CoffeePods
A series exploring Christian healing in a handy coffee-break sized podcast. Plug yourself in, pick up your mug of coffee, and let's go.
CoffeePods
The Heart and Spirit of Acorn: A Director's Legacy
What does it take to lead a ministry like Acorn for over a decade? Join us as we share an enlightening conversation with the retiring director, who takes us through his incredible 11-year journey. From the emotional transition from Whitehill Chase to the establishment of new healing hubs, he recounts the powerful instances of witnessing physical miracles and the palpable presence of the Holy Spirit. Expect heartfelt memories, stories of personal and spiritual growth within the team, and transformative moments that have defined his tenure. This episode is brimming with tales of triumphs, challenges, and the unwavering impact of Acorn's mission.
so today's coffee pod is a little bit different, whereas I'm going to shine the spotlight on you, whether you particularly like that or not. Okay, um, but we did recently, at the acorn christian healing hub conference, um, announce your retirement, which? Yes a 33rd of december this year, so we just wanted to take a moment to ask you some questions hear about your experience. It's been what 11 years that you've been director of april? Yeah, it will be yeah, so are you happy for us to just take some?
Speaker 2:yes, come on, let's, let's go down memory lane okay, wonderful, so a big one.
Speaker 1:To start with, um, over the 11 years you have been the director of acorn, um, what have you seen in acorn's ministry?
Speaker 2:what are some things that you, you know, have stayed in your heart and in your head I think, I think, I guess the first thing I would say is I have had the privilege to work with some incredible people as you go through it, you know historic members of staff and right through to our trustees and to the team.
Speaker 2:Now I just think you know, I've just seen them. I've seen people grow, and not not just because we taught them stuff, but I've seen them get bigger in heart and in faith and and, and I think Acorn's been one of those environments where you're encouraged to take a risk and and knowing that people love you and whatever. And so I've seen people, yeah, I've seen people come and go. I have seen um people added to the team and who have come in as one thing and then suddenly ended up another thing and and you think, wow, god, that's just amazing. And and you know you was in point in case of point, you know, I mean I remember you, you first came and you were doing an admin thing and just to look at the fact that you're now co-director of ACORN, I think is absolutely outstanding, because it seems that ACORN was a place where we genuinely believed that the Holy Spirit could work in people and change them. And we've had our fair share of ups and downs. You know, leaving Whitehall Chase was a difficult moment for many and I understand that, but it was was a difficult moment for many, and I understand that, but it was an absolutely essential moment for us and I mean, you know, lisa, actually if we hadn't done it, we wouldn't be here now yes, right, yeah and actually it was an incredible moment with the trustees then of of grace, of seeing literally a moment before, if you like, the titanic sank to
Speaker 2:get on a lifeboat and and and. So this ministry needs to be um, grown, so on. And I think perhaps one of the things I love about it is, um, as I look at the hubs and the people there, it's like we've been able to plant out white hill chase a lot more times in a lot more locations. So I mean, plus, I've seen, I've seen people healed. I mean I've seen things that are dramatic and only God could do. I've seen people walk. You know I've seen God do some incredible things. And we've also had, you know, our sorrows too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thank you. I mean that's a hard well, not a hard question, it's a. It's a lot to put into a very short period of time and I know that there'll probably be periods before you you do reach your retirement where we can hear a little bit more um about some of these sort of special memories. Um, I have a particular picture in my head that links, I think links to this next question I've got for you.
Speaker 1:I remember once we were in the chapel at Whitehill Chase and we were having our Tuesday service and you were extremely excited just by the presence of the Holy Spirit and you were clapping and you were saying if I could, I would fly, because you were just so joyful and so excited by, um, what was going on there. And the reason I brought that out is because I think you, you are an excitable person in a good way. You get excited by the presence of Jesus, you get excited by the healing hubs and like the things you've just mentioned. But are there any things for you that you have? You know I could say I think this excited you, but what has it to do about being a part of this ministry?
Speaker 2:I think, um, a number of things. I mean I, I remember praying for a lady on, uh, on a walking frame at a conference, uh, and she came forward for prayer and and just said I haven't got any balance and I and I I just prayed, you know, very simple. But you know, we were all there praying, I just prayed for, very simple. And in that moment I just said, um, do you want to try this out? So she said what now? So I said yeah, you know, and I said what you know. So she walked. So I said why don't you, um, take a walk with me down the aisle? And so I just gave her my arm and she walked down the aisle and then she turned around and came back again down the aisle and she said I can't do that. And her face was a beautiful picture. She realized that, jesus, I remember praying for a guy.
Speaker 2:I remember praying for a guy some team would know and literally saw his knee reconstruct in front of me and heard it as bones moved and stuff. And then he got up and he started almost stamping around the room, you know, and I'm panicking going. Oh, slow down.
Speaker 2:Praying for a couple and they were there to a boy and a girl friend. They had a friend with them who had injured her back. She was a gymnast, and I was just about to say, would you pray for the girl? And I was just about to pray for and I, the Holy Spirit just nudged me and said no, no, no, pray for those two, and then let them pray for the girl. And so I said, okay, look, I'm going to pray for you and then you can pray for them, because one of the things I passionately believe is that you don't have to be a special person in the healing ministry. God uses anybody, and I genuinely mean this, lisa. If God can use me, he can use anybody. And so I just prayed for this cut these two, get two young people. It was a youth meeting. I prayed this young people and I said, oh, you know, lord, just use them right now.
Speaker 2:Something whatever in whatever and and so I said, so, you pray for her? And? And then somebody tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around and said, oh, you know, can I help you? And she says, yeah, I've got um, a cancer operation tomorrow. Would you pray for me?
