Chapter 7
7 The Anointing To Teach...............................................................................
Even though I wasn't a teacher to begin with, I always had
the greatest respect for the Word of God, and always was very
studious. I spent hours studying and reading, digging things out
for myself in my early years as a pastor, but I didn't teach those
things. I had no unction or leading to teach.
I did teach a Bible class in the church, however. That's the
custom in most Pentecostal churches. Sometimes Full Gospel,
Pentecostal people criticize denominational people for formality
and ritualism, yet Pentecostals are bound with customs! They'll
fight for their customs. All these things are bad.
I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spoke in other
tongues in 1937, and in 1939, as I say humorously, I received
"the left foot of fellowship" from among the Baptists and came
over among the Pentecostals. My wife and I accepted the
pastorate of a little Pentecostal church in North Texas.
The people said, "It's a custom that the pastor teach the
men's Bible class and the pastor's wife teach the older ladies'
Bible class."
"Well," I replied, "I just changed the custom." I hadn't been
around Pentecostals too long at that stage, and I thought they
were all sprouting wings. I found out later those were just their
shoulder blades sticking out. They weren't about to grow any
wings. And I found out if you start changing their customs,
you're in for it.
So I had to maneuver and speak softly, but finally I got it
over to them that my wife didn't teach. They said, "Well, we'll
tell you what we'll do. We'll just combine the older men and the
older ladies and have an auditorium class, and you teach it." I'd
rather have done almost anything else, but I taught it.