Chuck’s Eleventh Hour Fifty Nine Minute Conversion

Thursday morning, May 21, 1998 during our Church’s, Ten Days of Prayer, I experienced the strangest sensation in my upper chest. It seemed like an adrenaline rush similar to when one is startled. I took my pulse and discovered my heart was skipping a beat every fourth beat. This continued all day and through the night. Friday morning my wife, Paula, took me to the doctor. A thorough examination and an EKG confirmed that there was nothing wrong with my heart. The doctor assumed that I must have been having anxiety-related symptoms. I had just spent eight days in prayer; anxiety was my last problem. I returned to the church and took a nap. That evening we had a Praise and Worship service. During the first several songs I found I was too weak to stand. When I sat down I was too exhausted to hold my shoulders up. I folded my arms and leaned forward to the back of the next pew and laid my head on my arms. Then one of the songs reminded me of my Dad and I prayed for him, his health and his salvation. In just a few moments I sensed something had broken through in the Spirit realm. I turned to Paula and said, “I think Dad has died.” She responded that she thought he had also. Within moments my strength had returned and I felt just fine.

Little did we know that same Thursday in Kissimmee, Florida my Dad, Chuck Gutridge, went for his normal dialysis treatment. The nurse thought she heard a new sound around his heart and reported it to the doctor. The doctor admitted him to the hospital for a tune-up. In the wee hours of Friday morning he had a massive coronary and died. He was resuscitated with electric shock. Had he been at home he would have died.

Saturday my brother, Scott, drove from his home in Coral Springs, Florida to Kissimmee. When he arrived Dad told him of his experience the previous morning. He said that he had died and that it was a frightening experience. It was nothing like he expected. It was total darkness, a total void, yet, with complete consciousness. He was terrified and grasped desperately at my brother’s arm, “I can’t go back there!”

Scott called me, he called his pastor, and everyone else he could think would pray. He wanted every scripture regarding utter darkness and terror. In a subsequent discussion with Dad that afternoon they talked about spiritual matters. Scott told him that he had a rare privilege afforded to few men. He glimpsed the reality of Hell and was given a second chance. Dad said he believed in Jesus. (Paula notes, “Yes and the demons believe in Jesus also.”) Scott advised that was not enough, one must admit his need (confess his sin) and invite Jesus into his heart and receive Him as Lord and Savior. There in that hospital room Dad accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and received the gift of eternal life with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Tuesday, June 9, 1998 at about 6:20AM, Dad quietly went home to be with his Lord and Savior.

This was the culmination of years of prayer and effort. He was a very difficult subject for evangelism. His resistance to things of Christ was legend. He believed that when you died, it was like turning off a light, you just didn’t exist anymore. His view was that only weaklings needed a crutch like God. He believed that he had overcome every obstacle in life on his own strength and initiative and he would overcome the spiritual barriers as well. Over many years I beat him with the Bible, tried to guilt him into receiving Christ, got angry with him and even held him at arm’s length. We treated him as if he were a follower of Christ. We treated as a reprobate. It seemed nothing would pierce his resistance. Finally we resigned to love him unconditionally and pray without ceasing.

God was faithful to answer our prayers and show Dad the error of his thinking. Jesus says, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (John 14:13 NIV) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV) In this situation we had prayed for 23 years for his conversion. The method was extreme, but finally Holy Spirit did pierce his fierce resistance.

As for my heart symptoms, I believe that I was given the brief experience of an intercessor. Throughout history we know that those given the gift of intercession often experience the symptoms of those for which they are praying. This seems to be a gift of the Holy Spirit to focus one’s prayers very sharply. My symptoms drew my attention to my Dad and forced me to my knees when he needed it the most. The experience was quite a gift!

What can we learn from this? Hell is real! Prayer works! It’s not over till it’s over! The thief on the cross confirms God’s mercy even in the eleventh hour.

Doing Theology from the Top Down not from the Bottom Up

A number of Christians today are arguing that there is no such thing as Hell. They insist that God is Love and as a result He would not send anyone to eternal punishment. Many would argue that one religion is as good as another if the adherents are genuine and sincere in their beliefs. This kind of understanding is known as "Universalism." It is not a new theology. People have been making similar arguments for centuries. It is a belief system that creates a god in the believer's own image.

This is not unlike the human sexuality and ordination issue that has the Presbyterian Church (USA) totally consumed. The same issue is being wrestled with in most main line denominations.

Here is the real issue for both of these arguments. We look around at our experience and find that many people are very good yet not Christian, would a loving God send them to Hell? The gracious human conclusion, "certainly not!" Look at all the wonderful talented people around us that just happen to be Gay, would God give them extraordinary gifts and then deny them rights in the church? Again, gracious loving well intentioned people say, "Certainly not!"

When I was about ten years old I joined in a lighthearted corncob fight with a number of other boys in the area. As you might imagine, our lighthearted play soon took on a near vicious tone as each of us was determined to destroy the other. Near the end my enthusiasm was nearly out of control and I struck a much younger boy with a corncob (dry corn still attached) squarely in the back. It was a great throw and I was very proud of myself. The younger boy was really hurt and went running home crying. His father soon appeared and took me to task. I insolently defended my actions as part of the game and boldly stated that, "if his son couldn't take the heat he should stay out of the kitchen." The grown man slapped me across the face. I was stunned. Child abuse! I went straight home to tell my Dad, knowing that he would come and beat this man up. My Dad did no such thing. In fact, he scolded me on getting involved in a serious game with unpleasant consequences. I was so disappointed and hurt. I wanted my Dad to stand up for me. He did not, he saw that the situation had gotten far out of control and he did not need to pour any more fuel on the fire.

Was my Dad right or wrong? Now, speaking from an adult perspective, I would say, yes he was right. Although the little boy inside of me still winces. The problem was that I began with my perspective; struck by an adult while being a participant in a game where it was every boy for himself. Why was I singled out and not everyone else? Particularly his older son who was a vicious player. Beginning with my perspective I projected onto my own Dad my conclusions and what course of action I felt was appropriate for him to take. It never occurred to me that he would have a different perspective than mine. After all, I was there and I was right! I made every attempt to impose my view of what a dad should do on my own Dad. I was doing my "Dadology" upside-down. I did not make every effort to know my Dad and then know what he would do based on my knowledge of who he was.

We make the same mistake when doing Theology. We begin with the human perspective and then impose it upon God. It never occurs to us that He might think differently. After all, we are in the situation, we know the facts, and we know He is a God of love. He must respond the way we want. I didn't know my Dad so well when I was ten. I knew he loved me and that I was always safe with him. That was not the whole picture. My Dad was a prudent thoughtful man and he acted correctly. A ten year old does not know his Dad so well, but we do know God very well. Or at the very least we can know Him through His Word.

I would argue that many well-meaning people are doing their Theology upside-down. They are beginning with the human perspective and then imposing it upon God and His Word. the same problem exists in the human sexuality debate. I believe that the proper and time-tested way of doing theology is from God down. Let's make every effort to understand who God is and how He deals with human issues through His written Word. Let Him speak to us from His perspective. Let's do our theology from the top-down and not from the bottom-up.