which encouraged many to a renewal of their faith. On the 3rd August I heard of interesting developments in a church in Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya. Daily evangelistic meetings had begun in the church from the 10th July. From the 13th July there was a preacher from the Mizo tribe (from the state of Mizoram). He could not speak English so his messages were translated into Khasi. (The Lingua Franca among the different peoples of NE India is mainly English among the educated or Hindi). The enthusiasm was such that the preacher was asked to continue for another week, which he did, having no scheduled program then. From then on the daily services continued. I visited the Laban Presbyterian Church on 5th August 2006, and saw there a completely different service from what I had been used to in the Prebyterian environment. I was struck by the contrasts between the lack of a proper scheduled program and the evident order. There was no confusion. The first thing I noticed on entering the evening service was that some people were standing while some were sitting as they were singing. It was evident that there was no rule to sit or stand or clap or raise hands, yet all was in order. ‘Let us all rise’ and ‘Kindly be seated’ were conspicuous by their absence. Another thing was very evident, there was an unusually large number of children and youth for an evening service. They were the ones who were most active in the singing as well as the prayers. The singing continued for an hour after which testimonies were shared followed by a sermon. Half the congregation responded to the altar call. During the closing prayer I heard something that I had never heard before, an instant sound, which I thought was rain, so even yet sharp and intense. I looked up and realized that all the people in the front of the church had simultaneously broken out in prayer, and two weeks later I remembered a verse of the ‘voice of many waters’ (Rev.14.2 & 19.6). It felt like there was a spontaneous laying siege of heaven. (I was not really surprised when I read a description, a few days ago, in similar terms of
event in a church during the Korean Revival of 1907). It was uplifting, and this, in an orthodox Presbyterian church! The praying and singing went on for another hour after the benediction, very few choosing to leave at that point. Through this extra hour the children were delightfully active in group prayers and singing, walking around in an open space in front, where several pews had been removed to make an open space.

Beginning 1st September, however God seems to have poured out his spirit without any holding back. It looks like he has overturned the barrel and it hit the church like a dam which had broken. Children are prophesying, young people are seeing visions. School administrators were shocked to see children break out in prayers, songs, or falling down unconscious. This happened in school after school, often during the morning assembly, or even during classes. Children were also taking their Bibles to school at no one’s bidding. At one school, a catholic school, a teacher (I know him well and spoke to him a few days ago), while taking a class noticed that there were a few small slips of neatly cut paper with the hand-written words ‘Jesus Loves You.’ He asked who had done it and a boy stood up. He stated that he wanted to do it and that he wanted to pass on similar messages, which he had with him, to as many as he could. He could not say why he did it beyond the urge that he had, to do so. The teacher was taken aback for a few moments; the boy comes from a Marwari family, who are strict Jains and would not have heard the gospel in any substantially coherent form.

The demons also seem to have come out full force and the battles are raging. In school after school, and church after church stories of spiritual struggles abound. In one school, a girl who was undergoing such a test recovered only after her mother, a pagan, most reluctantly agreed to burn the amulet her witch doctor had given her just a few days ago. The burning was followed by frightful screams and wails by that mother. I heard this from a pastor friend who prayed for the girl.

Interestingly, the streets are peaceful. No drunkards, no fights, just young people singing even rather late at night. The midweek meetings in the churches are full -- no place to sit. In fact all churches are now having packed daily evening meetings. A friend whom I spoke to yesterday said that they could not find even a place to sit though he and his family had reached the church 15 minutes before the afternoon service, last Sunday (10th September).

Last evening I spoke to a girl who had just returned to Bangalore from Shillong, and she told of the reconciliation in her family. Such was their joy that she took two days off from college in the last weekend and flew to Shillong to join her parents and siblings. For the first time they were praying as a family. There are countless such stories of repentance, reconciliation (a divorced couple close to our family got back together last week), forgiveness and renewal. There are also the miraculous. One thing I could no longer be skeptical about, was the unexplained illumination of the wooden cross in the church I grew up and where my parents still live. It happened on 5th September early in the morning at about 0045hrs when the church was full with people singing. It sounds strange, but events had picked up in this church throughout the previous day that it was not possible to stop the unscheduled singing and praying which started on the morning of the 4th September from about an hour before noon. My nephew heard a young boy shout 'Jesus, Jesus, look Jesus,' and he and his friends, who were sitting near the main door of the church building ignored the shout, thinking it was one of many people seeing visions. When an excitement picked up later, he looked up and was shocked to see the cross above the pulpit shining and showing what appeared to be the form of a man on it. Stunned, he called his mother (my sister) who rushed immediately to the church and who called me, dazed and shocked at 0150 hours. (I usually switch off my mobile phone at night but that night I knew I had to keep it open). I could not get another wink after that. I was excited by the virtual running commentary I got after every half an hour. I wanted desperately to see what would happen at daylight. If the illumination was caused by an effect of the lights it would be normal in the morning. Instead it became clearer as the sun rose and remains so even till today. It is a wooden cross, covered in sun mica and hollow behind. The bulbs behind it light up the background and silhouette the cross starkly against the wall. Today even as I write, it is not merely that background which is bright. The wooden body itself remains bright with the x-ray-like image still present. The view is seen only from the central door of the church and not from the sides or near it. From any other direction it looks as normal as on any other day. It became, I am afraid a sort of idol for some time until the church leadership came out clearly on the matter. Even then it has not stopped countless people streaming in to see it, especially non-Christians. There are also several testimonies of people who have been touched by simply entering the church building and who know that it is God who has done something to them. I would be able to send you photographs if you would like so. The events have opened my eyes to the immensity of God. He just seems to have burst out of the box. When God does His work it simply floors us. He is beyond what we ever comprehended, and.…. beyond the boxes we tend to put Him in.

