THE GOOD 'OLE DAYS

Occasionally, I sit back and do a bit of nostalgic reminiscing and think about the good ‘ole days. You know, the ones that everyone tells us were not good. They were suffocating and restrictive if you believe what atheists say and deprived us of the right to do whatever we liked.

For me that is not the case. I was brought into this world by parents who did not want me, who dumped me on a family during the war years and never came back. Life was very hard, full of disappointments and poverty and no real future.

Yet that is not what I remember. What I remember is the joy that salvation has brought.

I remember being brought up in a little country Baptist church that made it a priority to get people involved in the life of the church. Sunday school, Boys Brigade, Youth Club, Sunday school teacher, Junior Brigade officer, preaching and leader meetings and so on.

The same church made sure that it gave people a love for the word of God and prayer. We were encouraged to feed on it daily and I cannot remember missing a midweek prayer meeting.

I remember when I was 17 joining up with a group of men who went down to the local docks and boarded a ship and held a service for the crew and shared the gospel with them.

I remember being the assistant youth leader in another church and working with the leader and her husband in their annual youth camps and house parties.

I remember going to the town centre every Saturday evening and sharing the gospel with the young people that used to congregate there.

I remember being part of an evangelism committee made up of representatives from all the churches in the town.

I remember praying every Tuesday evening with the pastor and a handful of others for revival to come to the Baptist church I was part of.

I remember six months later God spoke and revival came.

I remember most of us not having two cents to rub together but who cared?

I remember going to a Brethren Bible College and learning my doctrine in a more concrete way and lots of opportunities to become better at sharing the word of God and increasing my passion for the kingdom of God.

I remember getting the college to change the rule that said we had to wear jacket and tie to all meals even if it was hot (it happened occasionally in the UK). About a dozen of us turned up for lunch one hot day with jacket and tie…but no shirt. The Bursar relented and changed the rule.

And who can forget the day that an angel saved my life in a head on car collision.

I remember finding a wife and as a result becoming part of the charismatic Brethren assembly she attended, one that came about because of the move of God in the 60s in the UK. Brethren Elders who were baptised in the Holy Spirit and spoke in unknown tongues were told to forget it or leave the assembly.

Many left and met for fellowship in their homes and as a result many developed into vibrant life changing communities. A popular saying was “if you only have the word you dry up. If you only have the spirit you blow up”. And the third “If you have both you grow up” was never better personified in a charismatic Brethren Assembly of those days.

I remember the meetings which had no platform, no pulpit, no preacher, no programme and no “pastor”. All we had was a flow of the spirit that saw everything move in an unending chain of spiritual gifts that was supernatural and edifying.

I remember when we came to Australia and told people about these meetings the first question they always asked was “but what if something went wrong?”

I remember saying that with the faith evident in the meeting and the Holy Spirit in charge it was a rare occurrence for something to go wrong. I said that in 10 years I only remember five times there being anything remotely needing correction.

I remember asking why they thought anything would go wrong when the Holy Spirit was in charge?

Those were the good ‘ole days when right was right and wrong was wrong. When children and teenagers did as they were told. When young people would not think of answering back to an adult. When we were as young people enthused and inspired by the stories of missionaries like Hudson Taylor, David Livingstone, Jim Elliott, Willie Burton and the exploits of Richard Wurmbrand, George Verwer of OM and Brother Andrew of Open Doors. When Jesus and the word was pre-eminent, not prosperity, name it and claim it, not charismatic evangelists and preachers, not vision or mission statements, not church growth principles, not TV evangelists, not 50 versions of the bible, just King James, not gaining the whole world.

No, in the good ‘ole days we just were and we were content with what we had because God promised to meet all our needs, not all our wants. The kingdom of God came before the kingdom of us.

They were the good ‘ole days and I don’t regret one single one of them. In our own small way we were changing the world we knew. Is that you experience?