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Walking & Leaping
When Merlin and his family rolled over a hill in their new car and trailer, they praised the Lord and miracles happened
- GenresChristian
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
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February 5, 2023
THE POPULAR AUTHOR TELLS HIS STORY
Author Merlin R. Carothers (1924-2013) wrote in the first chapter of this 1974 book, “After twenty years of being a Methodist chaplain, I had retired as a Lt. Colonel from the Army and reported back to my home conference in central Indiana. I had been led to say nothing to them about my first book, “Prison to Praise,’ which had recently become a Christian bestseller, or the just-published ‘Power in Praise,’ or the requests for speaking engagements that I was beginning to receive. I felt I was to accept without question whatever assignment my church had for me. And so… in 1971, we arrived at the little country town of Ambia---and fell in love with it the moment we got there.” (Pg. 3-4)
He continues, “I was actually pastoring tow Methodist churches… Tucked as far back from the stream of things as they were, they had never heard of the charismatic movement, and again I said nothing of the books I’d written. In fact, it soon became obvious that they had heard little if anything of the simple Gospel message of faith in Christ for salvation. So that was where we began..” (Pg. 5)
He explains, “when someone discovers that the Lord is indeed a living, risen Savior… the first thing he usually wants is to thank and praise the Lord, and the second thing is to tell someone the Good News. And that’s what our people did. As a result of their enthusiasm, our congregations had doubled by September, and many churches in the immediate area began to offer their pulpits. I accepted these invitations as often as I could, never letting them interfere with my regular Sunday obligations to my own churches.” (Pg. 6)
Vernon (a friend) “would speak of the vision that God had given him, of a major, inter-denomination, charismatic Christian center in the Escondido area, and of the hunger of the people who lived in those parts for a deeper walk in the Spirit.” (Pg . 16) He recalls, “I decided that, like Gideon, I would put out a fleece, the hardest that I could conceive of. If the Lord wanted us to go to California, He would have to: 1. give the witness to the hearts of the flock I had grown to love so strongly and provide them with the right pastor to take my place; 2, open up the way for all our considerable furniture and belongings to be shipped to California…” (Pg. 17)
They did make the move, and as they (with their new car and trailer) began the journey, “Satan chose to reach out and touch the trailer hitch… forcing the wagon to swerve violently back and forth … (never again would we go out of the driveway without having seatbelts buckled)… The wagon was totally demolished, and the trailer was nothing but a twisted chassis… Mary and I hung on each other, laughing and shaking our heads and saying over and over, ‘Thank You, Lord!’” (Pg. 26-27)
When they arrived, “None of us had really grasped the vastness of America, the sheer vastness of it, until it unfolded day after day in front of us… the more we saw of what God had carved … the more grateful---and worshipful, in a quiet way---we became.” (Pg. 55)
When they were established in a church, “Healing was a regular part of our service… One Sunday in the early fall of 1972, I was strangely led to open right off with a time of prayer for healing… We had already had a number of dramatic healings in our services, and word was beginning to spread that God was doing something pretty unusual at the North County Christian Center. This kind of news has a natural attraction for anyone with a physical infirmity…” (Pg. 67)
He recounts, “on the morning of June 1, 1973, to the accompaniment of cheers and the roar of a diesel engine, the blade of a big yellow bulldozer driven by one of our own men bit into the brown soil of our church site. We had begun to build the Lord’s house!” (Pg. 99)
He explains, “The Lord has brought many well-known apostles from other areas to share what God has revealed to them or given them a burden for. Three months ago He moved on the heart of one of the most learned---and busy---Biblical scholars in the charismatic movement to offer to teach on a regular basis. Michael Esses, from Melodyland Christian Center, called me to say that the Lord had told him that he was to offer his services … And so every Friday night Michael, a converted Jewish rabbi… teaches two classes on the Old Testament…” (Pg. 124; Esses was later revealed to NOT be a ‘former rabbi,’ by the way---see his wife’s book, ‘Survivor of a Tarnished Ministry.’)
