So I’m reading this great book that I’ve leant to people and recommended to everyone, but never read.  Go figure, huh?  Anyways, the book is “Red Moon Rising,” which chronicles the history of a prayer movement that arose in Europe at the exact same time that God began raising up houses of prayer (especially IHOP) in the United States.  The prophetic testimony of this group is remarkably similar to IHOP’s and its making me step back and stand in awe of God again.  Only He could organize something so profound and beautiful as a world-wide prayer movement. 

 Anyways, as I read the book I’ll post little quotes that I find powerful and insightful.  Hope you enjoy.

So our Wednesdays have been spent lately spending time with our friends E.J. and Amber, getting together and encouraging each other in life, God, and anything else that comes up. 

Lately, though, we’ve been looking for a little more intentional meeting, and so we’ve begun to study the book of Revelation.  None of us have done a real intense study on the book before, so we’re trying to come to the text with fresh eyes and a heart open to revelation the Lord gives us. Lately I’ve been surprised at how much the Lord has shown me as we’ve studied together. Tomorrow I’ll probably try and post a teaching based on what we found on Wednesday on “Jesus, The Church, and The Coming Kingdom.”

But this Bible Study made me soar for another reason than just gaining revelation on the end of the age. I keep thinking about the E12 groups that IHOP formed shortly before we left.  I love the idea of believers gathering to understand the end of the age by engaging in a serious study of the word.  But now we’re actually doing it!  We’re actually beginning to prepare for the end of the age by studying end time events in scripture.  I’m sure they’ll be more to come…

So I drug my tired body to city-wide prayer this morning.  Some weeks I have anticipation and joy about gathering with believers early in the morning, some weeks I just have weariness.  My friend and mentor John tells me this prayer meeting is the thing I do that he most enjoys but that hasn’t always helped me at 6:00 A.M. in the morning.

Anyways, today I was surprised by the Lord.  I ran into two more of my 50,000 coaches at this prayer meeting.  The funny thing about your 50,000 coaches is that you never know who they are.  They could be living with you…you can see them every week…and you may never know they are your coach until the right moment.  Or they might be people you’ve never really talked to.

One of my 50,000 coaches is Duane McLean.  Duane is great.  He has more enthusiam for Jesus at any given moment than anyone I’ve ever met. As soon as Duane heard that I want to begin planting house churches, he started telling everyone.  Today, he introduced me to Todd Kleppe.  Now, I’ve met Todd before, but when I sat down with Todd I found out that he’s been pastoring a house church for the last 7 or 8 months. 

 Todd told me this great story about his house church.  A month or two back a guy came to their house church for some help dealing with spiritual issues.  He was involved in New Age and looking for some help.  In the time this guy spent with Todd, he was baptised in the Holy Spirit, freed up from some stuff that was holding him back, and went back to the state he came from and planted his own house church! 

 I just have to say that this is what I love about house churches.  The fact that someone can randomly connect with a house church, find healing, freedom, and a new experience in God and then leave and plant his or her own house church blows my mind.  Its a little portion of the book of Acts beginning to happen again in our day.  And it will happen more and more as we start to live out the principles we find in the New Testament.

So, I had to go to work, so I cut our meeting short.  But before I left Todd prayed for me and asked God to give me the boldness to step out and do what God is calling me to do.  It was great.  I left knowing that this thing that God is orchestrating around the globe is real and beginning to happen here.  And I have two more names to add to my list of 50,000 coaches.