My wife and I felt inclined to share our joy and, at times our moments of sheer stunned silence with you.

God bless you, and once again.

Yours Sincerely,
Barkos Warjri

Dear Jonathan,

The cross phenomenon is rather complex for me too. Of course, like you I cannot doubt or limit the hands of God in working out signs and wonder beyond our comprehension. Last night when I shared my doubts about the image on the cross with Ridor he smiled rather convincingly enough and taking out his cell phone where he had taken some picture of the cross showed it to me. To tell you the truth, I had personally visited this chapel to see that cross during daytime and to me it didn't appeared spectacular or moving enough. I was skeptic. But last night when Ridor showed me the pictures on his cell phone the image in the middle of the cross was quite visible. It has a white shape of a figure hanging on the cross sometimes looking like a dove. That day although I was unmoved by the sight of the cross, I could still thank God for the crowd that had throng the building, singing, repenting and praying both inside the hall and outside on the compound. Large number of Hindus and other Non-Christian too came every day to witness this. And as their customary manner would have them they would enter the hall without their shoes. So you'd see a strewn of shoes lying outside at the entrance of the hall. All these sights however did moved me. I left that place thinking of Paul's comment, "whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice" (Philp 1: 18 ESV). But my landlady's granddaughter, a teenager who lives next door went there the first time and shared with me what happened there. She said that as she was standing in the queue to touch the cross (sadly, how quickly people resorts to idol worship), she actually saw a vision of Jesus, not on the cross though, but on the wall of the building. The face wasn't visible because it was glowing brilliantly and she could see the image upto the lower portion of the chest. That night she stayed in that hall praying with her friends until 1 a.m. after midnight.

However, we are told that the image on the cross is apparently fading away now. The questions posed to skeptics like me is why wasn't the image there before revival hit our land and why is it disappearing now ???

More of Jesus!

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Seasons of Divine Encounter

2nd/Oct/2006, 4:31 p.m. Shillong, India

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this current phase of revival is birthing a great hunger for God and His presence. The gathering of believers in most of the meetings of various church groups is experiencing transformation as men and women continue to "make straight their path" before the Refiner's Fire. One common word believers tend to receive while under the anointing is the return of Jesus for His people and hence the need to be prepared for that glorious day.

These days the presence of God is so strong whenever believers gather together, whether it be in large or small numbers. In the church where I pastor, for e.g., for a couple of Sundays we haven't been able to do the usual thing we'd normally do. Rather, it's several people sharing one after another of either the vision they saw, or the word they received or the burden and the leading of God they felt. Some people under the power of God tends to feel the pain and suffering of Christ on the cross. In one of our weekly gathering where we gather without any agenda but simply to seek the face of the Lord, a brother was on the ground for two hours or so, struck with the vision of Christ with the crown of thorn on His head and dark thick blood dripping on His face. Throughout that time all he sensed was the excruciating pain that Christ went through on the cross. Another lady on a Sunday went through similar experience although she wasn't on the ground for that long. They both realized and shared with us of the Savior's love for us and the sacrifice He made in order to make us His own. So heavy is the presence of God at times in our gatherings that people literally stagger to get up and get back to their seats. We're reminded of Solomon's temple on the day of it's dedication when the Shekinah glory descended and filled the house so that even the priest could no longer minister (2nd Chron 7:1-3). It's the Holy Spirit now ministering to us and through us to the Father.

In the meantime, churches and believers in different parts of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills continue to experience wave after wave of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Churches and church leaders which once spoke and acted against the baptism and the manifestation of the Spirit are laying down carpets on the floor of their chapels with the sure expectations of people falling down under the power of God. And when they get up from the ground then it's not uncommon to hear of them sharing about the vision they saw or the word they heard and the message they needed to convey to the congregation.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

The Revival Continues

Sept '06, Shillong, India

Everyday the revival fire is spreading and now even students from colleges and a university here are coming under the power of God. A pastor friend of mine called up yesterday asking me to pray for him as he was going to be interviewed today by another national cable news channel regarding the move of God here. And today’s Khasi daily, Mawphor reported of children from Laitlyngkot seeing visions of Jesus and of Heaven. Three children in particular saw similar visions in which the gates of Heaven were opened. Then the Lord ordered the keeper of the keys to shut down the gates. As he was about to do that there were lots of prayers and intercessions going up so that some more time would be given for people to repent. At this the key was returned back and was kept in a box.

The gates of Heaven are still open but until when we don’t know. But there’s one thing we know what God says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation…today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion….” (2^nd Cor 6:2, Heb 3:15).

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Garo Hills Getting Ready

15th Nov 2006, 11 p.m., Shillong, India

In Garo Hills, Chitoktak, I was invited to do a 3-day seminar on the "Prophetic Ministry" (3rd - 5th Nov '06). The first session of the first day, I held my notes and Bible in my hands, all set to launch as soon as Mikseng, the host and pastor of the church, gave me the signal. But as I waited for that moment, the Holy Spirit instead led me to share about the revival here in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. So I stood up and for the next hour and more shared about the wondrous works of God here in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. The Lord got their attention, and the rest of the three-day sessions were power-packed with the strong presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, even while bringing the teaching, I would sense such a warm and glowing presence of God around me that the hair on my body would literally stand up. Although it might not be uncommon to have such experiences, this time it was different. The intensity of it was simply profound. This 'seminar' actually changed me. After every session, people would just be filled with the Holy Spirit, receiving prophecies and visions immediately at times, and at other times being confirmed of the Lord's calling in their lives.

