On Saturday, July 2, the church in Toledo made a trip to visit a brother who attended the Erie Conference with Witness Lee back in 1969. 1969 was a pivotal time in the world when the Lord was moving through the continents and in particular gaining people with a heart for the heartland of America. Brother Lee deposited a message at Erie about the sevenfold intensified Spirit, and saints from all over the country were drawn and moved with the subjective calling of the Spirit to consecrate themselves in a definite and forever way — a consecration that led to a raising of churches and a revival of the gospel in various localities.
Brother Gifford was one of these many saints who was called by the torrenting flow of the Spirit. And when he wrote down his recollections of the Erie Conference in his later years, it was as fresh and new and powerful to us today as it was in those days, some fifty years ago. I’m sure it was no coincidence, but the moving of the Spirit that led him to write back then is also the same Spirit who led us to reach his writing when we first searched for keywords related to the conference almost two years ago.
After turmoils and human failures, few from that early golden era remain to the present. Many were disheartened and even more were misled. Time is a test for us all. And today, in Toledo, we are also experiencing a proving process. We are growing older but are we maturing or are we aging? As we come out of systematic religion — even out of “old man” practices in our local churching — saints among us are shedding outward pretenses and baggage to come together for the reality of the church. We are still seeking for our origin and meaning here — seemingly in the middle of nowhere — as a local church in the Midwest, fighting against human politics, mediocrity and stagnancy. For a long time, we have known that the Lord designated a special provision for us here, and we are holding on to the core of this faith and are willing to be enlarged, perfected, and matured in the body for His use. That is the reason why we were much comforted by the blog posts and even more encouraged by the brother’s live speaking when we arrived at Goshen for a small-format gathering in his son’s home.
During our few hours together, brother Gifford shared a hymn with us on the church. In this hymn, the last stanza struck me deeply: “O tell it to all generations, / O tell it to all who will come, / O tell it to all generations, / The Spirit and Bride say, ‘Come!’” It isn’t that we are perfect that we can sing this stanza. Indeed, our life may not always be joyful and complete, yet the church in nature and truth is. That truth draws us together in the same yearning and expectation. This expectation causes us to “tell it to all.” Through our failures and human striving, our life is aiming after God’s heart’s desire, the Lord’s economy through our life and through our region, to move His will across the earth. And by telling the truth of our faith, by writing it down, there will be a group that hears, a people who travels to us from afar who echoes with us in the same way we went on to Goshen — with no need for explanation or introduction. We are those travelers and sojourners. We have come while following the Lord’s leading in our lives. We are the brother’s “continuation,” we told him. The body may be decaying, but that eternal hope of glory is coursing through us in Christ.
Today, what brings us to meet a complete stranger? It is the Lord. We are a group of seekers connected through space and time, via this Spirit. He moves us and threads us together, decade to decade, generation to generation. From this brother’s experiences of life to our experiences of life, we are continuing the lessons and the burden for the true churching life forward.
The rest of the day and weekend, we planned a two-night camping and biking trip along a nearby biking trail. The next day was the Lord’s day, and we saints went on a bike journey of anywhere from 11-30 miles. So we — on bikes and trailers and of all ages and sizes, fitness levels, and other constraints — journeyed on the way. And although that path was a straight route, I found myself along many intersections and events — crossing paths with saints, staying alongside some, briefly accompanying others, in totally unexpected circumstances. Just as life, on this bike trail, you never know how long you will stay alongside some. The time we share contracts and expands, as bike tires go flat, as tree limbs lay in the way, as leg muscles give out under strain; this journey surprises us in time. And we are its travelers, sometimes alone and other times grateful for a half hour break by the park to fill up on water and to play on the playground with the saints. Are not all these preordained provisions, allotments from the Lord, from Him who knows what we need? Just like this weekend of Goshen, isn’t the Lord leading us still, after all, in His way and His timing?
I am thankful and reminded that we are on the way, and while it’s a path we must traverse via our own strength, we are not alone. We are put together with some others like us along the way, with a specific time and a clear purpose for that time. In those shared durations, eras, and moments of our lives, we give others a taste of us. We may inspire or defeat one another. We may give others a gulp of water or of bitterness. May we come together for as long as the Lord places us together for good so that we may reach our goal — not just the goal of accomplishing mileage, but of being matured for God’s plan in His body. And so this is why we are able to “tell it to all,” for we know the ups and downs of this life and yet our goal and our vision remains untainted and crystal clear — even as clear as a paved work of sapphire.
– RC