27 May, 2001

Dear Children,

Wow! Would you believe it’s been seven (7) whole months since the Lord has allowed me to write one of these sermonets? Well just in case you’ve forgotten, the last one was The Water In The Blood!, it was written on the 22nd of October, 2000, and it was part VII of the very long-running series on the "human body and sin" entitled How Do You Want Your Fire... Now Or Later? And even though the Lord has continued to grow this revelation in my mind (we ain’t through with it yet), He’s kinda like interrupted the series with this very important message of today.

So where do we all start? Well how about the 4th of April, 2001, when I paid a visit to my God-appointed barber in order to get my ears lowered. You see the Jimmy Swaggart Easter Campmeeting was only a few days away, and the Lord had informed me that I was to attend. What a joy! It had been a long time since the Lord had allowed me to show my face at a JSM Campmeeting (July the 4th, 1999, to be exact), and I was more than ready to receive everything that He had in store for me.

But anyway, getting back to the barber shop, after my trim was complete, and I was about to walk out the door, the lady who was taking care of the front desk made a comment about the Bible in my hand and me being a man of God. That was the way the conversation started, but before it was all said and done I had received an invite to attend her husband’s church. In fact it was after she gave me a business card for Pastor Fred Stephens and his Christ Living Word Ministries (CLWM) that she then went on to give me all the dates and times of the weekly services. Praise God! So I believe it was right about then that I gave her my FMHCCI card and sincerely promised that I would pray about the Lord’s will in my attending her husband’s church.

Well that’s how it all started, and then two weeks later, on the 18th of April, the Lord saw to it that I attended my first Wednesday night service at CLWM. From that point on, for the next five (5) weeks anyway, I was present for each and every service except for two. My church life was on a roll, and that’s the way it continued until the 23rd of May when the Lord instructed me not to attend the Wednesday night service. I was really kinda like caught off-guard by the news, but I figured it was only a one time deal... that is until the Lord informed me on Thursday the 24th that He didn’t want me going back to CLWM anymore. So, due to an unfortunate turn of events, it’s now time to write this sermonet on my experience with Pastor Fred Stephens and his CLWM in El Paso, TX. And for reasons that should very shortly become obvious, we’ve entitled this one Pastor Stephens And The Rejected Word From God!

Now seeing how there was an awful lot of wild and crazy stuff that took place during that five (5) week time frame, and seeing how exposing this truth will probably not make me any too popular among the CLW church folk, I asked the Lord to please verify what He wanted me to do through some Scripture. Well it was the very next day in prayer that the Lord answered my request by giving me I Corinthians 4:13-15 as His scriptural proof that "spilling the beans" was what I must do.

Are you ready for the "bean spilling"? Well before we get too engrossed with all the nitty gritty details of this sermonet, what do you say we come to an understanding of God’s "proof text" first. Because reading from I Corinthians 4:13-15 we find: "Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."

So just what do you think about that Scripture? Probably not a whole lot yet, because in order for you to grab hold of it’s significance you would have had to walk in my shoes for the past five (5) weeks. But, even though you haven’t been there and done that, please trust me when I say that the minute I turned to and read those words of Paul, as it applied to the Corinthian church, I understood very well how it all applied to me. Because you see in the beginning of my mission for God with Pastor Stephens and CLWM, I was really blessed by the love and fellowship that I received in his church. In fact I really and truly though that the Lord had finally put me in a local church where The Truth would be both accepted and taught without compromise. That was what I thought, and that’s the way it seemed, until the Lord had me say and do a few things that turned Pastor Stephen’s acceptance of me into one of rejection. "Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." And just what does that mean, you might ask?

Well the word "defamed" in the Greek is "blasphemeo" (to rail on, revile, to speak evil of, against God or man), and the word "intreat" in the Greek is "parakaleo" (to call near, to invite, to invoke, in order to comfort and console). And by putting the two together you get a pretty good idea of what took place after I heard from God and delivered His spirit-filled message to Pastor Stephens. I mean please believe me when I say that after I started speaking God’s Word to the Pastor my popularity went from one who was "most welcomed in his church" to one who was kinda like "the filth of the world". In other words, as the Lord continued to give me His Word for Pastor Stephens, and as I continued speaking out what "thus saith the Lord", it was my efforts to help him know The Truth that only made him dislike me all the more.

So, that takes us to the next part of the Scripture "I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you." Because you see the words I’m about to put into this little sermonet are not intended to destroy the Pastor’s reputation by any means, but instead are meant to help him understand the full import of what God has been trying to say through me. There is a very serious problem in the life and ministry of Pastor Stephens, and the Good Lord is trying to get him to correct it before it’s too late. And having said all that, verse 15 just falls right into place: "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."

Now were you able to make the connection in that last verse? Well in our story of the Pastor and me, God’s intended meaning of that last verse is a little tricky. You see the way God intended for it to be used is in the sense that The Word that was given to me to give to the Pastor was and still is "the gospel". It came from God and was likewise designed specifically for Pastor Stephens. But, because of all the other influences in his life (ten thousand instructors) he was unable to accept it as what "thus saith the Lord". Got it?

That in a nutshell is why we are writing this very bold sermonet about Pastor Fred Stephens and his Christ Living Word Ministries. And now that we’ve gotten the preliminaries out of the way, I guess it’s about time to get it on down with the real nitty gritty. Because it was during the first Wednesday night’s Bible study service (the 18th of April) that the Lord kinda like set the stage for what was going to follow. You see after the service was over and done with, I had the opportunity to share a little of my personal life with a few of the church folks. In other words, I gave my testimony. I mean for the past two years the Lord has taken me on a journey to "Hell and back", and the only folks who can even come close to understanding what it’s all about are those who love the Lord and understand His ways.

Well I finally had an opportunity to tell my story... and tell it I did... which even included a smattering of my "human body and sin revelation". However, in my exuberance (I got caught up in the glory of it all), I got a little ahead of God’s revelation and presumptuously said a few things about the blood of the Old Testament animal sacrifices that had not been fully revealed to me by the Lord. In fact what I said was not God’s Truth, and it wasn’t too long after leaving the church that the Good Lord let me know it.

