I was invited by two young women students at Tufts University, who were attending the Melrose Vineyard, to lead a three-day retreat in Maine for their Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship group. I readily agreed and asked a close friend, Ted Eaton, to co-lead the retreat with me on the subject of “Life in the Spirit”.
There were thirty to forty college students at the retreat. During the first evening we taught from scripture, introduced ourselves, and talked about some of our experiences and what we were witnessing and hearing about throughout the world. At the close of this brief teaching, refreshments were served and the two young women from Melrose were being asked questions about what they were experiencing at Melrose and in Toronto, since both had been to several Toronto meetings. Both invited some of their friends to receive prayer, and as this was going on, they both began to shake and groan in the Spirit quite dramatically. Several of the students complained to the group leaders, Jodi and Curtis Chang, that they felt very uncomfortable with what was going on, and as a result, both Jodi and Curtis approached Ted and me and asked us to stop the prayer and the two young women from their behavior. Some threatened to leave the retreat.
We suggested that both explain to the group in the morning, what their experience was, and answer questions. Just prior to everything ending for the evening and thinking Ted and I were in for a real challenge with this group, I looked across the room and saw that one of the young women from Melrose with a bright blue, glowing face. I grabbed Ted and told him I thought we were in real trouble, now, “…she has gone into the restroom and put blue, phosphorescent makeup all over her face.” Ted went to look and came back saying he could not see any makeup. I walked closer, across the room, and as I did, the blue disappeared, and getting closer it reappeared. Her face glowed like a phosphorescent blue. I had never seen anything like this before, and sensed the Lord doing something incredible.
The following morning, after breakfast, one of the young women sat in front of the group and shared her experience of what she thought was happening to her as she had prayed for others the night before. She did an excellent job in trying to explain the shaking, groaning and weeping that she experienced, her new-found love of the Lord, and desire to pray for others and see them touched, renewed and healed. The questions were direct and pointed, some stating that they thought it was all emotionalism, hysteria, and fabricated to draw attention to herself. It seemed there was no one understanding or believing what she was saying, or the changes that had come into her life.
This meeting closed with Curtis Chang, the leader, stating that he did not understand her behavior. He said that maybe this type of behavior was fine for her, but that in his culture, weeping and lack of emotional control would be offensive to people, as it was offensive to some here at the meeting. He stated that this was not the way the Lord, would have people act in trying to draw people toward him. “As for me, I would never allow myself to behave like that for the sake of my culture and my family. I would not weep publicly or exhibit any behavior that showed lack of control.”
The morning ended with this statement and right before lunch, Jodi and Curtis again met with Ted and me, stating that we needed to change the direction of the retreat, that many were upset with what was happening, including the both of them. Ted and I met in our room, complained to each other bitterly, prayed, and continued with our plan.
We had decided to divide the teaching and discussion into three segments for the retreat: The Spirit around me, the Spirit toward me, and the Spirit using me. We began the afternoon session, teaching and sharing. The group was cool and distant. The session ended as the others had, with both Jodi and Curtis complaining bitterly about the course of the retreat and our teaching. Ted and I met again in our room to “lick our wounds” and talked about just leaving and heading back to Massachusetts. We prayed, and Ted said the Lord gave him a verse to read. He read it to me and I felt filled with faith for the evening session. It was as if the Lord had literally poured faith into us.
The subject of the final evening session was “The Spirit using Me”, and after a short period of teaching and talking about prayer and blessing others, we divided the group into twos. They were to take six minutes each and listen to their partner talk without asking or saying anything. The other partner would talk about what were some of the concerns they had about their lives, at whatever level they wanted to talk and share. At the end of the six minutes, the other partner would share, while the other just listened. At the end of the twelve minutes, we then instructed each pair to hold the other partners hands or place their hands on their shoulders or head, whatever would be the most comfortable, and ask the Lord to bless them.
Some of these young men and women had never prayed publicly, let alone pray publicly for another person while touching them. We said that was OK, only do what felt comfortable. If they did not want to pray and ask the Lord to bless out loud, then do it silently or quietly. They had just heard their partner share some important concerns they had about their life, and they should think about that as they asked the Lord to bless them.
We asked each pair to take six minutes each to pray and bless the other, and as this began, we could hear soft weeping throughout the room, and feel the Spirit coming in like a flood. Everyone was totally engaged in lifting the other up and asking the Lord to bless them. This went on for over one and a half hours, not the twelve minutes. We then asked the whole group to bless their leaders, Jodi and Curtis. They all eagerly and without hesitation surrounded the couple sitting in the front, crowding in to place their hands on them, and many prayed filled with the Spirit, calling out to the Lord for them, and blessing them. Some just said: “Lord, bless Jodi and Curtis.”
Within one or two minutes of this, Jodi began to weep. Shortly following, Curtis, who earlier that day said he would never become emotional publicly, began to weep. As he wept, he began to shake, and finally was moaning and weeping loudly, with his sinuses draining and causing his shirt to glisten with a puddle on the floor in front of him. The more he and his wife wept the more the group prayed and blessed this awesome couple that had given so much of their time and prayers to wanting only the best in Christ for them.
This went on for quite a while, and the Lord had totally transformed the retreat into an incredible blessing for the group, and Ted and me. We left later that morning about 2:00AM to drive back to Massachusetts, so filled with the Spirit, and thankful to the Lord. We ended up getting incredibly lost after driving for several hours, all the time singing and praising God. We were staring at the ocean at the end of some long dirt road after two hours of driving. Ted said, “…I think we’re lost…” We were laughing so hard we thought for sure we would get stopped for drunk driving.
For several years following this experience, Jodi and Curtis would write, always thankful to Ted and I, and reporting the wonderful things the Lord was doing in their lives.