John Edward Cooper’s Notes
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“INCREDIBLE” AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN NELSON PARR  John Nelson Parr, Fleetwood, Lancs. England. March, 1972. “Incredible”: autobiography of John Nelson Parr — Contents Chapter Fourteen: Incredible Training Chapter Fifteen INCREDIBLE METHODS When the Second World War finished in 1945 it was still difficult to get the unsaved into the meetings. After seeking the face of the Lord, He put into my heart revolutionary plans for attacking principalities, powers and wicked spirits who were rushing millions of young and old into hell. I was greatly inspired by the following words written by Rev. Samuel Chadwick “There is no divinity in methods. They are expedients chosen for their effectiveness and their only justification is their success. The Church is hampered and crippled by its absurd reverence for useless and worn-out methods. Its armoury is a museum, useless in warfare and turning soldiers into dawdlers and cranks. Methods successful in one generation are useless in the next and to cling to useless apparatus while men are perishing is criminal folly. Keep moving. Adapt your methods to the task, men do not go fishing with a frying pan, nor shooting with broomsticks. If Saints had as much sense as they have piety, the world would be saved, but alas “the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light”. The Church is cursed with a conservatism that clings to effete and useless forms and methods. Most Churches would find their salvation in a Hezekiah who would call their brazen serpents by their right names and break them in pieces. When any method becomes a lifeless and useless thing, its proper place is the scrap heap. The only way to conquest is over the bodies of dead heroes. Keep moving. Let the dead bury their dead. Let dead men stop with dead things, and let the living follow the living Spirit. Keep moving Brethren. There is life and conquest in progress, the stationary stagnate and die. New wine bursts old bottles. “The Spirit of aggression will burst a good many things and the sooner the better”. This statement should be written in letters of fire on the walls of every Church. We refused to listen to some cranks who said “Cheer up Brother, numbers don’t count”, and others would say “After all Brother to be in the Will of God is better than success”. I refused to have stagnation and cessation of progress. We were not after increased offerings or big offerings but we were after big hell-bound sinners. On one occasion I was moved to attack the hosts of hell and darkness by launching a gigantic literature crusade and determined to distribute in one month 250,000 Gospel tracts. Five captains were appointed over five groups to supervise distribution to all classes of people within two miles of the Tabernacle. One captain supervised distribution to every pub, another supervised distribution to every school and college, another had charge of distribution at every football match and others went to every coffee bar, milk bar, bingo hall and shopping centre. Our goal was reached and in one month our workers had distributed 250,000 Gospel tracts. The Lord abundantly blessed this move and we had the joy of continually seeing lost sinners accepting the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour. On another occasion the Lord gave me directions to launch a 500 Crusade. The crusade was launched on January 1st. We had very large celluloid badges made bearing the figures “500”. We supplied the wearers of the badges with circulars giving them advice on what to say when asked “What does that badge mean?” They were also advised what to do if people became interested; how to lead them to Christ and how to follow them up. During that year we received the names and addresses of over seven hundred people who were won for Christ, in buses, trains, shops, homes and other places. We refused to submit to failure, stagnation or lack of progress and many plans were designed for attacks on the hosts of hell and darkness and to liberate young and old from the grip of sin and Satan. One plan was a mail order soul winning scheme and carefully worded letters were sent to hundreds of addresses each month for four months. We had a marvellous motor cavalcade with motor cars and motor bikes bearing streamers. On another occasion we had fifty sandwich boards made, and fifty of our white-hot soul winners marched round the district, ten yards apart; this enabled the people to read all the texts and messages on the posters. Our God is the God of variety and we must be prepared to change our methods if we are not meeting with success in winning souls for Christ. God gave Moses a rod and probably Pharaoh’s Generals thought Moses was a fool when they saw him stretch his rod over the Red Sea but they did not laugh when, having reached the other side of the Red Sea, Moses stretched out his rod and the waters came back and drowned every one of Pharaoh’s Generals, officers and warriors. The Lord did not give Joshua a rod to make a way through Jordan, but instructed him to put the priests, carrying the Ark, at the head of the procession. Away with absurd reverence for worn-out methods. Neither Elijah nor Elisha used the ancient method of Moses or Joshua for crossing a river. They took Elijah’s mantle and smote the waters of Jordan and the river was parted. Jehovah has a thousand ways of accomplishing the impossible and He is able to show us new ways and methods of winning the lost and bringing them to Jesus Christ. Chapter 16: Incredible Re-dedication |
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