Speaker 2:So I again, I was just about to pray for them, for her, and I turned around just to see how this couple, these young people, were doing on and I I just watched as they prayed for this girl and I literally watched she was doing backflips across the front of the church and I was sort of going, oh you, oh, and they, you know, but they thought this is great.
Speaker 2:So the woman said would you pray for me? And I said, well, I could do. But actually I think these young people should pray for you because so far they've got a hundred percent track record and they prayed for, and I loved that. I love the fact that the acorn teams are full of people who perhaps sometimes the church would say you're not qualified to do this, or even might, we might do it ourselves, but God uses them incredibly, and so I'm really excited. I love it when Jesus turns up, yeah, and and you just know that there is more than good organization and planning and good teaching and good meetings, that there is something of the Holy Spirit is so present that if you could just see into the next dimension you'd see it.
Speaker 1:Yeah and this I mean you've shared so many amazing stories as well, when we are at the academy and just other ministry and training events, um, and so, if some of you, um you know, you might want to just listen to some of the stuff that we've got online and be encouraged by some of these stories that Wes has experienced. But, um, as you mentioned just at the start, there have also been some challenges, um, in the last seven years. Is there anything in particular that's challenged you?
Speaker 2:I, I always, I, we always made a point that if we prayed for somebody and we got close to them not just anybody, you know, whatever but I remember we had people who have come to Acorn specifically and and you know, and, alas, they died. And so we've been to funerals, because that's part of the healing ministry to stand with people as they grieve and sorrow. I wish, looking back now, I wish I had been less bothered about what other people thought. I know some people may look at me and say, but you don't bother any of them, but actually I generally wish I had been more courageous than I had. I wish I hadn't sort of shaped it just because people were having a bad day. Shaped it just because people were having a bad day.
Speaker 2:But also, I think I think the thing that's challenged me always is there is always more. There's always more Just when you think, just when I think I'm sort of exhausted, what God can do and what I can see, there's always more. I think the big challenges were when people didn't like the changes that we had to make because of White Hill Chase, and I think some people were disappointed, were very negative. But I understand why they were negative because of their own sorrow and pain about losing that. Um, and you know, I I think in a sense it. Perhaps you know it was inevitable, but there were big challenges. This challenge is at least always in doing the thing that is right before god, even when other people don't think it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah and that's a hard one, um, but I've I've loved. I've loved the fact, I've loved the fact that, as the team has grown, they have challenged me to keep going. You know, because you see them doing things you think, oh, blimey, I better get on. And you know, pray more and get more involved, and so I've loved that.
Speaker 1:That's been great they are very much. I mean, it is a family, and in family you you're honest with one another, and I think we've had that in encouragement and in challenge at the same time from our team, and actually that's been a huge eye-opener for me, because you don't really experience that in many other places no, and I like the fact, lisa is, you just brought a point out.
Speaker 2:I like the fact that in acorn we can be honest without falling out yeah, yeah, you know, I I get. I get so sad when churches are, you know, fall out because somebody's just been honest. Yeah, and I, and I love the fact that you know, honest, yeah, and I and I love the fact that you know um Acorn can be honest and still journey together because it's not personal.
Speaker 1:It's about getting the kingdom here. Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. And um, I got one. Well, it's one question, but I'm taking it in two parts. Um, you're currently preparing to hand over your directorship at ACORN and it would just be really cool to know, maybe some of your hopes for ACORN and then also your hopes for the Christian healing ministry.
Speaker 2:OK a small one for ACORN. Really, I think ACORN is in a great place to provide prayer ministry for others, and I think growing hubs from I don't know, is it the 10 now to going to 20 to 30? I think that's entirely possible, but should I tell you what?
Speaker 2:my biggest hope for Acorn is yes, I think God wants to use Acorn to change the way the church in this country understands and experiences healing. I think, yeah, we keep providing it person by person, absolutely. But I think for ACORN there is a bigger calling, which, in a sense, was where Bishop Morris Maddox started calling which, in a sense, was where bishop morris maddox started. He wanted to change the way the church understood and experienced healing so that it becomes just a part of the discipleship's life, and that's my passionate hope for acorn that it.
Speaker 2:It's that its voice is heard with love and compassion and with authority, and people go oh okay, we better pay attention to this I think I think because of that, then, for the healing ministry, honestly, I would just love it to become so normal that in any church, you know, every disciple of jesus could pray for somebody to be healed and it would work. Yeah, because it would just say, hey, the kingdom of god is here, jesus is here, and and I I love the fact that we're able and acorn's been able to, um go to places, churches and inspire people. That's great. I think they keep doing that, um, but actually also, I think we want the church to to come out of its little rabbit hole and say this is what we stand for yeah, and you know, and we give healing to whoever needs it, in jesus name wow.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what we'll reflect on this podcast in a year's time and see how things are coming along.
Speaker 1:But I mean, I I feel so hopeful on those two things you shared because we're already seeing it and we might not be seeing it on the scale we want the end result to be um at the moment, but we are seeing through our hubs and through.
Speaker 1:When we go and speak to churches and share with people, there's a, you know, there's a shift in people's thinking when we do share and when we obviously pray for people, and so I think, yes, at the moment it might not feel like it's exactly where we want it, but it's definitely happening um. So I think you know, for you reaching your 11 years already, what you're providing and your passion is just leaking out, and so I would say that as an encouragement to you, um, but we won't get too softy on this podcast, because we've still got a few months left and we've still got lots of wonderful things um coming up, um within acorn and where we're going out and sharing at different speaking events as well. So, wes, thank you so much just for briefly sharing some of those things with us. It's really lovely to hear from you on a more personal level and we look forward to meeting those of you in the next coming months and on our next podcast. So thank you, wes, and thank you Bye.