Rosemary, Mikseng's wife, had a wonderful experience too. As she went down to the ground under the power of God, all we could see was her lying there on the floor for almost half an hour, crying all the while. But she actually had a vision where she was handed a child and was told that she would be a "mother" (she's already a mother of three) to many people. As soon as she got up from the vision and stood up from the ground, a lady who was with a child wanted Rosemary to hold her baby as she was preoccupied with something else. Rosemary recalled the vision where a child was handed to her. A little later, Rupa (Dilip's wife, who had joined me and my family for this trip) went up to Rosemary and said, "When you went down, I felt the Lord told me to tell you that you're going to be a mother not only of your kids but also a spiritual mother to many". Rosemary was simply dumbfounded as she hadn't told anyone about the vision yet.

Then another brother who attended the sessions along with his family received a prophecy from me that he would father many young people and that he would disciple them with a loving fatherly heart, etc., etc. He kept weeping after that. After the session, during our introduction, I came to learn that he was actually a cop. Then I wondered how a cop would actually disciple young people with a fatherly heart. "Was I wrong?" I asked myself. But then he told me that the Lord had confirmed His calling upon his life. I still wondered how. On Monday evening, we were invited by this very brother and his family for dinner. When we reached his home, which is a government police quarter, I saw a calendar on the wall. On it was written in bold letters, "Eagle's Wings Ministry". When I inquired about it, I was surprised to learn that he was actually the guy running this ministry among the youths of his church. Then he shared with me how young men from his church would actually come and share their problems and burdens with him, although someone else is the pastor there. I could go on with other similar stories, but this would suffice for now, I guess. However, God taught me to trust Him always when I'm doing His job.

On the last day of the last session, some other pastors/leaders also came for the meeting. These were old-time friends of mine in the ministry. That night, after the teaching sessions, I felt stirred to motivate and instill a hunger in them to pray and seek God's face for revival in the Garo Hills. When we did that, people began to cry their lungs out to God. The thing that amazed me most was the sight of small children and young people who were strongly crying out to God. Mikseng and Rosemary's second daughter, Grace, seemed to be the loudest. Later, Mikseng told me that since his visit to Shillong last month (October), along with Grace and being exposed to the revival stories and happenings here, and after returning home to Chitoktak, she would cry in a similar fashion at home whenever they'd pray for revival in their land. She's about 7 years old. During this prayer, my wife, Anu, had a vision of the hills being caught on fire. As some of those visiting brothers sang a revival song, the rest of the crowd continued to pray and cry out to God to pour out His Spirit on their land. That night it was past 10 p.m. And people wouldn't move from their seats to go home. Some continued to pray. I jokingly told them that they should get used to late-night meetings, for that's what happens in revival. People don't seem to feel hungry, thirsty, or even sleepy. And how could they be? When the One who fills all in all is tangibly present with them all the time.

On Monday, Mikseng took me on his two-wheeler scooter to another village called Sosatgre, which is approximately one-and-a-half hours ride from Chitoktak. This village is slightly on a higher altitude compared to Chitoktak and therefore a little cooler in climate. The house of the host won my heart. The walls and the floor of the house were made with bamboo that was flattened and woven together, and had a thatched roof, and the whole house was raised on stilts with quite a spacious area of land in front. We were greeted by the man of the house and his family. Two other families had already been there for the meeting. In all, these three families comprise the church here, although there are other believers from the Baptist and Charismatic groups also living in this village. We were quite hungry when we reached there, and after a sumptuous Garo lunch, we sat down for the meeting. I wasn't at all prepared what I should be sharing for this gathering. Back in Chitoktak, when I prayed about it, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me not to worry about it and that as soon as I sit down for the meeting, He will tell me what I should share. On the road, I forgot what He had spoken to me and was about to ask Mikseng for his suggestion regarding what he felt I should share when the Holy Spirit promptly reminded me of what He had spoken earlier. This happened more than once, and every time, He would remind me what He had already spoken to me earlier. So three couples, their children, and Mikseng and I began to sing. No sooner had the song endedthan  the Lord said to me, "Narrate the Khasi and Jaintia Hills revival story to them". Two ladies couldn't help but cry throughout the time of my sharing. I concluded by envisioning a similar revival in their land, too, and led them to pray for it. Again, the Holy Spirit filled these people as they began to cry and pray and intercede before God. It was late in the afternoon, and soon it would get dark, so we thought to take their leave. But since the Holy Spirit was working in them powerfully and they were lost in crying out their hearts to God, we thought it better not to disturb them and so quietly slipped away from the house after informing one of the men there. Again, the Holy Spirit taught me how to hear His voice and trustfully obey it.

A hunger for revival has been birthed in the saints there, and they're starting to pray and seek God's face for revival, and we in Shillong are also praying for them. Garo people do not inhabit Garo Hills only, but have also been living for hundreds of years in large numbers in Assam, Bangladesh, Nagaland, and other parts of the states of North-east India. I'm sharing this piece of information because I picture what would happen when revival hits Garo Hills. Besides, of course, Garo Hills, Assam would be affected, Bangladesh would be affected, and maybe Nagaland and other places too.

Thanks for all your prayers, and please do remember to pray for God to deepen the hunger in the lives of the saints to seek God with all their heart and mind, and for God to send revival in the Garo Hills.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Heavens Open

HEAVENS OPEN

(Barkos Warjri)

The call came at 2208hrs on 20 October 2006. The message was short and curt. I was asked to call an old college mate in about twenty minutes. His name was K… I knew he was involved with a lot of Bible Studies and counselling and praying for people during the current revival. It could only mean one thing. There was some important news. An SMS from my sister came. ‘Any news?’ she asked, as if she was also sensing something. There was nothing yet, I told her. I called up K… after twenty-two minutes. The mobile phone was switched off. I waited thinking that he must be talking or praying with people. His phone was still in that position even after 45 minutes. I decided to call another number where I knew I could catch him. He had just left.

