I have kind of been looking back at how we got to where we are today at Rapha. How God led us around and trained us for this time in our lives. I ran across this picture you see above, and realized that this was where it all started.
That's right....this is where it all started for me. What you see in the picture what use to be the main room for Gadsden Vineyard Church. All our services were held here in this room which measured about 25' by 45'. I had been associate pastor for almost a year, and I had been dividing my time between the Vineyard and Rapha. Teaching as a volunteer at Rapha, my heart was drawn to people in recovery. The more I hung around them, the more I saw that what some would classify as "normal" church, didn't really speak to the vast majority of men and women I came in contact with. (Those in recovery or still trapped in addiction)
The more I prayed about this, the more of a burden I carried.
I wanted them to be able to experience and learn about God in a setting that was not threatening to them. I felt like if we could do church in a manner that didn't sound like most churches or look like most churches, then maybe............just maybe for a brief moment, who ever was present, would let down their guard, open their heart up to receive the truth. Now let me straight up with you at this point. I knew we would be different from other churches. I also knew that different didn't mean better, it just meant different.....that's all.
We made it up as we went along...
Well, we didn't really make it up..........
We actually spent a great deal of time trying to hear God on what He wanted to do.
There wasn't any blueprint on Recovery church back in 1998. At least not here in this town.
I asked our Senior pastor to release me to start this new work under the knowledge that if this was truly from God, then it would work. If God wasn't in it, it would shrivel up and die and we'd move on to something else. The week before we held our first Saturday night meeting, we were at the church praying one night and we had an angelic visitation. I won't go into the entire story but suffice it to say that God, through this angel, declared war on sin/addiction/ and stated that the room would be a place for healing.
Psalm 134 became our watchword as we declared the truth of it over the room where we were going to host the meeting.
"Come bless God, all you servants of God! You priests of God, posted to the nightwatch in God's Temple. Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place and bless God. In turn, may God of Zion bless you. God who made heaven and earth!"
The name of our meeting was "HOUSE OF BLUE".
Blue being the color of an open heaven or communication between God and his creation. We strongly felt that God was going to begin a conversation with those in addiction and bring healing and salvation to those trapped. We also referred to it as "House of Blue" in reference to "Blues" music. This particular genre of music seems to cross the lines of every known division to man. It doesn't matter what you race is.........what you social standing is.............what your education is.....the blues speaks to our hearts. The main problem with the blues that the world or society sings, has no solution and is merely an acknowledgement of the pain that life brings. Our "blues" or worship declares that same pain but then looks to heaven to the giver of all good things...God and acknowledges him as the answer to every problem.
Over time, our blues sound has morphed more into a roadhouse kind of mish mash. God has used it greatly in our meetings to draw attention to our need for him to heal us. And use us, He has!
We held our last meeting at Gadsden Vineyard, the last Sunday of April 2006. Ironically, we did our first meeting at Rapha on the same day. Truth be known, we were kind of relegated to holding the meeting at Rapha on Sunday mornings for the first two years. After much prayer and God's hand, we were given the Saturday night spot and we've been there ever since.
I have CD's of every service we've done: House of Blue and Rapha. Kind of a reminder of the goodness of God. From time to time I will go back and pull one out to listen to it. You can hear the sounds of the room as people worship, and are ministered to by the hand of God. Just like Jimmy Stewart in the movie It's A Wonderful Life, I feel like his character, George Bailey, who was referred to as the richest man in Bedford Falls. He wasn't rich materially, but in the eternal things that cannot be measured by the hand of man. God has allowed me to see, hear and participate in more of His kingdom over the past 15 years, than some folks see in a life time. For that I am truly grateful.
And it all started in a little room at 419 Broad Street in downtown Gadsden.
God on you.......
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