That was what happened on my first night at church, and then on Friday night (the 20th) I attended my first CLWM prayer meeting. Now please keep it in mind that this new "church environment" was all very radically different than what I was use to. In other words, when it came to prayer, it was sorta like difficult to tune-out the surroundings and tune-into God. However, giving God all the glory for it, I was able to do just that, and at the very start of the session the Lord gave me Matthew 14:33 as Scripture to give to the Pastor: "Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him [Jesus], saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God." That was what the Lord gave me, and as I later researched the meaning of this verse in Matthew Henry’s Commentary it was his comments on the verse that really caught my eye: "Faith is the proper principle of worship, and worship the genuine product of faith."

So what did it all mean? Well at the time of the prayer meeting I really didn’t understand God’s intended Truth, as it applied to Pastor Stephens, but looking back in retrospect I certainly do see it now. Because it was only a few minutes after I received Matthew 14:33 that the Pastor received a Word from God in the form of a vision. And in so many words, what he saw in his vision was the Sword of God (the Holy Spirit) being used as a trophy of man, instead of a "spiritual surgical tool" as intended, with the end results being that of a great big stinking and rotting dead fish (the church). In other words the Lord was warning the Pastor, in a great and mighty way, that the worship at CLWM wasn’t at all the way that He demanded it to be.

What a prayer meeting that was! And just as the Lord had instructed me to do, when it was all over with I apologized to the Pastor for my error in the Word concerning "the brazen altar and the blood". I told him that the Lord had corrected me on my false statement and it was very important that I confess my error to all those who heard it. So I asked him for the names of everyone present during my Wednesday night testimony. In fact it was only the next day, the 21st of April, that I spent my entire Saturday searching the Scriptures for The Truth about "the brazen altar and the blood".

That was what I did on Saturday, and then came Sunday... and boy oh boy what a day it was! It all started at the 10:00 service with a guest evangelist by the name of Mark Riley. I mean right in the middle of his message on Ezekiel 20:33-49, which by the way is another important clue to what God was doing at CLWM (read it for yourself), He looked directly at me and said (in so many words), "Brother, since the first time I laid eyes on you the Lord's been telling me that your ministry is about ready to blast off. Take off your shirt and tie and put on a T-shirt and blue jeans. You're going to be going places that you never dreamed of going before. You're going to be dealing with the young people that society has rejected. I'm talking about the freaks of the world; complete with the drugs, tattoos, and body piercing. Get ready because God's going to give you both the opportunity and a boldness to go into these places that He's chosen you to go."

Now you’ll just have to believe me when I say that I was totally unprepared for what I heard from the Lord that day. I mean not in my wildest imagination had I planned on receiving such a message in the middle of a sermon... but I did, and it wasn’t even over with yet. Because what followed after the sermon was even more of God’s Prophetic Word being spoken to the church folks through Evangelist Riley. In fact the morning service ended somewhere around 3:00 in the afternoon only to start back up at 7:00 that night. And boy oh boy, what a night service it was! Just as Evangelist Riley’s sermon from Ezekial had pointed out, God wanted to deal with each individual in the CLW church about their problems, and what they must do in order to clean-up their lives so that the God of Heaven could use them for His glory. That’s what He wanted and that’s exactly what He did!

Well, as that 7:00 service continued right on along until midnight, I kept right on praying for direction on whether or not the Lord wanted me to go forward and receive "whatever" unfavorable Word God might have in store for me. I mean the one thing I definitely want to do in this lifetime is live it the way God intended. So it was towards the end of the service that I felt the time had come for me to go forward and receive the Word from God as spoken through Evangelist Riley. And that’s exactly what I did. However, it was much to my surprise that the Word spoken to me was not of correction but one of encouragement. Because when I made it to the front of the church Evangelist Riley looked at me and said (in so many words), "Brother, I’m truly honored that the Lord has chosen me to anoint you for service into the ministry. This calling of God that’s on your life was ordained at the time of your birth " And having said all that he proceeded to pray, while laying hands on my head, my heart, and my stomach. At the same time this was all going on, Pastor Stephens was praying in agreement, while holding on to one of my uplifted hands.

What a day in the Lord that was! Great things were all of the sudden starting to happen in my little old life. In fact before leaving the church that night, the Pastor informed me that the Lord had already instructed him to start praying for my safety and well being in my ministry. Wow! I was so overwhelmed that it wasn’t until Monday morning that I finally began to realize just what had taken place. Because you see the truth of the matter is that exactly ten (10) years and three (3) days earlier, on the 19th of April, 1991, The FMH Children’s Club International was incorporated in the state of South Carolina. I mean talk about a monumental occasion! I finally got God’s anointing of the Holy Spirit to do what had been started ten (10) years and three (3) days earlier.

Wow... and double wow! But that’s only the beginning of this story. Because it was the next day, Monday the 23rd of April, that the Lord had me do something that was totally and completely out of the ordinary. You see it was during my job search the previous week that I made the acquaintance of a Christian lady named Monica. And it was this same lady that the Lord brought to my attention, a little later on in the week during prayer, as He gave me the directions on what I must tell her. So, Monday was the appointed day that I had to deliver the message to Monica that "she and her husband were going to the wrong church and both her life and her ministry were dependent on her attending CLWM". Talk about a bold mission! Well I did exactly what I was suppose to do and left the rest of the details in the hands of God.

Without a doubt, the Lord was using me to encourage a "new" minister to join Pastor Stephens and his CLWM team; one that the Pastor didn’t even know about just yet. And that takes us right on into the Wednesday night (the 25th of April) Bible study session. In fact before the service even got started, I did as the Lord had instructed by giving the Pastor a copy of several e-mails concerning a very dangerous situation at the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.

You see there are a few important people within the JSM organization with ministerial positions, who Brother Swaggart sincerely believes are the right people for the job, but yet the Lord says they’ve got to go. That’s what the Lord’s been saying, but for some unknown reason Brother Swaggart hasn’t been able to hear it. And you see it was the Lord’s request through me that Pastor Stephens bring up this very important issue during the Friday night prayer meeting. That’s what the Lord wanted to happen, and I told the Pastor that I would need about fifteen (15) minutes to update the prayer team on the situation before the prayer meeting started... that is if he would agree to it.