My wife’s cousin decided not to keep me on tenterhooks any longer. ‘Angels,’ she said. ‘Angels appeared in Smit, but please get the full details from K… who was there. I called up K… this morning and got the story.

On Thursday, 19 October 2006, he had gone to Smit to give a Bible Study. A young girl from Sohra area who had been seeing miraculous visions had come to meet him that day. She went along with him to the Bible study. Bible studies are no longer small group meetings in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills these days. They are more like crusades. The church building was full and so were the church lawns. The young girl with visions had given her testimony, and had said that God would do wonderful things that night. God had been doing so many wonderful things that people half expected what would happen. That night, however, it was something a bit beyond the ordinarily wonderful things they had been used to. It was not simply a response to God’s word or miraculous visions (which are usually poured out to dozens of children nowadays). Heavens would open.

Towards the end of the meeting at about 9 pm, the congregation was singing a song, which had become very popular during this revival, ‘The Angels Sing.’ Suddenly there was a noise and commotion outside. The young girl with many visions said, “Let’s go out, God is going to show something to you.” The people outside had seen a bright light like lightning. The heavens towards the north seem to part and some saw what looked like hills, and then a rainbow (it is 9 pm at night). Then there were screams and shouts like, ‘Here, here,’ ‘There, on the right,’ ‘look there on the left.’ There were angels all around! Some fell down in fear or in shock. Some walking on the road dropped to their knees (some bottles of liquor were reportedly found the next morning).

K…, who had come out of the church building, took out his mobile phone and switched on the video camera. A big angel flashed right in the path of the lens. My cousins who saw the picture on the screen last night were still shaken even two hours later. They said they could see the wings and the vague shape of a body. Angels are something we read about and hear of. Not beings we actually expect to see. Some people stunned by the appearance could only scream, bow down or cry, while those inside continued singing. The background sounds were captured on K’s mobile phone video.

There was only one big angel, the one who was caught on K’s camera. There were however, a host of small angels flashing in and out of view. All the angels appeared only in flashes. It sounded, to me, like the story of the herald angels announcing to the shepherds, the coming of Jesus.

In the meantime the northern sky continued to play like the side stage. A bright sword was seen by some, and some others a bright cross. A senior pastor married to my aunt, came out of the church building. He had been sceptical during the initial periods of the revival. “What do you think of this?” I ventured. “Think of what?” he asked, “I saw it with my own eyes! I saw the northern sky towards the Himalayas, and there was this bright cross, clear and bright up there. I was not alone! Several of us saw. Then I saw another cross, closer.”

I had recently had a long conversation with him when I visited Shillong. I sensed now he was speaking with the excitement of one who was a part of something big happening, and I could no longer trace the scepticism in his words. However I could not resist probing a little more. Knowing him to be a thinking pastor, an intelligent and bright student, I asked how this fitted in to his theology. “Do you remember what Joel said? What is written there is happening. These are miracles,” he said, “When God does miracles how can we explain? These are beyond human explanations. I have seen and I believe.” I remembered those who do not see and yet believe. I had spoken to three eyewitnesses. They were excited, but how much can they be excited when God seems to be literally pouring out his Spirit all around?

Two weeks ago the same pastor had met a young boy of seven in a remote village. He had become unconscious one day, and had a vision. When he woke up the pastor asked him what happened. He said he had been to heaven, and as with many children who had visions of heaven or Jesus, he said that he did not want to return. Jesus had told him that he had to return for now and the boy had reluctantly found himself in the company of ordinary humans like this pastor. When asked if he had anything to say to anyone, he simply said, “Read Matthew 3.2.” Children of seven do not normally think of such verses, and certainly not someone who could hardly read.

Another story was telling in its simplicity. National Highway 44 connects the states of Mizoram, Tripura, and the plains of Cachar to the rest of the country, through the Jaintia Hills and Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. An empty refrigerated truck was returning after delivering its load of fish from Andhra Pradesh, in Silchar. The driver, also from Andhra, stopped at Bapung, in Jaintia Hills, that evening and heard singing from the Bapung Presbyterian Church. Something about the singing drew him to the church. He went and even took part in the singing even though he did not know the language. He left after praying with some of the counsellors from the church.

Yet another impresses the listener with the same message, which God seems to be drumming into our ears – the time is near. A deacon from the Iewrynghep Presbyterian Church (near Mawlyngngot), in East Khasi Hills, in a vision in his bedroom one night, saw a big angel about to blow the trumpet, but something made him pause and he dropped his arm. Almost all the children having visions repeat this same message, the door is about to be locked, or the book is about to be closed.

...............................

24th/Oct/2006, 9 a.m., Shillong, India

Post Script

My dear friend Barkos was kind enough to send me the news and clip of video taken by his friend on his mobile/cell-phone. The video wasn't clear enough as could be expected with the quality of most of the mobile phone videos. However, bright objects flapping their wings is visible. And as described above, one of the angel swoops up right at the path of the camera. The screams and noise of the crowd, "there, over there", "wow! so many", "over here", "oh, it's shining" etc., could be heard. I watched the clip repeatedly and was shaken for quite some time.

We know God's angels are around us. It's just that they're not visible to us, of course, with the exception of some as in the case above. So this is not something for us to be either confounded or sceptic about. And as long as whether angels or even God Himself is invisible to us, we've to remind ourselves what Jesus so emphatically stated to Thomas, "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29)

Click here to watch the video clip

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Seven Angels

18th/Oct/2006, 10:45 a.m., Shillong, India

Last night during a meeting with my church folks I got to hear some amazing things. A young brother whom I know personally and who's a close friend of one of our church family members shared with them what happened to some people living in his locality in Pynthorumkhrah.

