[Inside the Vineyard] What was it that first brought you to Vineyard
Boise?
[Mike Freeman] We had quite literally just stepped away from full time
pastoral ministry when we first came to the Vineyard in October of 1997.
LaWayne and I had pastored in a very “straight-laced” Evangelical
denomination for nearly 17 years. We had been greatly blessed by many
people and in many ways, but there had been a growing yearning for a
whole lot more of the Lord than we were experiencing.
Since we moved to Boise to pastor a church here in 1989, a stirring had
been growing within us to see some of the rhetoric I had so often
repeated about our church being “the church you can read about in the
Bible” translated into real life. The contrast in what I saw in myself
and in our church and what I saw as I read through the gospels and Acts
became increasingly difficult to dodge. I saw this in areas of worship,
fellowship, outreach, benevolence, and in personal, daily holiness. So I
challenged myself and our congregation – not always as gracefully as I
should have – to break new ground and really do what we see Jesus doing
in the pages of the gospel, no matter where that takes us.
Over the summer of 1997 it became very clear that we were changing, but
the church was not. We felt new wine about ready to burst within us, but
seemingly no new wineskins to put it in! So we determined before the
Lord that we would leave pastoral ministry and the church I had known
since coming to the Lord in 1975 (and that LaWayne’s family had been in
for three generations) at the end of September, 1997. To me it was a lot
like Abraham laying Isaac on the altar; I had to lay it down on the
altar and then see what new thing God would do. And, also like Abraham,
we went out not knowing where we were going.
We
visited two other churches in town and walked away sensing no call to
either place. LaWayne and I both sensed there was a bit too much deja-vu.
Then, just our second Sunday out of the ministry, we came to the
Vineyard to visit some friends from our old church who had been
attending at Vineyard Boise for about three months. We had no intention
of doing anything but visiting. And so in we came…
How would you describe that first visit?
As
we pulled into the parking lot, our main concern was that it wouldn’t be
too “weird.” But stepping into the sanctuary, whether audibly or not I
don’t know, but I said a deep, “Wooooow.” You see, most of the sanctuary
at that time was tables and chairs – something that in itself shouted
for the first time in my heart the word that has come to summarize what
we have found here: “Freedom!”
Our
kids saw people eating muffins on those tables, and they shouted another
word: “Food!” And for many weeks, the Vineyard was the “Muffin church”
to them!
So
we entered in, sat at a table (actually, two tables, there being seven
of us), and then worship began. Another deep, “Wooooow! This was how I
had been worshipping in secret for at least the past three years. “But
what would the message be like?”, I thought. Great sanctuary, awesome
worship, muffins…but what if some “crackpot” is in the pulpit? Tri gets
up. He’s in the second week of a series on the Ten Commandments –
although I’m pretty sure he just ended up teaching seven of them…
Two
words characterized what I saw in and heard from him that morning, and
what I’ve heard and seen consistently since: Authenticity and grace. A
third and final, “Wooooow!” And I knew that morning we were home.
Your background
was more from the evangelical camp but your whole family sure gets into
the worship time. They seem to have naturally responded to the freedom
of the Spirit here.
Yes, but remember, we were sneaking out for years and going to Promise
Keepers and worship events at Calvary Chapel and other places. And once
you get turned on to real worship with the whole heart, worship to
God, not just about Him, that’s it, it’s all over. So God had
prepared our hearts and wooed us to Himself for some time.
It
still doesn’t diminish the amazement and gratitude I feel every time I
pause to watch my kids worshipping – especially at some youth functions
here we’ve sat in on. When I see them dance, or wave flags, or pogo, or
just sway with eye’s closed, or see them singing in the new Vineyard
choir and know that I’m not making them do that – they’re actually
encountering the Living God here – it just blows me away! I feel that
our being here is God’s gift to them. He’s given them a real heritage of
freedom to enjoy and to pass on. Freedom to be everything that God has
made them to be…
People have really
enjoyed when you have acted out different characters of the Bible. How
did you get started doing this?
Okay, first of all, it was never my idea to act out anything. A few
years back, Amy Kusin was needing someone to help with the Christmas
party for all of the adopted families, and she asked if I would do
something. LaWayne suggested telling the Christmas story as Joseph,
wearing a biblical costume she had recently made for me. Okay, I
thought, it’s just a few people and then it will all be over. But Tri’s
mom, Joan Robinson was there when I did it and suggested to Tri that I
do the same thing during the main service.
I
did not take drama in high school, and I can’t act worth beans. So doing
the same thing before the whole church was very uncomfortable and very
weird. But it seemed to go over well. I thought that was that. But then
when Tri was teaching through Romans, the thought struck me of coming
out as Paul and just preaching a few chapters of Romans. That I could
get into, and I did. It was and is a blast.
Who is your favorite character and why?
So
far I’ve been Joseph, Paul, Peter, and James. I like to say that I am
getting a bad case of “multiple biblical personality syndrome.” As for
my favorite character, it’s a toss-up between Paul and James, both for
the same reason: they both resonate an all-out passion for Jesus and the
good news of authentic Christianity that really touch the strings of my
heart.
You have been
blessed (and worked hard) to memorize lots of scripture. How has this
benefited your life?
Memorizing scripture is just what I did as a young Christian teen who
was hungry. I read the Bible intensively in those early years (say from
age 15 through 19) – I’m talking about an average of 16 chapters a day,
going through the entire New Testament roughly once a month. Not that
that qualifies me for “sainthood” – it’s just I had no social life, and
I was hungry!
I
started memorizing individual verses, then paragraphs, then a short
chapter, with no definite plan or method in mind. Then, in the early
80’s after I had started pastoring, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to
memorize a whole book? Then I could take it with me anywhere, anytime!”
I started with James, then went on to 1 John, and then started working
through Paul’s letters. It was just a personal “discipline” – though
saying it was a discipline is like saying I discipline myself to eat
freshly baked doughnuts! I was hungry! While I’m not consuming at the
same pace as my younger years, the appetite is still there and I’m
naturally drawn to it. Few things bring greater joy than to converse
with the Lord through the words of Paul and James and John and Peter!
Any memorization techniques you would like to share?
Use
the same Bible; say it out loud; and do it little and do it often.
“Little,” in that you need to take it in bite sized pieces (usually one
complete thought at a time). “Often,” in that you need to space it out
over time. To repeat a verse 50 times in one sitting really serves as
only one imprint on your mind. Say it aloud. Go away and do something
else, then recall it or read it aloud again, say fifteen minutes later,
and keep repeating that process through the day. Turn your radio off
when you’re driving, and fill that time with meditation (speaking the
Word aloud to yourself and to the Lord). Meditate when you’re doing the
dishes, when you’re in the shower, walking the dog, etc. Pray it, sing
it, rap it (you’ve never really heard Romans until you try to rap it –
and no, I won’t ever attempt that in public – another blessing for which
you may be very thankful!). Have fun with it. Also recognize that I’ve
been on a specific, somewhat eccentric “diet” of memorization that not
everyone is called to. But if the calling and hunger is there, the grace
will be there to follow through!
You and LaWayne
have one son and four daughters. Do you and your son Brandon ever feel
ganged up on?
Periodically. And it doesn’t help that most of our family pets have been
female too. This is not the family we planned! But as usual, God’s plans
work out a whole lot better than our wildest dreams.