So, that’s what took place before the service even started, and then the Bible study actually began. Now the Word that was taught that night was without a doubt a very important Word from God. However, even though it was The Word of God there was a spirit that wasn’t of God that came on the teacher and tried it’s best to take away the spiritual meaning of the Text. In fact it was towards the end of the session that the effects of this "spirit of darkness" on the teacher made me so very uncomfortable that I just kept my face in my Bible for the rest of the service.

But anyway, after the service was over with I apologized to the three remaining people who had heard me speak the error concerning "the brazen altar and the blood". It was then time for me to follow God’s orders by presenting Pastor Stephens with a FMH Children’s Club folder, complete with the plans for our South Carolina and Texas development. I gave him a few of the details for our ministry, and he in turn gave me a few concerning his. And it was also according to the Lord’s instructions that I encourage him to share the building plans for the FMHCCI ranch with his son, who just so happens to be studying architecture in college. I told him that I could really use the help in researching some of the details for God’s proposed building, and it would probably be good for his son to get involved too. That’s the way it went until somewhere around 10:00 when our conversation ended and we left the church.

And that takes us right on into the Friday night prayer session. What a night that was! You see the Lord had been preparing me for several days on exactly what I was to do that night. In fact on the way over to the church I continued praying in the spirit that the Pastor would obey God and pray for the problem at JSM. It was right about then that the Lord told me that if he wouldn’t agree to it then I was to ask him to pray that the Lord would either verify what I was saying as being The Truth or deny it. Well when I walked into the church I was given the opportunity to do just that, because the Pastor met me with the statement that he didn’t feel led of the Lord to pray for the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.

So that started the night off with a bang, and then the Lord gave me a Word for the Pastor. As we were in the prayer circle I was making double sure that the time was right for me to give God’s Word when one of the prayer members said "Bruce, hasn’t God given you a Word to speak?" Glory be to Jesus! That was exactly what I needed to confirm that what I was about to say was of God. And that’s right about when I spoke the Word that "the Lord wanted the CLW church members to volunteer their time to help the Pastor in order for him to spend more time in prayer seeking God’s direction for the ministry." In other words the Pastor needed to spend more time in prayer because he wasn’t receiving some important things that the Lord was saying.

Are you starting to see how this story kinda like all fits together? Well as the prayer meeting ended I once again did as the Lord had instructed by asking the Pastor to take a short drive with me to my apartment. He agreed, and after getting in the truck I began to follow, step by step, everything that the Lord had instructed me to do. First of all I explained to the Pastor that the Lord had informed me that the reason Jimmy Swaggart had his "big problem" a few years back was because he didn’t obey God earlier by building the JSM worship center twice the size that he actually built it. In other words it was his lack of obedience to God in a building project that resulted in his not being able to overcome Satan in an entirely different matter. I then went on to try and enforce the fact that God works in ways that are beyond our understanding, and that’s the reason why it’s so important we always search every though as to whether it’s from God... and if it is then just do whatever He commands.

That was the first item on my list, and then the second one was taken care of very quickly. You see the Lord had specifically given me instruction to volunteer as janitor for the church... and that’s exactly what I did. And seeing how there was no response from the Pastor on my request, I continued right on to the next item on the agenda which just so happened to be the very involved story of God’s promised headquarters house for the FMHCCI. And by the way, for reasons that I won’t even get into right now, we affectionately call this headquarters house-to-be "the mud house". You see it’s located on the side of the mountain, at the end of Devil’s Tower Road, and just as you might well imagine there’s quite a long history that goes along with it. But anyway, we drove by the house and then headed on to my apartment.

Now when we walked into my apartment, the first thing the Pastor experienced was the sounds from the Jimmy Swaggart CD that was continuously playing... just as the Lord had instructed. I then gave the Pastor a brief tour of my place and asked if we could pray on the living room floor... just as the Lord had instructed. The pastor agreed to it, and I then prayed a prayer, in the form of a request, asking that the Pastor would be able to both hear every request from God and likewise follow through in complete obedience to them... because if for some reason he wasn’t able to do this there was a stronghold of Satan in his life that would eventually come between him and his wife. That’s what the Lord asked me to do, and through His Strength I was able to do it. The two of us then talked for a few minutes more on the subject of "Satan’s strongholds" after which I drove the Pastor back to the church. However, it was on the return trip to the church that I made the startling discover that Pastor Stephens does not believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of The Church. He actually believes that the Christians will suffer the "wrath of God" during the Great Tribulation, a virtual Hell-on-earth, right along with the ungodly folks.

To say the least... what a day that was! And that takes us on up to the 28th of April for the Saturday morning 10:00 prayer meeting. So are you ready for this one? Well just so you’ll understand how the day went, I still cringe at the thought of what the Lord had me do. In fact I should have known it was going to be one more long and tough day when the Lord gave me Mark 13:11 as encouragement during my morning prayer: "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost."

That’s what the Lord gave me, and believe you me that’s definitely the way my day turned out. But not wanting to get ahead of the story, what do you say we start it off at the beginning of the prayer meeting. Because amazingly enough, it was during that Saturday morning prayer meeting that the Lord continued on with His previous warning message to those people who might be using the Power of God (Holy Spirit) to produce dead and rotting fish. In fact the focus of God’s Word that morning was directed at those same people as a means of helping them understand how their problem was being manifested. The message from the Lord was that they were being deceived by the devil in such a way that even though they actually heard from God they weren’t believing what they heard was from God. Of course all this fell right in line with the Pastor not being willing to pray for the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.

And it was right about then that one of the prayer members received a very frightening Word from the Lord in the form of a vision. Because what he saw was three people who were carrying what appeared to be a person on each of their backs. The person that saw the vision understood it to mean that the ones being carried were weak and needed the help. However, the Lord immediately impressed on me that what was being carried by the three living humans were actually dead and rotting human bodies that had been strapped to their backs. This was a form of punishment used back during Bible times which would result in the living humans being slowly infested with the death of those they were carrying. What a horrible way to die!

So, this was what the Lord spoke to me, and I in turn very quickly communicated it to the prayer team. God was very forcefully trying to impress on everyone at CLWM the urgent need to address the sin problem within some of it’s members. And it was only very shortly thereafter that a Word from the Lord was given through a Spanish speaking lady who "cried out" the message with much pain and anguish. Even though I didn’t understand what she was saying I felt the very strong spirit of brokenness come all over me. I started weeping and sobbing uncontrollably. The Lord then informed me that this was the spirit that He wanted at CLWM.