First, there's this girl, probably in her early teen, Khasi and from a nominal Christian background. She has two siblings from her step-father's side. Sadly, she used to be ill-treated at home and expected to carry out the household chores most of the time. Just recently, one evening she was outside her house in the dark when suddenly she was possessed by some demonic spirit. Her hands were tight closed toward her chest in a cross position as if she was bound with a rope. She was brought in the house and some believers living in the surrounding came to pray for her. But they were faced with strong resistance from the evil spirit and the hands wouldn't be loosened at all. Later, still some more believers poured in and this time there were some pastors too. The pastors anointed her hands with oil and prayed for her. This time she was delivered. She actually saw the demonic spirit leaving her body. But at that time as soon as she was released she fell down on the floor and became unconscious for some time. Later when she came to her senses she had some amazing story to tell. Actually, when she fell down unconscious on the floor her spirit left her body and she went to heaven. She saw many angels there. And as she approached towards them one of the angels told her that it was not yet time for her to be there and that she needed to return back to earth. At this, she reiterated and pleaded not to be sent back to the world by saying to the angels that the world is filled with so much wickedness and that she would prefer not to return back. But the angel told her that she needed to go back and tell the world that the time for Jesus to return is more than ever imminent. It'll be soon and very soon that He would return for His Bride and that She needs to be ready for His return. Beside that, the angel also told her that the revival here would pick up greater momentum and that a much greater revival is on the threshold. This came to me as a confirmation to what I had written in one of my reports on revival. And that is exactly the reason why that as a church we gather every Tuesday evening without any agenda but only to seek the face of the Lord for more of the outpouring of His Spirit in our land.

The girl's parents are now turning to the Lord and attending meetings regularly.

Secondly, another incident took place in the same location i.e. Pynthorumkhrah. Just a couple of days ago two ladies, one Khasi (probably a Christian) and another a Hindu, witness an event at the same time one evening. What they saw was a group of seven illuminating stars in the dark sky. These stars became brighter and brighter and suddenly transformed into seven angels. Then immediately these seven angels took off to seven different directions. That was it, but what a profound message for us to unravel. Once again, it seems, that the Lord is sending His seven stars which are actually seven angels of the seven churches, to speak to His Bride (Rev 1:20). And I believe that the message the angel gave to the girl I mentioned above is the primary message for us to hear - to prepare ourselves for the Lord's imminent return. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are written in Heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect (Heb 12:22-23)

(The Hindu lady who saw this vision exclaimed to the Christian around, "your God is a true God!" and is now expressing her desire to follow Christ).

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Revival At Latyrke, Jaintia Hills

4th/Oct/2006, 4:31 p.m. Shillong, India

Yesterday, our landlady's grandchildren who goes to college here in town returned back from their village and I was thrilled to hear from them first-hand that revival broke out in their village too. They told me that it actually started with the Christian families who were praying in their homes. Soon it spread all around and now every evening they gather in their chapel where God is using small children to bring adults to repentance. "Their prayers sounds like the noise of a rushing water", I was told. The church leaders have taken out the benches and spread carpet instead inside the hall.

The dialect spoken in this region is different from the Khasi language of Shillong (East Khasi Hills District). And yet, these children would be heard praying in fluent Khasi although the villagers knows well that they actually don't know that language. I can agree to this without doubts because I recall being in one of these villages long time ago for a meeting where I actually found out that even the adults there (who most likely would've been in constant touch with the Khasis and the city of Shillong) would at times struggle to speak in the language that these kids were now using to pray with ease and fluency.

Again, it's mostly children and young people who are experiencing this revival. And although, the adults and older generations have not been touched the way these children are with all the supernatural manifestations, the good news is that there's repentance and transformation taking place in their lives. Drunkards are giving up their habits of drinking and are sobering up in the Lord. And others of immoral character could be seen attending the meeting every evening. Hallelujah!

This indeed is a season of a powerful encounter with the Living God.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Intense Warfare

4th/Oct/2006, 11:35 p.m., Shillong, India

We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. (Eph 6:12, CEV)

The revival in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya (India) which continues to spread from one place to another, is however, not without the spate of backlash from the enemy of our soul. There has been criticism from some circles of both Christian and Non-Christian individuals and media against this move of God. Sometimes, journalists while reporting about the revival account tends to conclude with a negative note as was evident on the website of an internationally renown media.

In some schools the authorities threatened the students experiencing revival to be expelled, apparently, disruption of the class and school lessons being the reason alleged. But probably there would be other reasons too viz., prejudice, anti-charismata or even anti-Christian sentiments and the like.

And yet the intensity of the warfare is not with human individuals or any other organization for that matter whether they be Christian or Non-Christian, although as the apostle Paul said, we aren't ignorant of the wiles of Satan (2nd Cor 2:11). It has however, to do with demonic spirits appearing to some in vision or even in person thwarting and threatening them from pursuing after God. Needless to say, there have been cases where such evil spirits have tried to fake the anointing. At first, people under the possessions of such demonic spirits seem to fall to the ground just like those believers under the genuine anointing. However, soon they'll become very violent, at times trying to tear the Bible and some will even call themselves, "Lucifer" or "666". When this happens, believers will normally rally themselves around such person and in Jesus' name cast the demons out. In fact, such moments turns into a time of celebration of the glorious victory in the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ!

Apparently, most of these churches experiencing revival have hardly been exposed to the teaching of spiritual warfare and the Charisma probably with the exception of some. As such, at times there are the possibilities of things getting out of hands. But perhaps this would have been a perfect timing for the Body of Christ here to come together as one in trying to help each other in containing and as someone said, in "pastoring the revival" in our land. To that end, please pray in particular for the leadership in every churches, especially those which are experiencing revival, that they would have godly wisdom and anointing to encourage and lead people into the presence of God instead of discouraging them. Also, that the revival here wouldn't be short-lived but would actually grow in intensity and continue to spread in every single village and city.

