GO FOR IT!

(Prophetic Word to Chris and Carol Green)

Sir, the Word of the Lord comes to you today as one who stood beside, one who has looked upon, one who has stood beside and held the shield, for today, says the Lord, do I place your feet on higher ground. For this day, I have destroyed the argument of the enemy. It is has been destroyed over this house (Metro Christian Worship Center) and it is destroyed over your house (Fruitful Life).

For the connection, which I have brought with you and this man (Bishop Raphael Green), is a Godly one, and even so shall your FRUIT BE GREAT! Therefore, man of God, see the multitudes for surely I have ordained them for your place. Make room, says the Lord, and stretch your tents. The tent pegs of your house, stretch them. Make room for MIGHTY increase and surely that which you have prayed for, that which you have spoken to ME in private, I will MAKE AVAILABLE and MANIFEST PUBLICLY! This is the Word of the Lord to you today!

For, man of God, take up the pen and prepare to write. Now this is funny to me, but I’m looking at comic books. (Would you just worship the Lord in this place for a moment)

You are to make this come about. This is the Spirit of God. I’m just exhorting you, now. This is the Spirit of the Lord, (I) just encourage you to GO FOR IT! GO FOR IT! Don’t back off of it.

And woman of God have I not put MY word in your mouth? Have I not stirred you? Have I not reached into the broken places? I have seen the pain you’ve come through, says the Lord your God, but out of that pain I bring forth an incredible beauty. Open your mouth, says the Lord, open your mouth, wide. I promised you, I will fill it. Let the prophetic word come forth, says the Lord, and SURELY, SURELY, a crown I have fashioned for your head. - Bishop Flynn Johnson, May 20, 2007, St. Louis, Missouri

This Is What I See

I know the last few blogs have sounded like I'm not sure we're supposed to BE in Harrsiburg, but that's not what I'm getting at. The main issue for me, is "What are we supposed to be DOING in Harrisburg?"

To explain the reason for the impasse, I must deal with the prophetic words that mentioned Philadelphia as a place of ministry for us. I must deal with the 30-year vision of a production facility in St. Louis. I must deal with the apostolic calling to establish many churches, training and sending out pastors.

Also to to answer that, I must go back to what the Lord continues to show me over and over again. The one thing that HE brings to my heart is the one thing that I have shunned to even talk about because I didn't want to be perceived as being some big shot, know it all, self proclaimed producer.

What I see, is a Production House. That's all I've ever seen. Even when we were in the building, I tried to set it up to look like the set in a television studio.

I can fully describe what I see. The TV Production studio is set up with a sofa and love seat. I see tables and chairs with a backdrop that looks like we're in the living room of a home. I see, off to the side, a second stage area for a live band. I see an audience set up like what you might see on the Oprah show, ovation seating that rises up on tiers with the front row at eye level of the stage and rising up a few rows until you reach the back.

From the TV production set, I see Carol and me teaching with Power Point and video clips. I see question and answer sessions. I see guest, like my pastor, being interviewed and teaching. I see seminars and wokshops. I see musical guest and comedians. I see all of it being taped to be aired on local cable TV, internet streaming video, and distributued by DVD's.

The facility also has other studios within it: animation studio, music and video editng suites and a computer graphics lab. Then there are the many floors that provide video and table games, a computer lab, a coffee house and a library.

I don't know if you can call it a church that has a production house or a production house that host a church. I just know that, that's what I see. The reasons I've struggled the last few weeks with the true direction of the Lord for Fruitful Life is because the more I try to pursue establishing a church, the more this picture comes up into my spirit.

Almost 30 years ago, God gave our oversseer a vision. Part of that vision involved a multi-media center in St. Louis. The Lord spoke forth the names, "Chris and Carol" when HE showed him that part of the vision. I have carried this in my spirit ever since he told us about that vision. Also, when we were commissioned and released in May 2004, the prophet mentioned Philadelphia several times. So with all these visions and words of knowledge, I need the wisdom to know what portion of the vision we are supposed to do in Harrisburg.

SO the question is, do we establish the production house in Harrsiburg, or should we be establishing a church in Harrisburg? Is it both or is neither one of these a part of the purpose for being in Harrsiburg? Is it something completely different like establishing a cable TV broadcast, just to help unite the church community in this region.

According to the Word just brought forth from our Bishop, we are to invest in the place where God has us. I believe that means God wants us to sow into the lives of the precious people we meet with each week in our home. I believe that it also means we are to sow into the works of other pastors and leaders in Harrisburg. That's all we can do anyway because we have nothing else to offer at this season.

