Signs & Wonders Blog

This past Wednesday, I went with a friend for a drive to Zion, Illinois. This city near the Wisconsin border was founded at the beginning of the 20th century by a preacher named John Alexander Dowie. Originally from Scotland, Dowie had a powerful ministry based in Chicago where God used him mightily in the gifts of healing. However, he wanted to establish Zion as a totally Christian-based society. Possession of tobacco, liquor, and swine's flesh were prohibited within city limits. As Dowie focused on overseeing this new city, his ministry declined, and suffered financial problems before passing away at 59. Roberts Liardon’s book “God’s Generals” details Dowie’s life as well as other preachers whose ministries didn’t end well. One of whom was William Branham. He had gifts in healing and prophecy, but desired to become a teacher. Branham wasn’t knowledgeable enough in the Word. As a result, he drifted into proclaiming unbiblical doctrines such as rejecting the existence of an eterna...

Years ago during a Sunday morning church service, a picture flashed through my mind of a Fisher-Price Corn Popper, a toy some of you might have played with as a child (I remember having one). The interpretation of this vision is that many Christians have colorful gifts that will remain dormant until they start moving. Then those gifts will “pop.” Look at 2 Timothy 1:6-7… “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Many believers quote verse 7 by itself. Truths in Scripture are often revealed when we read particular verses together. Chapter and verse numbers in the Bible were not part of the original Hebrew and Greek texts but were added by translators to help God’s people find specific passages. One reason many Christians are shy and fearful is that they are not using all the natural and spiritual gifts God has put into them.  Tw...

Thirty years ago this month, I got serious about soul-winning. Starting in June 1994, I went out street witnessing with Living Word Christian Center almost every Monday night. I was assigned to a team of usually three people. Within a few months, I felt ready to be a team leader. However, a few more weeks passed before Pastor Nick Kinn ’s assistant asked me to start leading evangelism teams. A year later, I went to work for Billy Graham ’s film ministry World Wide Pictures. I was often the top salesperson of the week. My team leader even suggested our co-workers study my telemarketing techniques. At one point, another team leader position opened that would result in higher pay. I was disappointed the promotion went to someone else. Perhaps the reason was my supervisor knew I would leave in a few months to go back on the mission field (he previously made me agree to stay on the job for one year after I temporarily left to live in Toronto for a season). In the world, individuals wil...

A few days ago, I saw this message posted on Facebook…. “My fiancée wants a wedding and I don't. I want a small ceremony. She wants to use the $16,000 that I have saved up for a home and for emergency funds. I already spent $3,000 on a ring she wanted and that was from my savings. We can’t seem to come to a compromise. I’m willing to spend $5,000 on the wedding and she says that’s not enough. What should I do?” My initial reply was, “Break off the engagement.” I thought this woman was greedy. It would be better to invest more money in the marriage itself. A wedding ceremony plus a reception will last a few hours at the most. Marriage is for a lifetime. Then I remembered something Billy Graham wrote in his autobiography “Just As I Am.” While attending Wheaton College, Billy got engaged to another student named Ruth Bell. Soon they got into a disagreement about their plans for the future. Ruth wanted to be a missionary in Tibet. Billy knew his calling was to preach the gospel t...

The Bible tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. Yesterday was the 70th birthday of the minister most responsible for helping me become a successful soul-winner. Therefore, I’ve written this tribute to him. Alex Nicholas Kinn Jr. was born on August 21, 1951, and grew up just west of Minneapolis. Like myself, he went through confirmation at a Lutheran church that didn't teach the necessity to be born again. Following high school and a brief college stint, Nick was drafted into the U. S. Army and got stationed in Germany. After his discharge, Nick returned to Minnesota and continued being an alcoholic. One night, he caused a drunk driving accident that almost killed six people. Meanwhile, a few Christians had reached out to Nick with the gospel. Two of them happened while he was in the military. Another person had slid a tract underneath his door. A turning point occurred 45 years ago today. After Nick had been out celebrating his 25th birthday, he got down on his knees at 2...

I believe one reason some people shy away from Christianity is seeing passive believers. The Lord doesn’t want us being idle wimps until He returns. When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He said, “Go ye,” not “Sit ye.” Many Christians need a greater revelation of their authority in Christ. As a young believer, I heard my then-pastor share a powerful truth regarding what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18,  “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”   Religious people misinterpret this verse to mean the church is to huddle together while withstanding demonic attacks. However, gates don’t attack anybody. They just stand there.  It’s the church that is to be on the attack. As Jesus said in Luke 19:13 (KJV),  “Occupy till I come.”  To take spiritual ground, we must put on equipment described in Ephesians 6… 13  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be a...

One of my Facebook friends recently posted a meme with this prayer: “Lord, empty me of me so I can be filled of You.” Technically, this is impossible. We are all unique individuals with talents, hopes, and dreams. God didn’t create us to be robots. A Christian can pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then obey His promptings instead of fulfilling selfish desires.  A personal example that comes to my mind happened over twenty years ago. While walking around my neighborhood, I saw five boys playing football in a church parking lot. A thought crossed my mind that when their football landed by me, that would be a sign to witness to them. Seconds later, the football bounced my way when one of the boys made a bad punt. However, I wanted to be by myself and went straight home. God kept telling me to go back. So I put my shoes on and hurried to the parking lot where the boys were still playing. After one of them scored a touchdown, I asked the boys to take a time-out. All five got b...