Let's pray like Moses, "Show me, I pray thee, thy glory" (Ex 33:18).

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

God's Tangible Presence

23^rd Sept 2006, 9:00 p.m., Shillong, India

Many signs and wonders were taking place among His people. (Acts 5:12)

Earlier today, toward dusk I went to meet a friend of mine, Ridor who’s a Spirit-filled and a devout believer. He belongs to a Presbyterian church where every evening prayer meetings have been going on now for several months. Initially, there was a very powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this place. I was told some young people stayed under the power of God for two to three days continuously. I had a chance to visit this gathering just a couple of hours ago with Ridor. Three men (church leaders) were leading the song, “I surrender all” and the hall seem to reverberate as the whole church sang harmoniously and wholeheartedly. As we entered the hall and join the crowd in singing I could feel a sweet and gentle tangible presence of God. In fact, at one point I felt as if the Lord was walking down the aisle in the middle of the hall. Later after the meeting Ridor shared with me how the presence of God was so strong during the initial phase of these meetings. But later as the leadership began to bring some regulations in the church the manifestation began to decrease. Ridor continued, “Earlier you could feel the Lord walking up and down the aisle”

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

Powerful Conviction

13^th Sept ‘06, 12:50 p.m., Shillong, India

Local newspapers continue to report of believers in different places seeing visions of Jesus and angels, and as such spontaneous prayers and repentances taking place. One thing which is becoming evident among believers as I meet and talk with them is a deep sense of conviction, repentance and transformation taking place. Even people who are known to be walking regularly with the Lord and doing well spiritually are experiencing a sense of hunger for more of God and changes in their lives. Petty sins, shortcomings and weaknesses are no longer being overlooked but dealt with in solemnity and seriousness before the Purifier. Believers are also receiving a new boldness in declaring the Gospel of Salvation to the lost. Non-Christians are beginning to ask questions about Jesus, why He was crucified et al.

We’re not hearing much about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in schools and students these days as much as we do about it in villages. But His work continues especially among those who’ve been touched by Him besides others too. Many church groups in Shillong are experiencing the powerful move of God in almost all their meetings. There is repentance among believers, deliverance, healings and a deeper level of commitment to the Lord and His Kingdom.

I have a feeling that this was the first wave of the outpouring for us here and that it was and still is especially for the younger generations although many adults have been deeply and powerfully touched as well. But now the second wave awaits and I feel that this would have to do with the adult and the other older generations who'll then join in with those young people and children who've already been ignited by the fire of revival (Joel 2:28,29; Acts 2:16-18). Families and homes from one locality to the other will begin to experience what those students did in their schools. When this happens the impact would multiply manifold compare to what’s happening now. In fact, it could probably be worldwide. May it be so! Amen!

Towards that end let us unitedly pray and intercede before our Father.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

God Visits Where The Kids Are - Schools

01/Sept/2006, 10:48 p.m., Shillong, India

Earlier today, during daytime, I got the news that revival had hit the students of All Saints School which is located right in the middle of our city, Shillong. This school is run by the Church of North India, formerly known as the Church of England. We went to witness what was going on.

I met the Bishop of the church and on inquiring I was told that today in the morning just before the starting of the class the students of the higher secondary classes were hit by the power of God. So instead of taking them to their classrooms they were taken to the chapel which is just above their school building. It was already late in the afternoon when I and those with me went inside that chapel. There were people, largely students, their parents, school teachers and some onlookers and there were singings, worships and some noise of shouting and praying going on.

On closer observation I found two young female students lying on the ground. Some people were hovering around them praying for them. I missed what had gone right from the morning but with these two girls it apparently appeared to me as if they had gone through some experiences earlier. After some time those girls regain consciousness and sat on the benches as the rest of the students continued singing and leading songs of worship. I and those with me went and sat down on one of those old big benches. On the bench in front of us were some people bending on one side and praying. Actually there was another girl there lying down and they were praying over her. She seemed to be totally without strength with hardly any movement, her eyes soaked with tears. After some time they helped raised her up to make her sit down. And although her parents and others were there trying to help her she never uttered a single word. She couldn't. Only stream of tears would swell around her eyes and roll down her cheeks. She seemed totally lost in another world.

After some songs one of their prominent church members stood up and made an announcement that those who would want to continue to stay could stay otherwise they were free to leave since the parents of some students were waiting for them. As we left the chapel the students were still singing. But even while we were in that chapel and worshipping the Lord there was a phone call on my cell phone from Ladrymbai in Jaintia Hills, a coal-mining region. A brother from a church where I occasionally visit was on the line but before he could say anything he heard the songs in the background and inquired if I was in a meeting. When I told him what was happening, he remarked by saying that the schools there in Ladrymbai were also experiencing similar move of God.

This is spreading wider and wider now.

As you rejoice in reading this news please continue to pray for the work of God here, especially that the church leaders and those of older generations would also come under the power of God and that this would spread to every Christians, churches of all denominations, families, every institutions, governments and everywhere else.

The prophecy Joel prophesied in Acts 2: 16 - 18 is being fulfilled.

Copyright 2006 Reuben Pradhan

The Shillong Revival

The year 2006 witnessed a powerful move of God in several parts of Meghalaya. Schools and other educational institutions turned into a place for children to come in direct contact with the Holy Spirit. People, especially young children saw the Lord Jesus Christ with their naked eyes, not to mention of the sightings of angelic beings which for sometime became a regular phenomenon. Then there was the daily occurrence of supernatural manifestations that weren’t merely spiritual in nature but also tangible – something that people could see and even feel. Thousands got added to the church and churches that wouldn’t even dare to lift up their hands during worship or pronounce a “hallelujah” saw a complete transformation as the Spirit of the Lord liberated the congregation to worship the Savior in the freedom He has called them to.

