#6 What's The Go With This Pastor?

Rainbow lorikeet, photo credit, Lea.

2013 (16AD)

I had joined a new church and was on a phone call with the Pastor, Matthew. Whilst chatting, I was standing in our cul-de-sac in front of our home, with my children and a few of the neighbour’s children playing up and down the street. Matthew and I were discussing preparations for an upcoming children’s conference; as we chatted, we were also getting to know one another a little. The conversation was flowing effortlessly till Matthew asked me a direct question about when I came to know God. I paused before answering.

I had found it a challenge to determine how much to say about my conversion, particularly to church leaders. What was reality to me, was difficult for others to accept at times. Experience told me that my conversion did not sit within the usual ministry formula churches were comfortable with. Some pastors could not accept my experience at face value, and some pastors were not comfortable with people experiencing God so personally, even though this is the predominant way God is represented in the lives of people in the Bible (see post This is Church). So, when Matthew asked me about my faith, before answering, I prayed immediately.

“God, what’s the go with this Pastor? Can I speak honestly with him?”  What I meant was, do I give him the actual story of my conversion, or the lukewarm, moderated translation? Which version did he have the capacity to hear?

Immediately upon finishing my prayer, I heard an almighty sound overhead; I looked up. All the children heard it too; they were scattered 50m up and down and street and they all stopped play and looked up. My daughters called out to me from where they were, asking me what the sound was. The rapid, vibrating sound carried the volume of thunder immediately overhead, and was beyond any sound I had heard on this earth. I saw a flock of birds fly silently, low overhead, as though placed to draw my focus, but they did not carry the sound. Whilst there was no visible sign, I knew it was God speaking to me, telling me to be open with this Pastor.

I went on to share with Matthew my conversion story, in detail, that took place over three consecutive nights in 1997 (see post #7 Rebirth). I have continued to speak openly with Matthew, his wife Amy, and their three children, without a spiritual filter. Many years later, Amy and I are currently meeting each week for Know Your Bible (KYB), along with our daughters and a few other women. Their family have been a huge blessing to me, enabling me to share God in my life without having to dial down my accounts of His extraordinary, beautiful expression.

A few months after this day in my cul-de-sac, I found the Bible scripture that I believe explained what we all heard that day. It is common practice for me to experience God before I make a connection to the Scriptures. Ezekiel 10:5 says the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard 'even to the outer court [of the temple], as the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.'

I believe we heard the sound of cherubim wings, with thunderous vibration, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. Their presence made the way for me to speak openly to Matthew that day. 

Whilst hearing from God in these ways has been exciting and awesome to me, it has also been a lonely walk. At that stage my husband was avoiding all things God, and would not allow God to be spoken of, in his presence. I took our children to church each week and shared all my stories with them. They received a well-rounded Christian upbringing but I was not able to speak to my husband with any openness.

That day that I was on the phone to Matthew, was a significant day in the life of my family. It was the first time my children shared my experiences, hearing a sound from the heavens, coming through the veil. I had always spoken to them about God and explained the things I was hearing and seeing, but they had not personally experienced Him in the same way. This day was new, my children and the neighbour's children heard the heavenly sound with me, sharing God’s intimate communication and connection to us personally. This was the beginning of a new season, of sharing God's love and presence with my children.

God's Word

Ezekiel 10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.