Years ago when Rodney Howard-Browne first started out in ministry, he was frequently asked to present ordination papers he didn’t have. Ironically once the revivalist got his papers and offered to show them to pastors interested in him speaking at their churches, Rodney was told they weren't necessary. People have asked if I’ve been ordained or licensed as a minister. Yesterday that became official through Christ’s Mandate for Missions . Certainly, there are advantages to having such credentials. One would need them to legally conduct weddings. I hadn’t really sought this but asked the Lord to make it possible in His timing. As an evangelist, my focus has been preaching the gospel on the streets and through the Internet. Nevertheless, I still received invites to minister in churches. Nowadays anyone can show off a certificate declaring themselves a minister. An organization called the Universal Life Church has instantly ordained over 20 million people free of charge. They inclu...

Every believer should be involved in fulfilling the Great Commission. However, only a small percentage of Christians are called to an office of the fivefold ministry (one pastor I know believes it’s about 3%). God also needs people in the marketplace to be a witness and help fund the end-time harvest. Evangelist Stephen Hill often said, “You know you are called to full-time ministry when secular employment is undesirable.” If you perceive God is calling you, then there will likely come a time when He instructs you to step out in faith and leave your job or business. That thought may sound a little scary at first. But if it’s God’s timing, He will make sure your needs are met as long as you follow His instructions. Isaiah 1:19 says, “ If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.”  The transition into ministry and the preparation time involved varies with each individual. Sometimes God calls His people to step out quickly and completely. In Matthew ...

People called to full-time ministry often face the temptation of making things happen by the arm of the flesh. I’ve heard stories about messes ministers created when trying to expand their ministries ahead of God’s timing. Jesus said in Luke 14:11, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” I’m willing to help a brother or sister advance in their calling if the Lord leads me to. Romans 12:10 talks about “giving preference to one another.” Still, I find it annoying when preachers promote their ministries on my web pages without asking first. A few individuals had frequently done this on my Facebook Wall despite my asking them to stop. That prompted me to change my account settings so people could only write comments in response to my articles and praise reports. Then one pastor started posting announcements ( irrelevant to my writings) about various endeavors he was involved in. The first two times I simply removed his posts. A...

Back in 1995, I became friends with another serious soul winner who was part of the evangelism ministry at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Leonard Micklin led hundreds to the Lord apart from the church’s scheduled outings. Often when I arrived prior to an outreach or service, Leonard was sitting in the sanctuary confessing the word. I admired his faith in God meeting his needs without having a job or car. Leonard didn’t seek to promote himself but the gospel. He often wore a baseball cap with the name of Jesus on it and sang praise songs after leading someone to salvation. During one outing in downtown Minneapolis, I was the leader but perceived the Lord wanted Leonard to lead our team for a while. Leonard was reluctant but agreed to do so. Later I learned the heads of the evangelism ministry were already nudging Leonard to become a team leader. Not long after I started working for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Leonard often said, “Say ...

Standing by a river in central Germany I was temporarily living in Toronto in 1996 when the Lord revealed He was calling me to go to Germany. Initially I wasn’t excited about the idea. But by the time I made my third Germany trip in 2003, I would have been content to spend the rest of my life there. Instead God directed me to visit other parts of Western Europe until I returned to America. Since then I’ve mostly spent seasons living on the East Coast and in the Upper Midwest.  One of the greatest frustrations a believer can experience is not knowing where God wants them to be. Many times we need to take action on what we know before He gives us additional direction. In Genesis 12, Abram was directed by the Lord to leave his home country but didn’t receive further instructions until he started moving. You cannot steer a parked car. Lack of provision can also be a sign we’re not where God has assigned us to be. In 1 Kings 17, Elijah was commanded to go to the brook Cheri...

A few days ago I talked with two ministers going through marital issues. One of them had been married for almost twenty years. His wife (a worship leader) recently divorced him because she felt he wasn’t providing for her. Although I respect this minister accepting responsibility for the marital failure, I thought he was being too hard on himself. For one thing, there was infidelity on his wife’s part. Nevertheless, this man had taken on a secular job but knows he is supposed to be in full-time ministry. I reminded him of Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” I went through a similar situation fourteen years ago. One morning after we had been married for only a couple of weeks, my then-wife insisted on us finding “stupid jobs” because we ran out of money. I reminded her we agreed to work for God and trust Him to meet our needs. Later that day I was offered a job at the Christian campground we were staying at. Unfortunately my wife stirred up addit...

All believers should honor their “fathers in the faith”, ministers God used to help them grow spiritually.   One who started impacting my life just before I committed my life to the Lord is Mac Hammond, pastor of Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.   Today happens to be his 70th birthday. Originally from the Deep South, James McBryde “Mac” Hammond served in the Air Force during which he flew 198 combat missions.   After his discharge, he ran a successful airfreight business.   A business acquisition brought Mac and his wife Lynne to the Minneapolis area where they ultimately founded Living Word Christian Center in 1980. I first heard Pastor Mac in February 1991.   My then-girlfriend had started attending Living Word and invited me to go with her one Sunday morning.   Mac was in the midst of a teaching series about end-time prophecy in response to the Gulf War that began a month earlier.   He also encourage...