Recently, I was cleaning my library and spotted a book, “Our Time Under God” by Zan Holmes, and knew it was time for a re-read.
Before reading, I remembered hearing Holmes tell of an experience that revolutionized his preaching. He discussed the incident while speaking to 10,000 people in a coliseum in Columbia, S.C.
Nattily dressed, witty and a powerful communicator, the urbane pastor exudes energy and aliveness. In fact, when he preaches, your very soul is being unmasked. It’s no surprise that, in the 20 years he was pastor at St. Luke’s Community Church in Dallas, his membership went from 20 to 4,000.
The incident happened when he was a theological student at Southern Methodist University. He was serving an internship at St. Luke’s under I.B. Lord, a man he greatly admired. Though he had been warned it might happen, he was caught off guard when they were serving Holy Communion one Sunday and Lord whispered, “It’s all yours today.”
“What’s all mine?” asked the young theology student.