MY FOUR-YEAR-OLD GOT US KICKED OUT OF CHURCH

Years ago, I found myself as a solo parent of four young children under 5. I was growing so hungry for Him and began to understand my relationship with Holy Spirit on a whole new level. I was taking Randy Clark’s mentorship on physical healing (which stretched me deeply) and would immediately take what I was learning and teach my small children. I would have them bring their dolls and dinosaurs to the family room, and we would practice praying for them. I dubbed Walmart my training ground for Jesus, and we would go on adventures to pray for the sick; learning how to play in the Kingdom as a family was scary yet exhilarating. On Saturday night, we would drive up to our church, stand outside the doors in the dark, and ask Jesus what He wanted to do the next morning. The kids heard unique clues, if you will, of who God was highlighting (someone with a broken bone, someone wearing white, someone who is young, etc.). We would go to church the next morning, looking and asking to pray for them. This continued for a while, and we were learning and growing as a family. I eventually received a phone call telling me that we were no longer allowed to pray for people and that if we wanted to continue, we needed to go before the board of elders to get permission. It wasn’t that we were overstepping the prayer team, as they didn’t have one. We were simply obeying what we heard the Lord tell us to do. I did not agree with them, but I knew enough about honor to know that I needed to heed their words. I told them I would refrain from praying UNTIL the Lord directed me what to do. I was clear in my resolve that I was not going to bring my four-year-old before an elder board to get approval to pray for people, as that would have introduced her to the fear/need of man’s approval to obey God. I was teaching them to be QUICK to obey whatever He tells us to do. There is a difference between overseeing church order and managing people’s obedience to Him. We are all commanded to pray for others, not just a select few. That week we did not go to church on Saturday night but simply showed up on Sunday. A woman with a neck brace walked in after worship had started and began walking toward the front. Ellie, four years old, sees her and b-lines it towards her to go pray. I had a moment of inner crisis – what do I do? Honor the house or honor God moving through Ellie? I went after her and lovingly said, “Sweetie, let’s wait until after worship.” My spirit was so grieved. When we walked to our car, guess who walked by? The woman with the neck brace. Again, Ellie went to her and prayed for her, and she was healed. That week I got another call letting me know that this wasn’t the church for us and that we should move on. I was devastated. A church family to a solo parent means more than many would ever be able to understand, and the pain was so deep. BUT GOD… that was the season we began attending two churches. One on Saturday, where the kids were a part of the healing rooms and Saturday service, and another on Sunday, where the children’s program had a core value for children playing in the Kingdom. We were stepping into our destiny as a family in that season. My point is that hurt in the church happens, and we need to be good at stewarding our hearts and allowing GOD to use them for good in our lives. It would have been so easy to quit church, judge orphan leaders, and walk away. Tempted as I may have been, my belief that God and community were essential was greater than my pain. I am so glad I didn’t partner with the enemy to steal, kill and destroy the calling on our lives.