"REV. KRAMER" i.e. "OFFICER KRAMER"

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

(Yes, my title is a play on the old film title, "Kramer vs. Kramer"!)

This morning (Sunday, January 22) I arrived early for the Adult Sunday School at Bread of Life Church. Glancing at the church bulletin I’d just picked up, I noticed our guest speaker in the morning service would be Rev. Dan Kramer. I hadn’t realized we were even having a guest speaker. (Guess I did NOT read last week’s bulletin very carefully!) My immediate thought was, “WHY do I know that name, Dan Kramer?”

Looking at the next page of the bulletin, I found a “blurb” about the Rev. Kramer and realized I’ve heard him speak before. Dan Kramer is the father Renee Greene, wife of Bread of Life’s Youth Pastor Billy Greene, and music director of the church. Kramer is a most interesting and unusual guy. He hails from Baltimore. It took some guts for a guy from Baltimore to be preaching in the heart of New England on the morning of the Patriots/Ravens game for the AFC Championship. (Come to think of it, the Pastor’s wife, Janis Collette is a New Yorker, and I suppose during baseball season, that takes guts, too!) Kramer has has a long career in law enforcement, and he definitely LOOKS like a cop! (There’s a real camaraderie between all men in blue, and I know my late father would have LOVED him!) Kramer spent twenty-one years as a Baltimore Police Officer. My understanding is that he still works in law enforcement in a different capacity; I THINK with the Baltimore County Sheriff's Dept. Kramer has also become a credentialled minister and has been anointed by God with a powerful healing ministry.

When I heard the Rev. Dan Kramer speak about a year ago, he pretty much gave his testimony of how God has used him to win souls for Christ as a law enforcement officer. I was NOT prepared for the style of ministry Dan Kramer would use today. This was a full blown old fashioned Pentecostal/Charismatic healing service! It was not some phony/baloney kind of thing. Sadly, that has happened quite a bit in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles. This guy moves in the power of the Holy Spirit, and from all I could tell and discern, it’s the real deal.

Readers who were part of Christian Life Center church in Walpole, Mass. back in the 1980s will remember the Benny Hinn services which used to take place there in those days. I was an Assistant Pastor there in those days. This was long before Benny Hinn was nationally and internationally famous. We used to bring him in for services every three to four months. The church would be packed out, and we saw some amazing things happen in those services. This was the closest thing to that which I’ve seen since those days.

Bread of Life is up in Westminster, Mass. near Gardner and Fitchburg. From a lot of places IT’S A HIKE. I drive fifty miles one way from Webster. But it’s worth it. For some of you old time “Walpole” people, you ought to come visit sometime. Bread of Life is not at all your typical 2012 Assemblies of God church and that is a big part of why I drive the long trip to go there. My concern is that many of today’s Assemblies of God churches have moved in one of two directions: They’ve either become very “subdued” and “seeker sensitive” or they’ve become “three ring circuses” with all kinds of “off the wall” stuff going on. Frankly, the subdued/seeker sensitive churches are very common. One doesn’t hear too many sermons on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit anymore. In fact, one doesn’t see or hear the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation in many of our services anymore. And, “altar calls”; in many of our churches people would ask, “What are THOSE?!” Bread of Life uses mostly up-to-date music, but most of it is the really good, worship stuff and not the “loud knock ‘em into the other room” stuff. It’s RARE to find an AG church today which has altar calls almost every Sunday morning with the altars packed most of the time.

The bottom line is, Bread of Life was a great venue for Dan Kramer. There was a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. There were a number of people “slain in the Spirit” and I DON’T mean pushed down! There were a number of genuine healings. I liked that Kramer kept giving all the glory to God. He also stressed the importance of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the importance of intercessory prayer.

I had plans for the afternoon due to the game, so I left at 12:45 p.m. The service started at 10:15 and was still going on when I left. Whatever happens with the game (and I have it on RIGHT NOW as I’m writing) I experienced something far more exciting in Westminster this morning.

I sincerely hope Pastor Gary Collette will consider having Dan Kramer come to Bread of Life several more times this year, and that he will heavily promote the services.