John Stevens, and Christine Welch know my history. They were there for the university reunion in 1990 held in a wonderful self-catering house behind the house called Winsley, where I had lived in community for many years. Christine and I were not married. Christine was still married to someone else. We never became close until well after the divorce proceedings.
No , the sole reason any of the old Duryard Hall bunch from Exeter University were gathered together, was , firstly to see each other again, but secondly for me to begin sharing the stuff I'd learned through Norman Grubb. At that time I seemed to be the only one combining the Exchanged Life with everything we'd learned through the UK charismatic scene, together with the principles taught by Mother Basilea Schlink and Ed Miller. And sometimes I still think I am the only one who is linking all these things. Even Paul Anderson-Walsh is backpedalling frantically on the charismatic side of things.
One of the things I'd picked up somewhere...including the Bible, is the importance of planting your flag in the sand. The first fathers Abraham through Jacob, bought tranches of Canaan prophetically, and Joseph's bones were taken there. All this required acting by faith on God's Word alone.Because at that point the Land had not been given to Israel.
My step was to restore an entire grand, then with the proceeds I hired this expensive house for a week with which to invite people with a view to share where we were going as the Church.
I disguised the house as a soppy charismatic retreat house, calling it the Sweet Dove Retreat Centre. I invited people in, making sure a lot of the good facilities were covered with painter's sheets, telling everyone that unfortunately a lot of decoration was being carried out that week.
Unfortunately John Stevens arrived late, when I'd already removed the bogus outside retreat sign, so his wife, who was driving got lost! So this was a bit thoughtless of me. I think badmin, (bad administration)rather than trying to make it difficult.
The point was, I wanted to impact my friends with what God was really up to. We, as Christians were thinking of the charismatic movement as a "narrow way", a"wilderness" etc etc,
then at the right time I told them the whole Sweet Dove thing was a lie.
This was about
the Third Level!I ripped off the paint covers, and told them the whole thing to do with the decorators was a lie!
They could go wherever they liked!They could sleep in any room they liked!They could swim in the indoor pool!They could use the jacuzzi!They could play tennis or squash!They could play snooker or read in the big library.They could natter with whoever in the big comfy lounge chairs!They could eat whatever and whenever they liked.They could sleep whenever they liked.We just arranged loose formats for all being together to share.This was nolonger the charismatic movement.This was Christ in their form! As them! The Third level!Well, it sort of worked and sort of didn't!
You see I was 20 years too early. Most of them hadn't a clue what I was going on about! But the bits they got were fun!