Now as that was all going on, the Lord began telling me what I was to do at the end of the prayer meeting. I was to approach a specific prayer member who the Lord had selected, and ask him to go with me after the service to my apartment so that we could lift up the Pastor in prayer. We would pray for the Pastor as he sought for much needed direction and guidance from the Lord.

Well, when the prayer meeting ended I first informed my chosen prayer partner of God’s desires and then asked if he’d be able to participate. I told him that I first had to talk with the Pastor, and then we could head off to my apartment and pray. That was when I walked over to the Pastor and asked if the two of us could talk in private.

What happened next was just as Mark 13:11 had predicted. We went into his office, closed the door, and then step by step, just as the Lord directed, I recalled to his mind the events that had transpired during our trip to and from my apartment the night before. The first thing that I told him was that each and every detail of the previous night’s journey had all been given to me by the Lord, and it was all done for his benefit. I then had him recall the fact that Jimmy Swaggart’s sin problem resulted from his not obeying the Lord concerning JSM’s worship center building size. From that point on I informed him that he desperately needed to disconnect the phone and pray through until he heard from the Lord on how all these details might apply to his life and ministry. I told him that my prayer partner and I would lift him up in prayer until the time that he finally heard from God. I then went on to say that the Lord was going to change his agenda and that’s why he must stop everything else until he was able to hear from God.

Now just so you won’t think that I did all of this in an arrogant conceded manner, it was throughout the entire conversation that I continued telling the Pastor how very humbled I was that the Lord had chosen me to deliver this message to him. In fact during the conversation I actually broke down and wept while encouraging him to do as God had requested. However, even with my humble spirit, I’m sorry to say that the Pastor did not receive the message from the Lord as spoken by me. In fact the verse from Mark 13:11 became very real as the Pastor prayed that the "evil spirit" on me would be cast out. I mean I saw the Pastor sprout horns as an ugly spirit of anger welled up inside of him. He even went so far as to say that he didn’t want us praying for him that afternoon because my God-chosen prayer partner wasn’t fit to be praying for him.

Well, it was right about then that I informed the Pastor of the fact that the Lord had given me the instructions that I had just given him, and regardless of whether he obeyed them or not I intended to follow through in prayer. He then went on to give me his schedule for the day, which was pretty much a full afternoon of prayer at the church in preparation for his upcoming Sunday message. His wife would be cleaning the church that afternoon, and except for taking her and his daughter back home he would be there for the rest of the afternoon.

Remarkably so, I left the Pastor’s office on good terms, and headed out to meet my prayer partner. However, as I walked to my truck I noticed that my prayer partner had seemingly deserted his God-called duties. As I drove to my apartment, determined to pray for the Pastor that afternoon, even if I had to do it all by myself, the Lord let me know that this prayer meeting was a "test of obedience" for my prayer partner... and that he had failed. So upon my arriving at the apartment, I called the Pastor to let him know what had happened, and then I proceeded to pray.

It was probably only about thirty (30) minutes or so after I started my prayer that the Lord told me to go back to the church and ask the Pastor if I could help his wife by cleaning the church... so I did. However, upon my arrival there was no other car at the church, the door was locked, and it appeared that nobody was inside (I rang the doorbell). Well being determined to obey the Lord’s request, I decided to wait until the Pastor returned for his afternoon prayer. And I guess it was only about a half-hour later that my prayer partner drove up. He got out of his car and said that the Lord had been dealing with him about my request. He said that when he called the apartment and found nobody there he decided to try the church. So as we both waited on the Pastor’s return we had a good long Holy Spirit filled conversation.

And what do I mean by long. Would you believe something like two hours? Well even though the Pastor didn’t return, the time we spent talking was definitely not wasted. You see my prayer partner has a very special intercessor gift. When the Spirit of God comes on him he can see things in the spirit world that most others can’t see. And it was during this time we had together that he was able to give me a few prophetic Words from the Lord.

You see the first one he gave me was that I was to record the times and dates of the day-to-day events in my life. He then went on to tell me that the enormous project with the FMHCCI ranch would come about slowly but surely as I continued my walk for the Lord. And then he started telling me about a very strange situation in his life where a prophetic Word was given to him in the form of a Scripture (Revelation 3:10-12). I didn’t understand it at the time, but the Lord informed me later that He wanted us to use this Scripture as a means of showing the Pastor his error in believing that the Christians would suffer in the Great Tribulation.

In fact seeing how the opportunity never fully materialized for me to share this with the Pastor, what better time than now to just go ahead and expose his error. Because as the Lord showed me, the rock-solid proof that Jesus’ Church will not suffer through the Great Tribulation is found in Revelation 3:10: "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."

Now I won’t go into a whole lot of details because they really aren’t needed. In this particular Scripture the Lord was talking to the church at Philadelphia (a symbol of all truly dedicated believers in Christ). They had been faithful in their obedience to God’s Word (kept the word of my patience), and because of it they would not have to endure the up-coming "Hell on earth" called the Great Tribulation. And you see the key to understanding this Truth is found in the two words "temptation" and "try". The Greek word for "temptation" is "peirasmos", which comes from the Greek word "peirazo", which is the same word that’s translated as "try". So you see the two words are very similar in their meaning of "to test with the intention of either proving one is evil or making one to be evil".

Well as all good Christian should know, a truly born-again believer in Jesus Christ is not evil nor would Father God want to make him evil. Real Christians are put to the "test" (the Greek word dokimazo) to prove they are truly God’s children. So the Great Tribulation is all about proving the ungodly to be evil, and the details of why it’s necessary can be found in the sermonet series on "the human body and sin" called How Do You Want Your Fire... Now Or Later? But anyway, as the verse plainly points out, "all the world", which includes everyone "that dwell upon the earth", will go through this "test" that will likewise prove to them that they are evil. This in turn will either bring them to the Lord or drive them completely away from Him (make them forever evil). At this time called the Great Tribulation there will be no "Real Christians" left on the earth.

So, having said all that, let’s get back to me and my prayer partner as we fellowshipped behind the CLW church while awaiting the Pastor’s return. Of course the Lord knew what He was doing that day, and even though the Pastor did not return, the time that we spent together was of unimaginable great value. However, the sun was starting to set, and after having verified with God that it was OK to leave, we headed off on our separate ways.

