ON THIS DAY IN 1979

"...I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:" (from 2 Peter 3:1)

Thirty-three years.

It was January 25, 1979, thirty-three years ago today that Rachel and Rebecca Rayburn were born.

Rachel and Rebecca Rayburn are identical twin girls who are the children of James and Debbie Rayburn. I went to Central Bible College with James. James Rayburn and I had some things in common. We each held previous Bachelor's Degrees. I had a Bachelor's in History from Stonehill College and he had a Bachelor's in Physical Education from Georgia Southwestern University. I was just a tad older than many of the kids at CBC; not much older, just a couple of years, but James was six years older than me and therefore around eight or nine years older than many of the students. At the time I was at CBC, there were at least twenty-five students in the same boat as we were...those with previous Bachelor's degrees who were classified as "Seniors" for as long as we were there. The typical "Senior" with a previous degree was there for anywhere from one to six semesters. Many went on to the AG Graduate School after a semester or two (it's now called AG Theological Seminary). Many others stayed and graduated from CBC like James and I did. We each have Senior pictures in the 1978 and 1979 yearbooks, but we actually graduated in 1979. The Rayburns hailed from Dawson, Georgia. If you've seen all those Christian films like "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants" which were made in Albany, Georgia, you may be interested to know that Dawson is just a short drive from Albany. (I have visited both places.)

I arrived at CBC in January of 1977 and James in September of that year. At first, he was very nervous, wondering if he really had what it takes to be a minister and wondering if he'd fit in and could make it at CBC. I had been EXACTLY the same way during my first semester, so I kind of "mentored" him for his first few weeks at school and we really hit it off. I learned that James had good reasons to wonder if he'd ever make it as a minister. He is divorced and remarried. In the late 1970s, and in fact up until less than ten years ago, if you were divorced and remarried, the odds that you would ever be credentialed as an Assemblies of God minister were pretty much ZERO. Some students and faculty told him to go home; that he would never be an Assemblies of God minister. (That issue is really not what this piece is about, but as a side note, James was given sort of a make-shift credential by the Georgia AG District allowing him to pastor there. When the Assemblies of God changed their policy on the national level, James was Licensed and Ordained. He pastors the AG church in Soperton, Georgia today.) Something we did at school which we are still very proud of is that we started a Men's Fellowship group at the Maranatha nursing and retirement complex which is located next door to CBC. We had both retired missionaries and elderly sinners coming out to our fellowship meetings on Thursday nights. James and I met and knew personally some of the great ministers of the Assemblies of God from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s because of our ministry at Maranatha.

If you think you can't get pregnant while on the pill, think again! James and Debbie lived in Boyd Hall, the complex for married students who did not have kids. In the Fall of 1978, to Debbie's shock, she tested positive for pregnancy. Debbie is much younger than James. He was twenty-nine at the time and she was just nineteen. A few weeks later, it was revealed that she was carrying twins. They were excited about the babies coming, but due to other issues, especially finances, this was overwhelming for them. Debbie worked at a local pizza fast food restaurant. As the pregnancy went on and she began getting more fatigued, she had to leave work and James got a job at a cafeteria. Things got really stressful for them.

I was shocked to learn while on my way to morning chapel service on January 25, 1979 that Debbie had given birth the night before; more than two months early! The babies were at Cox Medical Center. Ironically, Cox was just east of the Assemblies of God headquarters on Boonville Ave. in Springfield. The girls were tiny and were in the neo-natal intensive care unit. Things were a lot more sophisticated medically in 1979 than you might think, but certainly not as sophisticated as today. The tiny babies were in little incubators. The Rayburns named them Rachel and Rebecca. Their prognosis was very much in doubt. I remember James telling Debbie it was very likely the babies would die, and I remember Debbie saying she just could not believe God would allow them to die.

The whole school was praying for the Rayburn babies. This was big news on campus. Ironically, I was not one of the "cool kids" nor one of the "popular kids"...far from it. Yet, I was the closest student to the Rayburns so I largely became a contact person between students and faculty and the Rayburn family. The next thing I have to share is an example I often use when I preach about the Gift of Faith from I Corinthians chapter 12. The Gift of Faith is not "saving faith" nor is it "ordinary faith". It's a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit to believe God and have extraordinary faith in an impossible situation. As the days went on, the condition of the Rayburn babies continued to be "touch and go". Little Rachel was in especially critical condition. Fearing for her vitality, the hospital had her flown to Kansas City Childrens Hospital as a last ditch effort to save her life. I traveled to K.C. for a couple of days with James and Debbie during this time. I remember the hospital being right across the street from the Hallmark Cards headquarters. I have often regretted that as a pastor I was seldom, "God's man of faith and power." One key woman at our church once told me I was full of fear and doubt. When the church was in a terrible time of crisis in the mid-1990s one male Board member told me he looked to me for faith and leadership and found none. Those critiques were accurate. So much of the time, I was just a simple scared guy in way over his head trying to get through from day to day. But THAT is what makes this testimony of the Gift of Faith all the more valid! Despite all the gloom and doom facing the Rayburn babies I had PERFECT FAITH for their TOTAL HEALINGS and I never doubted. I prayed for them, but in complete faith. I would proclaim, "I just KNOW they are going to be perfectly fine." And I DID know that. I now know THAT was the Gift of Faith in operation!

In late April, the babies came home. They were amazingly healthy. The Rayburns were cautioned that there COULD be long term effects from the trauma the little twins had gone through. They MIGHT be intellectually and academically slow in school; there might be other issues. Today, they are celebrating their thirty-third birthdays. They are each married with kids of their own. Each girl did very well in school and in any endeavor they attempted. God brought them to perfect health.

On another side note, today my daughter Amy lives in Springfield, Missouri and works as a pediatric nurse at the much newer and very modern Cox South Medical Center. Some days, she works in the NICU. I still find that amazing.

I remember all this today, and I testify of the goodness and power of God!
Yes, that was a significant day; January 25, 1979! Happy Birthday, Rachel and Rebecca!