His Mother’s Conversion
I want to introduce you to one of the great leaders of the last century in the Church of the Nazarene. His name was William Greathouse, and he served as one of our church's General Superintendents, as well as being a loved pastor, lecturer, and writer. His influence is still deeply felt in our church on a global scale, and reading his biography entitled Crucified With Christ: The Life and Ministry of William Marvin Greathouse gave me such respect and admiration for this man that I wanted to share some thoughts from this book with you.
The Power of Authentic Conversion
To begin, listen to his own words about how his mother's conversion had a profound impact on him and his whole family: "My life in Christ really began with my mother's conversion. She and Dad grew up in the Lambuth Memorial Methodist Church in Jackson. They were nominal but active Methodists. She had joined the choir at the Van Buren church where, on the last Sunday of a revival conducted by a visiting evangelist, she was transformed from a nominal church member to a vital Christian. During the evangelist's corporate prayer for the seekers kneeling at the chancel, Mother was radically transformed. Returning home, she informed Dad that their lives were going to be different: they were going to live for Christ as a family."
Her change had a great impact on the whole family, and I wanted to mention this because it reminded me that our actions do make an impression on others. A young man William watched his mother change from a nominal Christian to a passionate, committed, deep Christian, and it impacted him. And he went on to become one of the great influential people in an entire denomination and even further, on a global scale.
In fact this story reminds of when Jesus cast the demons out of a man and sent them into a herd of pigs. The man came to Jesus and asked if he could come with Him on His travels, and Jesus told him to rather return home and show the people there how he had been healed. Like Mrs. Greathouse, Jesus was sending him to be a witness to his family and household first.
I wonder if there are some of us reading or listening to this today who need to have a moment with God at the altar, like Mrs. Greathouse, and plead with Him to change our hearts; and then head home and begin to live a different life because of our newfound passion! I wonder who might be impacted by seeing a change in us.
Living Your Transformation at Home
Perhaps you have settled back into a "nominal" Christian life, and it's time to properly commit to Bible, prayer, and worship in the home so that those around you may see your commitment and learn from what they see.
May you and your home be transformed by the grace of God today, and may wonderful things come from your quiet but real witness of transformation at the hands of God.