That was what happened on Saturday the 28th of April... and now for Sunday’s excitement. What a day in the Lord that was! It started out bright and early with the CLWM’s 10:00 morning service and only got hotter from there. Because you see Pastor Stephens always starts his service with what I call a sermonet (sermonette). They’re suppose to be short and sweet little messages from the Word of God, however on this particular morning it got very hot and spicy. In fact I’ve since coined the term of Pastor Stephens’ "sermonets with fire". I mean the fire that came forth from the Pastor’s lips seemed to be directed my way, and the fact that he didn’t make eye contact with me kinda like reinforced my feelings.

But anyway, his sermonet message was directed to a few of the members who had some "garbage they needed to get rid of". So after the service I told the Pastor that I would immediately go seek the Lord in prayer as to what garbage I needed to bring to the church for "garbage pick-up". Well when I got back to the apartment that was exactly what I did. I asked the Lord if what I had done the previous day was of Him or not, and that I likewise needed for Him to identify any and all sins in my life. That was what I asked and the answer that I got was "everything is alright, just keep on walking in the Lord."

And then came the 7:00 night service. During the message the Lord instructed me to go up after the service for prayer... and the prayer that He wanted prayed was that "the Lord would illuminate any sin in my life so that I might confess it and put it under the Blood of Jesus." Well at the end of the service that’s exactly what I did. However, as the Pastor spoke my prayer request to the Lord a whole lot more very quickly followed. Because as the Pastor laid his hand on me he began speaking about the "whirlwind" that was going on all around me in my life. He then prophesied about the witches who had been trying to work their "evil magic" on my life but were now on the run with their powers broken. Wow! Talk about powerful! He then continued on by speaking "peace" over my entire body as my body actually became lost to the world around me. In fact, without a doubt, if the Pastor wouldn’t have had his hand on my shoulder I would have fallen backwards to the floor.

The Power of God that works through mortal man is truly amazing! And having said all that, what do you say we move on into Monday the 30th of April. Because it was during the Monday night praise and worship service that the Pastor obeyed God by sharing with us some of his "darker moments" with the Lord. Now why in the world do you figure the Lord had him tell us about a few of his most stubborn and rebellious moments with God... and what it finally took for him to not only hear what "thus saith the Lord" but also obey Him? Believe me when I say that I really wanted to stand up and shout "that’s what’s happening to you right now Pastor!"... but I didn’t.

So, after the service was over, my prayer partner from Saturday informed me that he had a Word from the Lord to give me. He said Sunday night he had a dream in which he saw a bunch of teenage boys all lined up, and the most unusual thing about them was that all of them had the right top side of their head severely swollen. He said their heads were very very distorted. Then it was that morning (Monday) when the Lord told him to share the dream with me, and that I would understand what it all meant.

Well, at that moment in time I had no earthly idea what it all meant. So when I got back to the apartment I prayed about it, and what the Lord told me was to "buy the book". Now to clue you in to what "the book" was all about, it was earlier on in the day that I had read an article on the Internet entitled Religion And The Brain. In the article it not only talked about the fact that the right side of the brain is involved in religious activity but it also referenced the book Why God Won’t Go Away as having the specific information of how it basically works. And in preparation for God’s continuing series on "the human body and sin", the Lord wanted me to just buy the book and read it. So I bought it, and I’m reading it, and stay tuned for part VIII of How Do You Want your Fire... Now Or Later?

OK, so we’ve done Monday, and now it’s time for Wednesday May the 2nd. Ain’t this an exciting adventure? Well the Bible study session for that night was focused on the subject of "hope and tribulation". Don’t you just love the way the Lord puts these things together? And it was after the study session that the Pastor gave a mini presentation on the fact that "the Christians are going to go through the tribulation period". Now even though I knew what he had said was wrong I didn’t felt led of the Lord to challenge it. So after the service had ended I went up for prayer as the Lord had instructed. The request that I made to the Pastor was that he pray the Lord would give me "a righteous fear deep down in my bones". In other words, when it comes to respecting God for Who He is, I asked that it become a natural part of my physical make-up. As the Pastor laid his hand on my head and prayed that prayer I felt the Power of the Holy Spirit, in the form of heat, between his hand and my head. Awesome!

Moving right along into Friday April the 4th, it was early that morning when I received a call from the Pastor asking if I would be able to help unload a truck. CLWM has a "food bank" that gives away food and clothing that’s been donated to them, and on that particular day there was a big load of food scheduled to arrive at 11:30. I accepted the invitation, and shortly after hanging up the phone was given James 5:19-20 by the Lord as Scripture to share with the Pastor. I arrived at the church, we unloaded the truck, and I was able the make the acquaintance of some new Christian friends. As we ended the meeting in prayer, I then mentioned to the Pastor about the Scripture that the Lord wanted me to share with him. However, before I could get my Bible, he headed off in another direction back to the church.

That was the way Friday morning went, and then came the 7:00 prayer meeting. It all started out in a normal enough manner, but when the assistant pastor started rebuking the "spirit of brokenness" as being from the devil I completely lost my composure. You see the voice that she heard, in answer to her prayer, was really the Spirit of God commanding that she change the atmosphere of the meeting into one of worship (a broken and contrite spirit before the Lord). The Lord was not pleased with the attitude being shown Him and He likewise demanded that it change. And this was right about the time that the assistant pastor railed out against the Spirit of God by telling Him to leave. From that point on everything in me wanted to leave, but the Spirit of the Lord continued telling me to stay. So in order to make it through the rest of the prayer meeting I kept my eyes completely closed to my surroundings and likewise prayed for the strength to endure.

Now what normally follows the Friday night prayer meeting is the Saturday morning prayer meeting... but believe you me I did not want to go. In fact when I got back to the apartment Friday night I was so overwhelmed in a spirit of darkness that I could do absolutely nothing but just go to bed. So when Saturday morning rolled around I came up with all kind of good excuses why I should not attend... but none of them seemed to work. In fact the Lord not only told me to be there, but He also gave me some very detailed "specifics" as to what I must do.

