The Struggle Was Real
Preparing for ministry is not a walk in the park. It is hard work. Hours of commitment. Late nights and early mornings. Deadlines.
Lori, an NBC degree student, entered into a struggle, not with the commitment and deadlines of the degree program, but with her own call of God to become a minister in the Church of the Nazarene. She wrote her Academic Advisor, Stephen Edwards, and she was at the point of “dropping out” of NBC.
Stephen had a heartfelt concern for her and reached out to Dr. Gary Haines, NBC’s prayer warrior.
Here is some of the conversation between Lori and Dr. Haines that followed.
Dr. Haines:
“I called her immediately, and thankfully, she picked up, and we talked for close to an hour. She was at the point of “dropping out” of NBC, and doubting if she was meant to be a minister in the Church of the Nazarene; She was struggling with the issue of Entire Sanctification and has done so since she was 12 years old at her local church.
In her words, it was never really explained so that she could understand what Entire Sanctification was all about. I told her how sorry I was to hear this, and if I was in her shoes, I would be disappointed as well.
I asked her if we could talk about it, and she said yes. As the Holy Spirit guided me, I went from A-Z, explaining Justification (Initial Sanctification, holiness begun), then our responsibility for Entire Consecration (Total surrender of everything), and then God’s part to cleanse our hearts of the inbred sin nature that we were born with that causes our hearts to rebel against Him and causes the outward transgressions of sin, and then as a result of our “dying to self,” we experience Entire Sanctification, and our hearts are cleansed and set apart to serve Him wholeheartedly without any reservation.
I then explained the distinction of Entire Sanctification (purity) and Christian Perfection (maturity) as we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.
Praise God, the “light went on” and she “got it!”
I asked her, “Are you willing, right now, over the phone, to pray and consecrate yourself, and ask the Lord Jesus to entirely sanctify you right now?” and she said, “yes!”
I began to lead her in prayer, and asked her to ask the Lord, in her own words, to pour out His sanctifying grace upon her, to cleanse her heart and life through and through.
God, the Holy Spirit, came upon her, and she knew it!!!
Before we hung up she said, “Dr. Haines, I can’t believe it! I’m not conflicted anymore, and I have such a peace!”
Praise the Lord! Before we concluded our time together, I asked her, “So, you’re not going to drop out and quit school here at NBC?” She replied, “No, now everything has changed and I’m staying.” I told her just how glad I was for her, and assured her that as she continues to take these classes, the Lord will help her to understand more and more about this marvelous and amazing grace of being entirely sanctified.
I called her again the next morning to check in on her, and I could tell from the excitement in her voice, that she “had the victory.” She is still rejoicing (as am I), and she could not thank me enough for the call (Thank you, Brother Stephen, for listening to the Lord and making this possible.)
I reminded her that we are saved and sanctified by faith and not feelings. She said “I won’t.” I asked her if she would give me permission to share this “testimony” of what happened, and she said, “Absolutely.”
I know how much of a blessing this was for me personally, and I hope that it will be a blessing to you as well.”
To other NBC ministerial students reading this, we pray you also can receive help when you face a struggle in your studies, from your advisor, by your professor, by your program director, or by a Dr. Haines phone call. May God continue to bless you in your studies.
Editor from a telephone conversation with permission to share
Published: 04/13/2022
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