Serving the last generation of leaders taught me a great deal about the important work and moving of the Holy Spirit. The easiest way to start a revival is to reach church leadership, who love Jesus, and passionate teach his word. One of my favorite passages demonstrating this comes from Acts 18:24-26 "A Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, arrived in the city of Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and knew how to use the scriptures in a powerful way. He had been instructed in the Lord's way and spoke enthusiastically. He accurately taught about Jesus but knew only about the baptism John performed." In other words, He was an evangelical preacher who knew how to lead others to Christ and baptize them." In Acts 19:1-3 Paul arrives and asks, those who came to Christ under Apollos' ministry, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' These new believers at Ephesus responded, "We never even heard of the Holy Spirit." So right out the gate we see Apollos never introduced them to an encounter with the Holy Spirit because he only knew of John's Baptism. Paul then asks (Acts 19:3) "Then what kind of Baptism did you have?" So they responded that they only knew of John's baptism and Paul then introduces them to The Baptism In The Holy Spirit and they begin 'Speaking in Tongues' (Acts 19:6). Apollos could only take them as far as he had gone in his experience. He led this group into understanding who Christ is and their need for water baptism. He was one of the best Evangelical leaders of his day - an eloquent speaker, knew how to use the scriptures in a powerful way and spoke enthusiastically but he was not familiar with the Baptism Of The Holy Spirit. However, Acts 18:26-27 says that Priscilla and Aquila, took him home with them and explained God's way to him more accurately. It is here, I believe he is introduced to the Holy Spirit to Apollos and he leaves Ephesus to bath himself in the understanding of this new testament faith experience. Every believer needs to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit! You can be saved and be assured by the Holy Spirit your are a son or daughter of God but you can remain ignorant of the Baptism Of The Holy Spirit.
Years ago, a funny little man, a Dutch Reformed Minister, named Herald Bredesen came into my life. I had been raised in a Baptist Church that was pastored by a great pastor who graduated from Princeton Seminary and was an eloquent speaker and accurate Bible teacher like Apollos. One day, someone introduced him to The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit and he began to speak in tongues. As a result he introduced it to us. My pastor's encounter of the Holy Spirit can be traced right back to Herald Bredesen introducing the Holy Spirit to members of the clergy throughout the world. He was a bold witness and introduced the Baptism of The Holy Spirit to men and women like Dr. and Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale, Dr. Robert Schuller, and Dr. Pat Robertson. Their lives were changed. In fact, on the occasion of Herald's night of ministry to The Peales; Mrs Peale assigned one of her best editors, John Sherrill, from Guideposts magazine to follow Herald around as he ministered in various places. The result was John received the Baptism Of The Holy Spirit and wrote a book called "They Speak With Other Tongues." This book was read by many Catholic leaders and lead to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Duquesne in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is here that my Baptist pastor was introduced to the Holy Spirit.
Over the years, I had the privilege to travel with Herald. In fact, in 1987 Herald asked me to accompany him to the Vatican where he introduced me to Pope John Paul II. I was amazed to learn the Pope John Paul was Baptized In The Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues all the time. I watched Herald introduce people to Jesus and especially the Baptism In The Holy Spirit unashamed no matter what status in life they held. Why is it that we have so many contemporary pentecostal leaders mixing with great evangelical leaders and not introducing them to the Baptism Of The Holy Spirit? We have a whole generation of great evangelical leaders who have been used mightily like Apollos... but we haven't witnessed a Priscilla, Aquila or even and apostolic leader like Paul being bold enough to ask the questions we find in Acts 18:24-26. I am a baptist boy (age 11) who got Baptized by The Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and laid hands on a 13 year deaf/mute girl who got instantly healed. I have no interest in returning to the franchise I served. God broke me out of my traditions and set me ablaze to share the Baptism Of The Spirit to many people and leaders around the world. I get excited about introducing the Baptism Of The Holy Spirit. Former Assemblies Of God minister, David DuPlessis did the same - why can't pentecostals do the same. When I introduced the Baptism Of Holy Spirit to Rick Godwin, senior minister of the Summit Christian Center in San Antonio, Texas in 1983 - He was a baptist minister, serving a Baptist Church in Atlanta, and was a graduate of Bob Jones University. As a result of his encounter with the Holy Spirit, God revolutionized him and brought him into a new dimension of ministry that went world wide with signs and wonders. In the early 1990's I was honored to introduce Rick to my friends Brian Houston and Pat Mesiti. Rick has been a regular guest at Hillsong for the last 20+ years. It's awesome to see how God works. God can always do it again and again if we would just open ourselves to the work of The Holy Spirit.
I recently saw a posting with my dear friend, Phil Pringle, a great apostolic leader of C3 churches based out of Sydney, Australia preaching at Steven Furtick's Elevation Church just recently. I was greatly encouraged to see Phil there because he is a Holy Spirit man. If anyone will impart "a new dimension of the Holy Spirit" into Steven Furtick's life - Phil will be one of those guys. We need more leaders like Phil who come out of pentecostal cultures and lead a whole new generation into a new move of God. I love Phil... and I love the possibilities of seeing Steven Furtick's generational leaders encountering the Holy Spirit in the same manner at we find here in Acts 18 & 19. Great leaders of the last generation were not afraid to introduce the Baptism Of The Holy Spirit to denominations who never even heard of the experience. A number of years ago, I was directing/producing Che Ahn's Holy Spirit Today Show and arranged for an interview with Cliff Barrows from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Cliff agreed to the interview and shared a very powerful story.
During the interview, Che asked Cliff how Billy Graham and his team got their break. Cliff shared on film that he and Billy Graham had gone to Theneathly, Wales to hear the great preacher Stephen Olford share the gospel. After hearing the young Graham and Barrows approached him to ask how they could be used of God like Olford was being used. He invited them back to his hotel where he laid hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit just like Paul did in this passage. They were both powerfully touched and Billy Graham proclaimed that every believer needed this experience. From that time forward, according to Cliff, Crowds of people came and kept coming to Billy Graham's meetings and millions were saved. He attributed the growth of their ministry to the Baptism In The Holy Spirit. God has placed many contemporary pentecostal leaders in key positions to impact our new post-modern leaders. Just days before his death, Pastor Frank Houston shared with me his concern for the contemporary pentecostal church in Australia. He said, "Mike, they are moving the Holy Spirit right out of their churches. Don't you do that Mike." I responded, "Frank, you don't have to worry about me." My concern for these great 21st century churches is that they will relegate the work of their pentecostal forefathers right out of the life of their churches. It will be the undoing of their movements. The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit is an essential gift promised to every believer. (Acts 2:39-39)
Just for the record my mentors, Herald Bredesen, Judson Cornwall, Malcolm Smith, Jim Burke, Jim Brown, Glen Foster, and John Gimenez instilled the importance of The Baptism In The Holy Spirit as an normal essential experience for all believers. I'm committed to that new testament experience and will not be ashamed of this blessed experience... and will share it with all those I can influence. I hope you will take time to read Acts 1:8, Acts 2, 10:44ff, and 19:1-6 and ask Jesus to Baptize you with the Holy Spirit. How will know you've received it? When you have the experience these early disciples had in the Book of Acts. It's the normal Christian life. It's also imperative to share the "whole" gospel to men like Apollos in our generation.