This book will appeal to Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians.
Author Merlin R. Carothers (1924-2013) wrote in the first chapter of this 1974 book, “After twenty years of being a Methodist chaplain, I had retired as a Lt. Colonel from the Army and reported back to my home conference in central Indiana. I had been led to say nothing to them about my first book, “Prison to Praise,’ which had recently become a Christian bestseller, or the just-published ‘Power in Praise,’ or the requests for speaking engagements that I was beginning to receive. I felt I was to accept without question whatever assignment my church had for me. And so… in 1971, we arrived at the little country town of Ambia---and fell in love with it the moment we got there.” (Pg. 3-4)
He continues, “I was actually pastoring tow Methodist churches… Tucked as far back from the stream of things as they were, they had never heard of the charismatic movement, and again I said nothing of the books I’d written. In fact, it soon became obvious that they had heard little if anything of the simple Gospel message of faith in Christ for salvation. So that was where we began..” (Pg. 5)
He explains, “when someone discovers that the Lord is indeed a living, risen Savior… the first thing he usually wants is to thank and praise the Lord, and the second thing is to tell someone the Good News. And that’s what our people did. As a result of their enthusiasm, our congregations had doubled by September, and many churches in the immediate area began to offer their pulpits. I accepted these invitations as often as I could, never letting them interfere with my regular Sunday obligations to my own churches.” (Pg. 6)
Vernon (a friend) “would speak of the vision that God had given him, of a major, inter-denomination, charismatic Christian center in the Escondido area, and of the hunger of the people who lived in those parts for a deeper walk in the Spirit.” (Pg . 16) He recalls, “I decided that, like Gideon, I would put out a fleece, the hardest that I could conceive of. If the Lord wanted us to go to California, He would have to: 1. give the witness to the hearts of the flock I had grown to love so strongly and provide them with the right pastor to take my place; 2, open up the way for all our considerable furniture and belongings to be shipped to California…” (Pg. 17)
They did make the move, and as they (with their new car and trailer) began the journey, “Satan chose to reach out and touch the trailer hitch… forcing the wagon to swerve violently back and forth … (never again would we go out of the driveway without having seatbelts buckled)… The wagon was totally demolished, and the trailer was nothing but a twisted chassis… Mary and I hung on each other, laughing and shaking our heads and saying over and over, ‘Thank You, Lord!’” (Pg. 26-27)
When they arrived, “None of us had really grasped the vastness of America, the sheer vastness of it, until it unfolded day after day in front of us… the more we saw of what God had carved … the more grateful---and worshipful, in a quiet way---we became.” (Pg. 55)
When they were established in a church, “Healing was a regular part of our service… One Sunday in the early fall of 1972, I was strangely led to open right off with a time of prayer for healing… We had already had a number of dramatic healings in our services, and word was beginning to spread that God was doing something pretty unusual at the North County Christian Center. This kind of news has a natural attraction for anyone with a physical infirmity…” (Pg. 67)
He recounts, “on the morning of June 1, 1973, to the accompaniment of cheers and the roar of a diesel engine, the blade of a big yellow bulldozer driven by one of our own men bit into the brown soil of our church site. We had begun to build the Lord’s house!” (Pg. 99)
He explains, “The Lord has brought many well-known apostles from other areas to share what God has revealed to them or given them a burden for. Three months ago He moved on the heart of one of the most learned---and busy---Biblical scholars in the charismatic movement to offer to teach on a regular basis. Michael Esses, from Melodyland Christian Center, called me to say that the Lord had told him that he was to offer his services … And so every Friday night Michael, a converted Jewish rabbi… teaches two classes on the Old Testament…” (Pg. 124; Esses was later revealed to NOT be a ‘former rabbi,’ by the way---see his wife’s book, ‘Survivor of a Tarnished Ministry.’)
This book will appeal to Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians.
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