Are you ready for this? Well as the prayer meeting started there were only six people present (including me), and the assistant pastor was not one of them. Thank you Lord! Because you see what the Lord had given me to say was really bold with a capital "B" to say the least. But anyway, as the Pastor started praying the Lord moved on him to ask if anyone had received a Word from the Lord. That was right about the time I grabbed my Bible and read the Scripture from II Samuel 6:3-7 that the Lord had given me for this purpose. And as I read the part about Uzzah touching the Holy Thing of God (The Ark), and likewise being instantly smitten by the Power of God, I related, just as the Lord had given me, how this Scripture was a warning to all (the three in particular with the dead men strapped to their backs) who "handle" God’s Holy Spirit without righteous fear. I went on to explain how the Lord had shown me, in a vision, three people supernaturally reaching up and touching one of the enormous power transmission lines (as big around as your arm) and immediately being atomized in a bright flash of light.

Now as I was reading the Scripture and giving the Word it was all that I could do to maintain my composure. The Spirit of God was all over me, and it was everything I could do to keep from weeping. After I gave the message the Pastor said that the Lord had told him to give me the freedom to speak whatever else the Lord might give me. I then told him that the "spirit of brokenness" that was on the Spanish speaking lady the preceding Saturday was of God. A "broken and contrite heart" was what the Lord expected from the members of the CLW prayer team. It was right about then that one of the prayer members actually "smelled" the presence of the Lord. A Word was then given by the person standing next to me concerning a spirit in the church that wasn’t of God. The Pastor continued by commenting on how the world is full of churches operating in a spirit other than that of the Lord. I then spoke up very quickly, just as instructed by the Lord, that the Word which was just given applied to CLWM and the incident that took place in the prayer meeting the night before.

And it was right about then that the Pastor received a Word from the Lord to put on a specific worship album and let God have his way. Well that’s what he did, and I can personally testify that the tears then flowed abundantly from my face. After the worship music had ended, we regrouped in a prayer circle, and I was then able to straighten out a misunderstanding concerning my wife. You see it was during one of the previous prayer meetings that the need arose for me to tell how the Lord had informed me over two (2) years ago that my marriage was over... even though in the natural it wasn’t. However, it was immediately after I made that statement that the Pastor contradicted me by saying "if it’s God’s will your marriage is over." I was caught off guard and didn’t reply, but later on the Lord told me that I must correct him by saying "God said my marriage is over... and therefore it’s over." So at the end of the Saturday morning prayer meeting, in front of the prayer team, I gave the Pastor the "message from God" just as instructed.

Now the Sunday services for the 6th of May seemed to be pretty much back on track. The morning message was amazingly enough on the same Scripture that the Lord had spoken through me just the day before (II Samuel 6:1-11). After the message was over the Lord had me share with my prayer partner the Word from the Lord concerning a homosexual pastor friend. You see for a few years now I’ve been trying to tell this "homosexual Christian" that he is not covered by the Blood of Jesus if he willfully continues in his homosexual sin. It seemed like nothing I said could break through his homosexual "spirit of darkness". I was about ready to give up when the Lord said that I was to inform him that he now has AIDS.

So after receiving that very bold Word from the Lord I continued in prayer for a week or so just to make sure... and then I sent him an e-mail with the bad news. It had been only a few days since giving my homosexual friend the message that I obeyed God by sharing the story with my prayer partner at CLWM. As I was telling the story to him the Lord immediately took him in a vision to California where he saw three people running scared (the homosexual pastor and two of his associates). He then said that salvation was going to come to these three, and, in-turn, they would infiltrate the homosexual community with the True Word of God. Praise the Lord!

Moving right along to the Monday night praise and worship session, things seemed to be continuing on the right track with the Spirit of God moving during the service. The following day (Tuesday), the Lord instructed me to visit the CLWM food bank for a few hours. While I was there I not only had the chance to meet a few folks from orphanages in Juarez, Mexico, but I also had a good long talk with the man responsible for maintaining the store (food bank). Then it was right about 12:45 that all of the sudden I felt the Lord telling me it was time to leave. I excused myself and headed for the apartment. As I had just gotten off the freeway I noticed a most unusual lady making her way across the busy street in a wheel chair. I thought it look kinda strange, so when I got to the apartment I prayed about it. That was when the Lord instructed me to go back and help her.

Well I won’t go into all the details about the "wheel chair lady" because that’s another story of it’s own. However, what I will mention is that after it was all said and done I helped her get back to where she was staying, and then gave her my card along with a comment that she could call me anytime she needed my help. Because you see it was the very next night at Bible study (Wednesday the 9th of May), that the Lord impressed on me very strongly to pray for the wheel chair lady after the service. So that’s what I did. In fact as we were gathered in the prayer circle it was the assistant pastor who the Lord asked (through me) to pray for her. And the prayer that was prayed was that the wheel chair lady would have the wisdom and courage of God to make the right decisions.

So, when I got back to my apartment that night I very quickly noticed a message on my answering service. It was much to my amazement that when I played the message I heard the wheel chair lady saying "I’m at the bus depot Bruce, you can come pick me up." Now due to the very unusual circumstances involved with the wheel chair lady I immediately asked the Lord what to do. I then dialed the number back where she had called from only to find that she had already left on a bus. Well it was two days later that I received a call from the wheel chair lady who was then in the hospital. She had encountered some very critical health problems, and even though I wasn’t home to help her the Lord saw to it that she got what she needed. Praise God for prayer!

Continuing on with Friday the 11th of May, the Lord started bright and early by giving me details on what He wanted done at the CLWM prayer meeting. The first thing He told me to do was play back a tape recorded version of the wheel chair lady’s message that was left on my answering service Wednesday night. This I did in front of the prayer team. And then I went on to give God the glory for answering our Wednesday night prayer request that resulted in the wheel chair lady getting to and being safely admitted into the hospital.