I'm receiving training on my job to be an internet steaming video producer. I'm beginning to believe that our main purpose for being in Harrisburg was for training, education and preparation for the next level of our calling. We can still provide ministry to people while we are here, but it may never have been meant to be the place to acquire a facilty or operate from a public building. If it is, GOD will have to open those doors. We will not push or drive the church congregation for those things.

One thing we know for sure; the ministry in our home is very affective. We know for sure, to continue with that. God has even sent confirmation through my mother's dream concerning this. That's why I said that of all the things we have to consider and work through, I know we are to go forth with the in-house aspect of our work in Harrisburg.

"No, you didn't miss God"

Carol and I just received the most wonderful letter from one of our dear daughters. We've known her and her husband since , well let's just say before they were married. We know and love all three of their daughters and we cannot imagine our lives with out this family in it.

We had a true set up encounter meeting and conversation during our recent trip to Saint Louis. We had a serious reconnection, reconcilation and restoration of our relationship. I've been writing some very soul searching logs lately and this note came from our daughter in the midst of all I've been feeling. She had no idea and yet she wrote the following:

Pastor Chris and Carol

WE DO WIN,

Even when the picture that is painted before us looks so like we don’t, we actually have already won.

Let me say this. If you guys hadn't came to Saint Louis this past weekend we would have been in the same place in the same state of mind.

God knew that you would be where you were at that particular time, when you told us how you got the money to come and how long it took for them to find you or get in touch with you. God already knew.

Robert and I like to say he plans your future at the end. You have already won. We just have to walk it out.

This is really awesome. You are there in PA for a reason. God is forging Carol’s relatives and giving other people another chance to embrace him and, o my God, he is using the most realest people in the world in that place.

Yes, it is only for a season. No you didn't miss God.

Robert and I were at church yesterday and he started laughing and saying I’m in the same exact seat I was in over ten years ago. The enemy would try to make it look as if all of the places that we have been were in vain or just a waste of time. I leaned over and told Robert that this time we are different. The things that we have learned, we will have the opportunity to teach others, at Metro. We will be able to help with the vision of the house and to see things come to pass.

So. Yes even when it don't seem as though we heard God, the act of obedience said I'll go where you want me to go and I'll do what you want me to do.

I personally did not want to come back to STL over 5 years ago. It seems mean, but I didn't. I was comfortable where I was. Even though my mom was ill, that was her problem. "Also, on a side note we didn't know that you felt the way you did when we came back and we really do apologize. It wasn't toward you all at all. We just were dealing with issues."

But out of obedience,

When I look at my children, reading in bible study at your mom's house, it was worth it!

When I look at us coming to church and we all are being embraced and my kids feel a since of belonging, it was worth it!

Thank you for everything. Thank you for being there when no one else was there. Thanks for being the mom and dad that we didn't have. Thanks for sowing seeds into our lives and allowing us to be us. Thanks for putting us on your email list so that we can keep up with current events like you coming to town.

Robert and I are fully engaged and others may say what ever, it aint about that. We all have a job to do and that job is to serve God with everything in us in spite of all of our insecurities and hang ups.

We love you. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Shawn Parrish

Confidence

One thing I'm learning through all of this is to just follow the Lord. I've gone from being so sure that I understood what various prophetic words, dreams, and even the commissioning exhortations meant, to only being sure of one thing, and that is, “I must follow the presence and peace of the Lord.”

I look back through my journals, e-mails, and web-logs and I sounded so sure and confident two years ago. I thought I knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Now I'm just sure of one thing. I know HE is faithful. I know to follow the direction HE is giving me. I'm trying to stop jumping ahead of HIM and assuming I know what HIS directions will lead up to.

I can go all the way back to the first dream the Lord ever gave me about Harrisburg and it was about me being inside of a gigantic prison/ maze. The people inside of the prison were not even looking to get out. They were partying and having a good time. As soon as I realized that it was a prison, I started looking for the way out. The very moment I started looking for the way out, a very evil, sinister presence was immediately aware and on alert. It knew that someone wanted to get out. I walked around in the maze trying to find the way out (without looking like I was trying to get out), but there were only dead ends. I looked up and I saw an opening in the ceiling of this massive place, which was bigger than a sporting event arena. The only way I could get out was to climb up along the prison bars of the thousands of cells inside this place. Slowly and carefully I climbed up and out of the place and even that climb was tricky and treacherous because I had to do it without drawing attention to myself.

