My story
I had a radical encounter with Jesus in 1979, when I was 20 years old. I was living in a drug house at the time and was into various occult practices.
I was so rocked by the encounter that I knew Jesus was real, but I did not know how to respond or even what church to go to.
So I went to the church up the street.
They were really nice people, but I could tell they were not used to people like me. I was still struggling with drugs, had long hair (it was the 1970s) and told them about my recurring nightmare, demons in my basement and a witch who came to my house and told me I needed Jesus.
I can see now that it was outside of their comfort zone, as they were a family-style church that did not teach the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
When hard times hit me again, they sent me a letter saying that they were going to “turn me over to Satan in hopes that my soul would be saved,” based on 1 Corinthians 5:5. I was so hurt and rejected that it sent me back into darkness for the next 7 years.
When I first came to Jesus … for the third time
I had another encounter with Jesus in 1987 that was too radical to even tell you and similarly, I went to church and they did not understand it. I have always had the gift of prophecy and during some of the darker times of my life my gift was pointed in the wrong direction.
But in 1991 I found a group of people who loved and accepted me. I went through several years of counseling and a lot of inner healing prayers.
God answered my prayers and I started getting prophetic words, dreams and visions, but I was not permitted by my church to share them publicly. Because I was different, I received a lot of rejection and it reached a point that I needed to find a place that celebrated me and did not simply tolerate me.
Favor outside of church
I had a computer networking business in San Francisco throughout the 1990s. I began giving prophetic words to people as I sat in their office cubicles. I found that when we use the prophetic and dream interpretation along with communicating in a non-religious style it actually opens people up to God instead of closing them off.
As a result, I became an outreach specialist, but I had to learn a new way of doing things. Years ago I was trained in apologetic and I knew how to give an answer to those who were asking if God is real.
But I quickly found that the #1 question people had was not about God’s existence, but about God’s people.
Nearly everyone we encountered in the streets, at coffee shops and at booths we rented for major events actually believed in God to some degree. Many of them could not understand why most of the Christians they knew were unloving or judgmental toward them. This included their closest family members.
So my apologetics quickly turned to “apologizing” and asking forgiveness from people everywhere on behalf of their negative experiences. We would give them prophetic words, interpret their dreams or tattoos and show them that God indeed loves them.
How deep does this go?
As I have spoken at many church services, conferences and led outreaches for two decades now, I noticed a pattern that many people, even those still attending church, have been wounded as well.
We are surrounded by so many people in need of God’s love. We have our work cut out to begin healing the wounds of the countless people around us who may have been wounded by well-meaning Christians. Many (like me) were trained and told to stand for the truth no matter what.
But God is releasing a new wave of love and extra grace needed to reach people today.
And if someone had not reached out to me in love—back when I was wounded by my bad experiences with church and Christianity—I may have never stepped into my calling as a “wounded healer” helping people hear the voice of God, understand their dreams and discover their destiny.
So I want to show you how you can also become a “wounded healer” and help others (and yourself) step into the freedom and destiny you are meant to live!
I hope to “see” you there!
Blessings,