That’s the way it all started, and then the Lord continued building His Word on "false prophets and false teachers". The anointing was very strong that night, and His Word was spoken loud and clear. That was right about the time the assistant pastor said "The Lord’s telling me there’s someone here who has the rest of this message; please speak it if you’ve received it." Well that person just so happened to be me, and the rest of the message was what the Lord had given me concerning I Timothy 3:14-16 and 4:1-2. The Lord had instructed me to first read the Scripture aloud to the prayer team, and then pray for the ministers who were spreading the false teaching that Jesus had to be tormented in Hell in order to pay the sin debt of the world (the Jesus died spiritually lie). And the specific pastors that I was to pray for were Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Fredrick Price, Paul and Jan Crouch, Benny Hinn, and everyone involved in the Word of Faith Ministry (see dermonet The Word Of Faith Error And Copeland, Meyer, Price, Crouch, And Hinn!. That was what I was to do, but I could not give the Word until I was specifically called out by name to do so.

Well the prayer session finally ended and I was never called to give the message. Then came the Saturday morning prayer meeting (the 12th of May). Once again the Lord prepared me to give His Word concerning the "Jesus died spiritually" doctrine... and once again I was never called to give it. The main topic of prayer that morning was "renegade spirits", false doctrines, and the likes. Without a doubt the atmosphere was right for what the Lord had given me. In fact it was during the prayer session that the assistant pastor once again asked for the person who had a Word on the "false prophets and false teachers" to give what the Lord had given them. What a shame! The prayer that the Lord wanted prayed for the pastors caught-up in a damnable doctrine never got prayed!

And then, as the prayer meeting proceeded on, the Lord spoke to the Pastor very strongly about a certain preacher on the Gulf Coast, somewhere close to the Mississippi River, who the Lord was going to use mightily for the work of Christ during these end-time days. He went on to say that this particular preacher had been kicked-out of his major denomination and given-up as dead by the religious world, but God was about ready to bless his ministry with miracles of an unprecedented proportion. What God was about to do in his ministry would be so astounding that much of the religious world would attribute it to the powers of Satan. However, for all those who continue mocking this preacher’s efforts for The Gospel, the judgment of God will come both quickly and harshly upon them. In fact the Pastor said that he heard the Word so clearly that it was like Jesus was standing right next to him when He spoke the Word.

So what do you think about that? Well I know exactly what I thought about it because I immediately followed up my thought with a prayer... which was "Lord, were you talking about Jimmy Swaggart?" That’s what I asked and the unquestionable answer that I got back was "Yes". I mean this one just flat out blew me away. How far would the Lord go to try and get Pastor Stephens to hear what He was saying about Jimmy Swaggart?

Well... this has been one more loooong sermonet. I mean here we are on page sixteen (16) already, and we’ve still got another week’s worth of Pastor Stephens and his CLWM yet to go. Lord help us!

OK, so where did we leave off? Well the exciting prayer meeting we just got through with was on a Saturday, so the next service was on Sunday the 13th of May; Mother’s Day. The Pastor’s message for that special day was based on the story of Esther (Hadassah), and I sincerely believe the full impact of that sermon is yet to be realized. The Lord had the Pastor say some things in that message, that could, in the very near future, help him hear The Truth about Jimmy Swaggart that he’s kinda like forever continued to ignore.

And seeing how there was no Sunday night service due to Mother’s Day, we can move right on along to the Monday night praise and worship session. As well as I remember the music was uplifting and the Pastor’s mini message at the end was also the same. Then it was time for me to follow-through with the Lord’s instructions by asking the Pastor about James 5:19-20. This was the Scripture that I had tried to show the Pastor several weeks before, after we’d unloaded the truck for the food bank. But anyway, the appointed time had come for me to get the Pastor’s opinion of what it all meant.

Now the Scripture that was in question is as follows: "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." And the God-given question that I asked the Pastor after having read the Scripture to him was "is the one who’s ‘multitude of sins’ gets hidden ‘the sinner’ or ‘the one who’s converting the sinner’?" I explained to him that I was under the impression that the one having his sins hidden was the one who was helping the sinner see his error.

Well after a few minutes of looking and searching the Pastor made the comment that even though he hadn’t "heard it from the Lord" he felt that it was "the sinner that finally got converted" who’s multitude of sins would be hidden. So after having received his answer I made the comment that I would pray about what he had said.

All right, so we’re finally getting towards the end of this real life adventure, and the Good Lord is about to turn up the heat. Because you see it was during the Wednesday night Bible study session, on the 16th of May, that everything started popping like pop corn. I mean it all began with a mini message from the Pastor that went something like this: "The time has come that the church must obey God immediately or receive His justice immediately. God is talking, but the church isn’t listening. Many don’t want to hear prophetic (the Word).When I make a mistake I want to hear about it. They (the church) think they can stand on the Word and fight God."

Now I don’t know what you thought about his little message, but it was everything I could do not to shout out for the Pastor to practice what he was preaching. I mean without a doubt, Pastor Stephens was preaching the True Word of God but it was directed straight at him.

And if that wasn’t enough already, would you even want to guess what the assistant pastor conducted her Bible study on. Would you believe I Timothy and "some shall depart from the faith"? The Lord was really burning it down that night, but not everyone was receiving it. Because you see immediately after the meeting the Lord had me talk with the Pastor once again about James 5:19-20, except this time I told him that the Lord had shown me that the person risking his neck to correct the erring sinner was the one who’s multitude of sins would be hidden. In fact I went on to explain how the Lord had shown me through my very own real-life adventure with The Toro Company. The CEO, Mr. Ken Melrose, is the erring sinner who the Lord sent me out to help, and without a doubt I’ve suffered greatly because of it (see Sermonet How Is Mr. Melrose Of Toro And Mr. Moses Of The Bible Alike?). However, along with the suffering came both a peace and absence of fear like I’ve never imagined before. This is what actually happens physically and spiritually to those who risk their life in order to help the erring sinner... a multitude of sins get hidden!

Now would you like to guess what the Pastor had to say about that? Well it was about the time that he opened his mouth to reply to my comment that I saw two horns sprout out of the top of his head once again. I mean the Pastor got down right violent as he very quickly told me that my understanding of the Scripture was wrong!!! He said it was without a doubt that the one having "a multitude of sins hidden" was the "converted sinner". Talk about anger! I think the Lord’s chosen Scripture kinda like touched his sore spot... but that’s what the Good Lord intended for it to do. In fact in terms of the spirit world, it was this Scripture that ran the snake out of it’s hiding place in Pastor Stephens’ soul. Remember our little talk about the "strongholds of Satan"?