Once I got out, I looked back and I recalled, by memory, the path or trek I had taken along the bars to get out. I knew I could tell or even show others how to get out.

Today I realize that I assumed a lot about what that dream meant. I also realized that I never asked the Lord, just who I should go after, if I attempted to go back in and show others the way. Now I know you have to find those who are ready and willing to get out. Only God can orchestrate that. Many have come across our path, but very few have been willing and ready to get out of their prison. Maybe the purpose of that dream was to show us what things would be like for us in Harrisburg. I took it mean it was our mission, purpose and assignment, rather than a word of knowledge and a word of wisdom for a season and place we would one day experience.

Then there’s the powerful dream that GOD gave me regarding rescuing HIS church from a prison/ tower of religion. In that dream, there was a one-year season of preparation before being released into that assignment. I think I’m in that season of preparation right now.

Again, I assumed many things about that dream and our purpose for being in Harrisburg, PA. It looks like GOD was identifying the place where HE would train us for that assignment to rescue HIS church. HE was not identifying the place or region from which we would operate in that mission. Even in that dream, it involved coming to grips with issues concerning Carol and her family. We are in the midst of that right now.

I know my last few entries have sounded pretty shaky and unsure, but they really aren’t. I’m just keeping an accurate journal of the true nature of our journey. I thought GOD meant one thing, but the journey with HIM has brought me to a completely different understanding. It has also taught me some very important lessons about interpretation of the commands of the Lord. Pastor Ray was always cautioning us to stop and get the understanding of what GOD meant by what HE said and to not go running with just what HE said. I used to get “A’s” in this when I was an associate pastor. It’s been “D’s” and “F’s” since we’ve been here. I’m so grateful we serve the GOD of a second chance; third and fourth chances, sometimes.

I think the Lord has used all of this to shake me from putting my confidence in anything or anyone, but HIM.

Standing In The River

Sunday night, my mother called me from St. Louis to share a dream that the Lord gave her about us. She told me that in the dream, Carol and I were leading a small group of people through a heavy, thick forest or jungle type area.

She said we led them to the bank of a river and I told everyone that we were going to cross the river and get to the other side. She said Carol and I went out into the river and stood in waist deep water and kept encouraging everyone to come on and cross the river.

Two things stood out to her in the dream: First, the water was very clear. It was so clear that she could see our feet on the floor of the river. Secondly, we stayed in the river until we were able to get everyone across. There were some who were very hesitant to cross, but we kept encouraging them until they all made it.

When she woke up from the dream she said the Lord brought to her remembrance the story of Israel, crossing the Jordan River to come into the land of promise. She said the Lord made her to know that we were in Harrisburg to bring this group of people out of bondage and into the land of promise, more specifically, into their deliverance.

She wanted to know if I thought the dream represented a literal or a spiritual land of promise, and if this was our true assignment in Harrisburg, to lead this small group of people out of the bondage they were in. She said she did not recognize the faces of the people. She only knew that she had never seen them before.

I cannot answer the questions that she asked because I honestly don’t know. I only know that what God showed her was very accurate.  We do indeed, lead small groups of people and I know we are standing in the middle of the flow (or river) of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We are trying to live what we are teaching, so that we are presenting more than lip service, but a life service.

We are no longer assuming that we were sent to build and establish a church here. What I mean by this is: I believe God sent us to Harrisburg to build people, not to build a ministry. The best part is that I'm at peace with that. We just know that we are to stand in the river and lead small groups of people out of the jungle they are familiar with, and to cross over into the land of promise.

Mom wanted to know if we are going to return to St. Louis one day. Again, I don’t know what the future holds. God’s reason for sending us to Harrisburg, PA has been manifold and a big part seems to have more to do with our personal restoration, family reconciliation and emotional healing, than anything else.

We recall that GOD called us catalyst for this community. I know from my studies in chemistry that catalysts don't usually become part of the reaction that they cause. The catalyst can start a reaction, and yet not become part of the substance. I see and understand, now, that it is possible that that's all we were sent to Harrisburg to do, as far as reaching the community goes. I’m beginning to accept that possibility that we may never fully become part of this communty.

Right now, I can’t concentrate on all of those questions and scenarios. I’m just concerned about getting this precious group of people to cross the river and come into God’s purpose for their lives.

After we complete that assignment, I don't know what comes next for us.