Times of Revival tell you that story of revival – a time when Heaven invaded earth!

Copyright 2009 Reuben Pradhan

House Church Problem

THE PROBLEM WITH THE HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT AND A SEARCH FOR THE UNITY OF HIS BODY.
By Andy Zoppelt

We in the house church movement in many ways are taking the same path as those in previous movements. We have accurately pointed out the major faults and flaws in the institutional church: pastor, pews, programs, buildings, indifference, denominationalism, hierarchy-- the list seems a mile long. We all agree that this institutional system of church is absolutely different from what we read about in the early forming of the body of Christ. It is, without exaggerating, a 180-degree turn from what Jesus and the apostles set up in the early church. At this point we all agree. But have we really looked at the sin in our own camp.

Problems that need to be addressed

1. The spirit of division. Most house churches I have visited are quite content in being "us four and no more." Because they are meeting in the shelter of a house, they have turned inward in believing that somehow they are inherently different… even New Testament! Most are having little or no impact on their community, the poor, those in prisons, those in need-- and many are not even impacting missions. They easily have forgotten that even the early house church was never meant to be an end in itself. They have forgotten the responsibility of being connected and functioning locally in the city. They reject others meeting in homes in their same area. We now have micro-division rather than macro-divisions.

Jesus made it clear in John 17 that unity was not an option for His disciples. We are either gathering or scattering, we are either for Him or against Him. We don't have many options if we are truly going to follow Jesus and keep Him at the center. Each group or leader clutches their group as though it were theirs. Whose church is it? Whose people are we? The people are scattering looking for shepherds after His own heart.

2. There is a spirit against leadership. House churches often overreact to the false leadership of the institutional church by denying the biblical need of the five-fold ministry. Their kind of "priesthood of the believer" has denied the ministries function within the body of Christ and denied many of His servants on a universal level. They forget that these ministries are gifts to the church as "God has appointed." (1 Cor. 12:28-21 and Eph. 4:11)

A tremendous price will be paid by denying those whom Jesus sends and anoints. Our individualism and independence have created a false sense of body ministry. Because we deny the diversity of ministry of the universal church, without which we cannot survive in times of shaking, God has withheld from us His power and presence.

Many individuals feel threatened by the experience and revelation of the five-fold ministry and shelter themselves in isolated home meetings. They have forgotten that the diversity of all ministry is not competition but it complements and builds up the body of Christ. This is one reason that the church has such a low level of maturity.

3. No burden for the needy. Ministry has almost come to a complete stop in the house church. When I was an institutional pastor, we would go to the streets to minister and feed hundreds of people. Even the city of Fort Lauderdale stood up and took notice; they asked how they could help. The local newspaper did a full 2-page write-up on us. We went into the jails and nursing homes. We were a light on a hill. Now I feel disconnected from my local brothers rather than us pulling together. The only burden we have is what we shall bring for the meal after the meeting. If we don't have His burden, we cannot know His will, nor can we speak for Him.

4. Giving. Our anti-tithing doctrine has led to a greed where giving is non-existent. It matters little what we believe concerning the tithing issue if our believing doesn't include giving up our selfish attitude toward our finances to pull together locally and trans-locally. If we don't support the poor, we are worse than the institutional church. Paul mentioned over and over his concern for the poor. Jesus said the ministry to the poor was a sign of one being his sheep. Even John questioned the presence of the Holy Spirit being in a person of indifference in 1 John 3:17-18

We often think of homosexuality as the sin of Sodom and the reason that God destroyed it. "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit." Ezek 16:49-50

5. Its conventions are about information not building. Our conventions are no different than the institutional church conventions. We have focused and exalted the prominent speakers to a level of entertainment status. We have experts giving us information while we experience little of the life of the body. Many can't even remember what the speakers have said after the convention. We are more entertained with information expertly presented than a building together. We hope that some holy huddle around a 10-minute break around the table will connect leadership. It is the same old "us four leaders and no more." It becomes exclusive and therefore anti-inclusive. I go to them and feel like a dummy with nothing to add. I feel stupid and am supposed to listen as I sit in my seat as the professionals explain how to do it. I weep and cry to be built with other leaders and am too often disconnected, standing alone. I want to get together in order to pray together, to be one with one another, to share together, to support one another. I am a "lone ranger" in the midst of divisions of every flavor.

When I read the resumes of the speakers, I have flashbacks of institutionalism. Who do we recognize for their suffering, their servant's heart, their loyalty to the sheep? Aren't these the people we need to hear from?

Our meetings are salted with information, strategies, how-to methods, and the spread of house churches. Does this not have the sound of institutional program-ism? We hear much about the why's, how's, and what-to-do in house churches--but we are void of any establishment of being built together and of leaders being reconnected in the body of Christ… true restoration. It pains me to think of all those house churches disconnected in any given locality. Should we not build and not just inform? Is not building an apostolic mandate?

6. a universal disconnect. The universal church, as it is often called, is the unity that gave the early church meaning and power. Without power we are forced to form. Because there is no recognition of the church in the city, there is no understanding of the universal church and the need for universal ministry. The early church started out as a universal church among 120 persons. As it grew, it maintained its universal identity. The church functioned in houses and cities but maintained its identity in universal unity. Leadership was not established in house churches but in the city and in the universal church. Every house church didn't have an elder; but the eldership functioned locally in the city much like Israel. Because there was a universal unity, much of the five-fold ministry could function locally and universally. There were letters from city to city to keep them informed and in communication with one another. There was a body that was connected. Disconnection brings about death. All we need to do is look at our physical bodies for a moment; it has a lot to tell us about being connected and the death that results from being disconnected. How long does it take for a member being separated from the body before it's too late to be reconnected? We need more connection not information.

