90 Yr Old Pastor... Going Strong

I certainly didn't intend to write another blog born out of  the AG News email that I receive, not this soon, anyway... but this one is too good to pass up.  It is about a 90 year old pastor who has served for 72 years already and is not about to retire. He leads a congregation of 125 and has an international ministry!!!

The AG News article reported that DiBiase travels several times a year, taking the gospel to Italian and French audiences around the world.  In 2011, DiBiase visited Germany, Holland, Belgium and Italy.    

Carmine DiBiase  has no plans to slow down, much less retire!   If you respond as I did...it will take a few minutes to recover from the shame of using age as an excuse to be lazy in serving the Lord.  I included a few paragraphs from the article just to fill you in a bit on this remarkable man who has a passion for sharing the gospel.

"Almost a year ago, DiBiase transferred his credentials to become an ordained Assemblies of God minister.  He received his initial AG credentials at the oldest age of any currently official AG U.S. minister.

DiBiase, senior pastor of the Church of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, was previously associated with the Pentecostal Assemblis of Canada and the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies.

DiBiase worked closely with the AG during his 72 years of ministry.  He has supported and promoted Teen Challenge for many years, recently helping found a Teen Challenge Center in Belgium.

What keeps him going at age 90?  He stated that it is his passion that keeps him going.  Obviously, he lives in the love of the Lord.  His passion must be one that is enthusiastic, fervent, personal and endearing!

Passion is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction; a strong liking, desire for, or devotion; ardent affection; love.

A “big” passion for God means that every fiber of our being is drawn to God and given to God.

Now I understand what drives this 90 year old pastor to continue serving the Lord with such zeal...and it may be his passion that has extended his profitable life to age 90 and going strong.

Passion.  It's something to think about.  We know whether we have it or not.  Could passion be the missing element in our life?  It sure is something to think about...

This Ole House

This ole house once knew my children
This ole house once knew my wife
This ole house was home and comfort
As we fought the storms of life
This ole house once rang with laughter
This ole house heard many shouts
Now she trembles in the darkness
When the lightnin' walks about

This ole house is a-gettin' shaky
This ole house is a-gettin' old
This ole house lets in the rain
This ole house lets in the cold
On my knees I'm gettin' chilly
But I feel no fear or pain
'Cause I see an angel peekin'
Through a broken window pane

Now this ole house is afraid of thunder
This ole house is afraid of storms
This ole house just groans and trembles
When the night wind flings its arms
This ole house is a-gettin' feeble
This ole house is a-needin' paint
Just like me it's tuckered out
But I'm a-gettin' ready to meet the saints

And my old hound dog lies a sleepin'
He don't know I'm gonna leave
Else he'd wake up by the fire place
And he'd sit down, howl and grieve
But my huntin' days are over
Ain't gonna hunt the coon no more
Gabriel done brought in my chariot
When the wind blew down the door

Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer
Ain't a-gonna need this house no more
Ain't got time to fix the shingles
Ain't got time to fix the floor
Ain't got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend no window pane
Ain't gonna need this house no longer
I'm a-gettin' ready to meet the saints
I'm ready to meet the saints

This Stuart Hamblen song, takes me  waay  back .... I remember it well...Hamblen wrote this for RCA Victor in1954.  But the greater story about Hamblen is this:  After a measure of success he became involved in gambling and alcohol....But in 1949, Stuart's wife, Suzy, persuaded him to attend a prayer meeting which was held by Billy Graham in Los Angeles.  There he made a decision to follow Christ.  He began traveling across the country - involved in Youth for Christ rallies .... various churches....and Billy Graham crusades.

The old house in the above photo caught my eye.  I snapped the picture and immediately thought of the song, This Ole House.  It's fitting.  So are the few lines written by Hamblen:

When you see me fall asleep,

say amen but don’t you weep,

I’ve got so many million years

that I can’t count them.”

Mr. Hamblen, we'll see you one day - and we'll join you in celebrating for all those many million years....so many we can't count them.

God Brought Atheist Group to Pentecostal Meeting!

When you read about God doing something exciting and different, so different that you know it was God,  it's worth sharing.

Assembly of God NEWS #2053: February 8, 2012

The Non-Theist Society at Purdue University recently held a provocative fundraiser called the "Send an Atheist to Church" food drive.  Apparently recognizing that churches and Christian groups are the target audiences when it comes to raising money for the needy, the group promised they would attend a service of whichever church or Christian student organization donated the most money to its food drive for Food Finders (a local pantry).

"Our students seized the opportunity and together donated more than $300 to win the challenge," says Linda Seiler, director of the Chi Alpha group at Purdue.  "That's the most money any group on campus has given since the food drive began several years ago."

Seiler says that they invited the Non-Theist Society to attend the January 13th meeting - the first Friday night meeting of the semester.  She says she was only expecting a few to show, but the president of the group said he had been  impressed by the enthusiasm of Chi Alpha and had encouraged his entire group to come.

With Chi Alpha students warmly welcoming and intermingling with non-theist members, Seiler says there was little doubt God had orchestrated the event.  "When worship began, it was powerful as the presence of God was undeniable," Seiler says.  "The students couldn't stop praising God for His goodness.  Waves of His presence washed over us again and again. . . what better argument for the existence of God than His tangible presence manifesting among us?"
  
Following worship, Seiler spoke on the goodness of God based on Genesis 3 and the gospels.  "The non-theists were incredibly attentive, and there were moments where I could tell God was speaking directly to them,"  Seiler says.  After the message, students were to divide into groups to talk for 10 minutes or so, but those conversations continued until Seiler had to close the room for the evening.

After the meeting, the president of the non-theist group approached Seiler.  "He told me he loved it (the meeting and that he had never been anywhere where he felt such passion in the room, especially during worship," Seiler says.  "He said, 'I know I experience it in a different way than you do, but when you all were singing songs, I could tell it was powerful."

Another non-theist group member showed Seiler a list of questions he now had and wanted to know if he could join a Chi Alpha Life Group to talk more; a third non-theist met with a Chi Alpha intern a week later to ask more questions.
 
"I recently learned that one of our Chi Alpha members started attending the Non-Theist Society meetings in order to maintain a connection with them," Seiler says.  "The young man is a former atheist and has a heart for reaching people for Christ - and he's inviting them to attend "The Problem of God Symposium" we're helping to host later this month."
Seiler says that she is excited about the possibilities and the doors that have opened to communicate the gospel to students.  "Many of these students are hearing and experience the gospel message for the very first time in their lives," Seiler says.  "We're praying that the seeds planted with come to fruition in the lives of Nick and the rest of the non-theists."
For more information about the Chi Alpha at Purdue, see http://www.xapurdue.com. To learn more about the national Chi Alpha program, see http://www.ChiAlpha.com.
--Dan Van Veen