What ten years have taught me

It was just ten years ago that my evangelistic work came to the attention of the church as the result of a Los Angeles crusade. To me it was like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky. I was bewildered, challenged and humbled by the sudden avalanche of opportunities that deluged me. 

I was bewildered because I had no formal theological training. I had never been to seminary; in college I had majored in anthropology. I was challenged because I saw new doors of opportunity swing open, doors which could conceivably provide new occasions for glorifying God. I was humbled because it seemed that God was laying his hand on the most unlikely prospect among his servants for a gigantic task. I did not ask for the assignment that was pressed upon me by a sovereign God. I had not anticipated or aspired to leadership in the field of mass evangelism. It was the clear call of God through an inexplicable series of events that thrust me into a new dimension of activity in the field of evangelism. 

Suddenly I found my sermons and statements being analyzed and criticized by hundreds of clergy, laymen and theologians throughout the world. Religious periodicals joined in applause or criticism of my message, methods and motives. To say the least, I was baffled, perplexed and even frightened. Over and over again I went to my knees and asked the Spirit of Wisdom for guidance and direction. Above all, I wanted my ministry to contribute to the advancement of the kingdom of God and the building of his church. There were times when I was tempted to flee from problems and pressures and my inability to cope with them, but somehow, even in moments of confusion and indecision, it seemed that I could trace the steady hand of the sovereign God leading on.