Signs & Wonders Blog

Today is Clergy Appreciation Day. Sadly, many believers use the Internet to criticize preachers they don't like. Some think particular individuals shouldn’t be in the ministry. The truth is God calls the most unlikely people. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says,  “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” If someone told me over thirty years ago I would be an evangelist, I wouldn’t have believed them. I sought a career in the recording industry and also worked as a disc jockey. Becoming a minister was the furthest thing from my mind. My life radically changed after I got born again on March 19th, 1991. As a young Christian, God used some of my natural abilities to do His work, such as duplicating cassettes in my church’s tape ministry. Eventually, spiritual gifts developed as I stepped out and followed the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Consider these individuals God u...

Several decades ago a dairy farmer and his wife in North Carolina held a prayer meeting. One of the things they prayed for was someone in their area who would go on to have a massive worldwide ministry. Their prayers were answered through their own family. On November 7, 1918, the dairy farmer's wife gave birth to William Franklin Graham Jr.   It is widely believed Billy Graham preached the gospel to more people (an estimated 215 million) than anybody else in history. He was also a spiritual adviser to multiple U.S. presidents. In an era when preachers are not as respected as they used to be, Billy was constantly on the upper rungs of Gallup's List of Widely Admired People. During the late 1990s, I worked at World Wide Pictures , the film ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. My job there was calling pastors throughout the United States scheduling evangelistic films to be shown in their churches. Although telemarketing work can get tedious, my job at...

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 ...

Three years ago I reconnected with a pastor who used to work with me at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. One day at his church, we got into a discussion about how pastors should be treated. My friend had congregation members calling him by his first name despite asking to be addressed as “Pastor Lee.” Romans 13:7 tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. Civil authorities expect to be addressed by certain titles. Courtroom judges are called “Your Honor.” Policemen are often addressed as “Officer.” If you were a White House guest, you would refer to Barack Obama as “Mr. President.” If you lived under a monarchy, you would address your king or queen as “Your Majesty.”   While serving in the U. S. Army, I quickly learned to address my superiors the right way or I would get in trouble. If a noncommissioned officer such as a sergeant gave me an order, I was expected to respond, “Yes, sergeant.” If I accidentally addressed him as “Sir” (a title reserved for office...

This past Monday I initially woke up just after midnight. Unable to fall back to sleep, I went online for a couple of hours. Through Facebook friends, I found out a well-known preacher went home to be with the Lord hours before. Steve Hill, best remembered as the evangelist God used to spark the Brownsville Revival, died after a long battle with cancer. He was 60 years old. Born in Ankara, Turkey to a military family but raised in Alabama, Steve Hill got caught up in a lifestyle of drugs, alcohol, and crime. On October 28, 1975, Steve’s life changed when a Lutheran minister stopped by his house. Steve got born again not by going through the Four Spiritual Laws, the Romans Road, or some other popular witnessing method. The minister simply encouraged Steve to repeatedly call on the name of Jesus and was instantly delivered from drug addiction. Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” A few weeks later, Steve was arrested due to unlawful ac...

During the late 1990s, I worked for World Wide Pictures, the film ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.   My job there was calling pastors throughout the United States scheduling evangelistic films to be shown in their churches as part of an outreach event.   Although telemarketing work can get tedious, my job at World Wide Pictures was quite enjoyable.   Most of the time, I talked with pastors and church secretaries who treated me courteously even if they weren’t interested in booking a film. Occasionally I spoke with individuals who were critical of Dr. Graham (some of my co-workers labeled them “Billy bashers”).   One objection that regularly came up was that Billy is “too ecumenical.”   The New Oxford American Dictionary defines ecumenical as “promoting or relating to unity among the world's Christian churches.”   One can aim to unify the body of Christ without compromising the integrity of the gospel.   Jesus Hims...