7. Seeing the house church as the end. Somehow we see the house church in the New Testament as central to changing the world rather than Jesus. In past years I have seen and experienced church emphasis on many issues: Community, government, gifts, repentance, five-fold ministries, discipleship, evangelism … and now the house church movement. The circle of teaching, books, conventions and strategies surround the emphasis. We have come to think that it was the house that changed the world, and we have made it an end.

8. Denominationalism. This is a curse word to those of us who experienced the horrific divisions and competition created out of "naming" a Christian movement. Denominations got their start around some biblical truth or some person. Denominate means "to name". Rarely are we content with just being Christian; we somehow want to name our special movement and separate ourselves from all those who are of "Babylon." It is the name of Jesus that identifies us, not our network. We have subtly fallen into the previous entrapments, which we learned from the institutional church (Babylon) and created streams and networks. We want to box our move under something we can identify as being "us" exclusively. Now, no one will admit this but, the fruit reveals the root of our denominational affiliation. It is a "let-us build" kind of heresy. When the Assemblies of God started around the early part of the 20^th century, it wanted to join the divided Pentecostal movement. Today the Assemblies of God is just another denomination among many. What do we think will happen with all our streams and networks? They to will be become another denomination with a label. Comenius says, "The great number of teachers is the reason of the multitude of sects, for which we shall soon have no names left…"

Where did this come from? Gen 11:1, 4… 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name (denomination) for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.'"

It was the first inclination of Peter when he saw Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah: "Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'"

I can hear it now, "Which tabernacle do you go to?" Once we name it, we divide it. For years I heard these defensive excuses: "We are just setting up networks to …" and then they go on to explain. I just can't see Apollos coming into a city and leading a number of people to the Lord and then setting up a network or stream-sourcing to his apostolic ministry. Denominationalism comes in many forms. If we are of the same carnal nature as the denominationalist, we will find a way to create a name without looking and feeling denominational. In the discipleship movement we found a way to appear non-denominational-- we called our divisions "streams." In that way we could identify who it is we were "under". Later in the restoration movement we created "networks;" names were given to each network and we related to specific leaders, apostles… whatever. The results are the same. We take something that doesn't belong to us and we put our label on it in order to control it and identify with it. Mankind naturally likes names and titles. So in order to build, we need a name. The name identifies who we are and our group; natural successes give us a sense of achievement that we could not achieve individually. There is power in numbers and recognition in names.

9. False Identification. I keep hearing how we in the house church movement are the largest movement in the world. We use China and others in the third world nations to make this point. But there is no comparison between them and us. I met a brother from China a few years ago; his word to me was that we didn't have life, we had form. We have accomplished a form without life… if we dare to be honest. We are not the same as many in the third world nation. They are not what they are because they meet in houses, but because they have life... Maybe we need to identify with their life and not their house meetings.

10. Numbers: When God sent me into the institutional church as a youth pastor, I learned a powerful inside lesson: it was all about success and numbers. We can't get away from success and numbers. When I go to a house church convention, I hear, "How many house churches have you planted?" or "How many are in your house church?" Whoever has planted the most house churches or has the most successful house church is placed on a pedestal. Is that different from the institution? Many real five-fold ministries cannot become manifest if we continue to judge by such a narrow standard.

11. There is no room for a strong word. We organize till we paralyze. We have created a comfortable environment and a box, which we protect with tooth and claw. Institutionalism is based on organizing to the point where God has no place for moving outside the program or box. I am convinced we need a good strong and hard word now and then. A famous man of God once said, "If you have not gotten a hard word from God, I doubt that you know Him."

I remember one time I invited Art Katz to speak in our church; he blasted us and pointed out every problem. I must say, I loved it. We need to make room for others to speak into what we are doing. Conventions are afraid that "confusion" might set in if such a place is made for this to happen. But we admit that in our local house church meetings we face many hard issues all the time. I had times I wanted to close down the meeting and get with God alone, but if I did, I would have missed the life that comes from confrontation and conflict. Do we organize house churches to end any confusion? No, because to the patient, it is fertile soil to grow.

12. Where do we go from here? If the power of Pentecost was because of the disciples of Jesus and the unity of the body coming together, just maybe we should consider such a humbling position. Let us throw away our differences and come together and pray, fast, and serve one another. Let us let God put us together, build us together. Let us fall in love with Him and one another--no matter how long it takes and no matter what it takes. We cannot dodge such important issues as love, unity and fellowship. Without love we all are nothing and are building on sinking sand. If we don't learn from history, we will repeat it.

So who am I to make such a request to other leaders? I am nobody, so let's get me out of the picture, something we often don't do, and let's consider a real restoration of the body of Christ. I know that this is the cry of many leaders to whom I have talked and written.

The suggestion I have heard from many is that we meet together and talk first. Then, if God leads, maybe we could have some real weeping between the porch and the altar and repent (Joel 2). Maybe God would give us a prophetic word, where we could sound the alarm on His holy mountain. We need to blow the trumpet with a clear warning and a true word from God in this day of shaking. Let us come together-- because it is good for the brethren to dwell together in unity. It is there He proclaims the blessing… something we all need. Let the Lord separate the wheat from the chaff, but let those who are willing in the day of His power come together.

Dare we come together in unity and build upon Jesus?

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(Published with permission from the author at http://www.therealchurch.com/)

(Please ignore the watermark "Written by Reuben Pradhan" below. It's there by default).