Moving right on along to the Friday night prayer meeting, the Lord impressed on me once again to be ready to give the message on "Jesus died spiritually", but not to give it until my name had been called to speak it. As the prayer session started there was a long period of time that nobody gave anything from the Lord. I mean the entire time this was going on I could "hear" the Lord very strongly telling the Pastor to "call on Bruce for the Word". That’s what the Lord wanted, but the Pastor just wouldn’t listen. In fact when we returned to the prayer circle the Lord saw to it that I ended up standing next to the Pastor. When I went to grab his hand he pulled away so that I barely had a grip on the end of his fingers. Talk about resisting the Lord! Well it didn’t stop there, because the Word that was finally spoken by the assistant pastor was directed at those who were not obeying the Prophetic Word of God. And having said that, she once again made the statement that God had given someone a Word that He wanted spoken. It was then that the Pastor filled in by giving a continuation of what the assistant pastor had already given.

So, Friday the 18th of May was the third prayer meeting in which the Lord wanted me to pray for the false teachers and their lie of "Jesus died spiritually", but the Pastor once again refused to call on me to give The Word. And that takes us right on into the Saturday morning prayer meeting as the Lord prepared me once again to give His Word. In fact the prayer meeting was almost a repeat performance of the past one. We started off with a brief period of worship music, then the assistant pastor once again gave a Word from the Lord on "false doctrines". As usual, what followed was her request for the person who had the rest of the Word to please give it. Once again the pastor filled in with a few words of his own as the real Word of God remained silent.

OK, we’ve got two more days to go in this message, and I’ll try my best to help you "feel" the demonic oppression that was about to come down on top of my little old head. You see it was on the 20th of May, at the Sunday morning service, that Pastor Stephens dished out another one of his "sermonets with fire". Now as I tell you about the "fire", please keep it in mind that the Pastor’s wife had not attended any of the weekly meetings for one whole week. Since the previous Sunday she had kinda like been AWOL from church. And seeing how I’d been the one to give the Pastor the bad news about his family situation "if" he didn’t take care of Satan’s strongholds in his life, it was this fire from the Pastor’s lips that really shot straight out at me. Because the focus of Pastor Stephens’ short message was on those in the church who think they are holy but yet they go around breaking-up families. And once again, one of the very unnerving indicators that he was talking to me was that he never once made eye contact with me during his little fiery spill.

I mean the atmosphere was thick with a spirit of anger. And then right in the middle of the singing the Pastor stopped the music, looked to the back of the room, and told his son and daughter to "just leave and go back home". Now the way that this all happened kinda like caught me off guard. You see he called out the names of the two, with a great amount of anger, and then informed them of the fact that he had warned them for the last time about being late for church. He said "the judgment of God starts in the house of the Lord" and then he threw them out.

Well, seeing how I was pretty new to all these people, the fact that he called out the names of his children kinda like completely went over the top of my head. I was in the front of the church and wasn’t about to turn around to see what was going on. So what I imagined was taking place was two adult church members being kicked out for being late. And even though I shortly thereafter realized the two were his children, the fact that two horns were poking through the top of the Pastor’s head when he corrected them kinda like chilled me down to my very bones. Talk about being rattled!

So after the service was over I made one of those bee-lines straight to the side door. I mean I did not waste any time with the small talk. I was out of there like a flash. I went home and immediately got prayed-up for the night service which turned out to be "calm" in comparison. The Pastor’s wife was not there once again, and likewise I did not waste any time getting out of church after the service.

Monday morning, the 21st of May, came about pretty quickly, and I started it with a prayer that went something like this: "why me Lord... why have you gotten me in all this mess?" That’s what I prayed, and the answer that He gave was "in order to test your faith." Well the answer that He gave was enough to pump me up for one more day of CLWM. Because it wasn’t long after that it was time for the Monday night praise and worship service. As I walked into the church and sat down the Pastor approached me with the question of "Is everything all right?" Now I’m not too sure why that simple little question set me on edge, but just maybe it had something to do with the smirk that was on the Pastor’s face.

But anyway, I very quickly told the Pastor that I was ready for worship, and he likewise very promptly followed up my request by starting the service. And glory be to God, right there in the middle of a praise and worship song a dear sweet lady walked up behind me, tapped me on the back, and then said "you’re under the banner of the Lord!" Now even though the words she spoke were the words of the song, it was very encouraging to me that someone personally reminded me that I was under the protection of God.

Well after the music portion of the service the Pastor made comment about how the Lord had actually allowed him to see a demonic spirit on the shoulder of a preacher some time in the past. The point that he was trying to make was that the thoughts we often have are the result of a demonic spirit whispering lies in our ear. Because it was this preacher, the one with the little demon perched on his shoulder, who was repeating every lie that was being whispered in his ear. And with that thought in mind, the Pastor went on to tell us about his earlier trip to Africa, and a letter that he’d just received as a result of one of the messages he’d preached while there.

As the Pastor went on to say, the Text of that message was from Isaiah 4:1-6, and it’s meaning had to do with the two types of churches. He said that verse one (1) represented man’s church while verse two (2) represented God’s church.

Now I wasn’t too sure if this was just another case of a demonic spirit whispering in a preacher’s ear, but in my Bible, verse one (1) deals with the Jewish people who were without Christ but yet had miraculously survived the slaughter during the Great Tribulation. Then in verses two through six (2-6) these same Jewish survivors (Israel) have finally accepted Jesus as their Savior, Lord, and King at His Second Coming.

So do you think that just maybe the Pastor was headed into a future discussion on why the Christians are going to suffer God’s wrath in the Great Tribulation? Well I really don’t know, because it was the following Wednesday (May the 23rd) that the Lord told me not to attend the Bible study session. And then it was the very next day that the Lord told me it was time to put together this sermonet that would likewise expose the error of Pastor Stephens and his Christ Living Word Ministries.

Well, this has definitely been another chapter in the life of "Dad", and I will sincerely miss attending the CLW church. As we close out this very long letter please let me encourage everyone to pray for Pastor Stephens, his wife and children, and also all those associated with his church. God’s got a great plan in place for those folks, but without a doubt Satan’s doing his dead level best to stop it.

Until next time, please pray long and hard about everything you think and hear... so that you can

Keep on keeping The Faith In Jesus!!!

Love,

Dad (Bruce Hallman)