Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God's Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People

Rating:
Summary: I was so encouraged to press in and pray
Review: Our pastor gave each one of us in leadership this book to read. Wow, so encouraged! It built faith in my heart in the God that we really do serve.

Rating:
Summary: Every pastor/layman should read this book & grow.
Review: I heard the of an interview with Jim on the 700 Club. I read the book in less than one week. As a layman, it benefitted me immensely. Any church pastor who wants to grow a church should read this book. It will show you no gimmicks; but, will point you back to some simple truths. First and foremost PRAY! Second do everything in LOVE. Third: Don't be afraid to preach the Blood & don't be afraid to preach against sin.

Rating:
Summary: Prayer is the key
Review: This book should be required reading for all christains everywhere. How well we've been told to pray without ceasing, but do we? Jim Cymbala's church did and look what God has done. The church growth is not what is so impressive, but how God took obedient, ordinary people and used them to accomplish the extraordinary. This matter of prayer, is not a 'now I lay me down to sleep' thing, it's an attitude, it's all day, it's powerful! I've been challenged to 'test' my God; to pray only according to His will and not mine; to pray fervently, in secret and outloud; to tap this resource that was given so graciously to us, an undeserving people. I'm looking forward to seeing the hand of God at work right here because I'm going to obey. Thank you, Jim Cymbala, for listening to God from the start. Your ministry has just expanded.

Rating:
Summary: This book gave me hope.
Review: I was given this book by an elder in our Church. I have read many books on church growth or on how to have a successful church and was not thrilled about receiving another one. I have found that these books just make me feel guilty and totally inadequate. This book was different. I really appreciated the authors humility. He is not writing as an "I now know how you should do it" Pastor. When I finished the book I was full of hope. It was simple but not simplistic. It was inspirational but not trite. There were enough stories mixed with good Biblical interpretation to give me confidence in the author and assurance that there was Biblical balance in his thinking. This book should be read by every Pastor who wants his church to grow God's way. I have already ordered books for all the leaders in the church and we will be making the change in our service that Pastor Jim suggested in the last page of the book. I have been personally revived. Thank you for a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Jim Cymbala points out the way to real revival in the church
Review: After hearing pastors say over and over that the way to be a successful church is to offer people what they are looking for (i. e. youth ministry, women's classes, upbeat contemporary music, etc.) and spending time worrying about numbers that are staying the same or even shrinking, it is so refreshing to hear a pastor admit that success in the church isn't demonstrated by numbers and that numbers aren't increased by "selling" your church. Success, he says, can be demonstrated by the strength of your prayer meetings. Numbers will be increased by offering one thing... God! People are not really looking for a youth minstry or a musical church. They are looking for the power of God, and that comes only through prayer. Cymbala uses quotes from various past religious greats and stories found in the lives of his own congregation to make his point. Revival only comes through prayer. Right on, Brother Cymbala!

Rating:
Summary: A Clarion Call to the Christian Church in North America!
Review: Speaking from a heart full of love, compassion and experience, and not giving us a "how-to", Pastor Jim Cymbala tells the profound story of how a small struggling congregation in the heart of Brooklyn has become a leading church in the Big Apple....Doing what the church is supposed to do, being salt and light to the world. Cymbala's treatment of the "novelties" and "marketing strategies" of the American church is a prophetic and profitable wake-up to all who would be involved in meaningful and eternally-measured ministry.

Rating:
Summary: Captured, Convicted and Challenged!
Review: Many religious books tend to be lengthy and dull. Not so with "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire." Written under 200 hundred pages, the material will capture one's mind, convict one's heart, and challenge one to move beyond the dullness of religious experience. The experiences of the Brooklyn Tabernacle church remind me of the experiences the Jewish people experienced when Hezekiah "re-opened the doors of the Temple" as recorded in II Chronicles 29. Through repentance and prayer the people of the Brooklyn Tabernacle have experienced and continue to experience God's breath of spiritual awakening. The book is a letter of hope to all churches that are trapped in dullness, tradition and complacency. It is a book of hope because it is soundly based upon the spiritual principle and promise that God initiates and maintains revival when God's people pray.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh indeed
Review: What a refreshing book indeed. This book is a powerful call back to the boldness to seek God at His throne of grace. It is a call to prayer, boldness, and a deeper walk with God. Cymbala shows us that it's not about clever church-growth strategies or psuedo spiritual warfare techniques that causes the the Church to thrive. Rather, the Church thrives only when it only truly makes its business to seek God, and be satisfied with nothing less than God. Prepare to be challanged and awakened to a deeper hunger for God after you read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Prayer works!!! Awesome testimony!!!
Review: I have heard the positive testimony of several church friends who have either experienced Brooklyn Tabernacle (BT) or been members (of which the book chronicles). There are some valid points to be gleaned in this work. However, I was uncomfortable with the first chapter, which casts a shadow on the rest of the book. The author and (unseminary trained/nonordained) self-proclaimed pastor of BT reports confronting members from the fledgling church, suggesting that they leave. I'll stand corrected, but this seems unChristian. The practice doesn't fit Paul's letter to the Ephesians. I suggest that those interested in church renewal read Miracle in Darien by Bob Slosser where Spirit lead and Spirit filled leadership along with sound Biblical scholarship and ordination were seen to all come together. If one reads this work, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, do so with discernment.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but had some problems
Review: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire is a wonderful short book coauthored by Pastor Jim Cymbala and Dean Merrill. Pastor Cymbala describes how God has blessed him and his wife Carol in their ministries with the famous Brooklyn Tabernacle in the last thirty years. The title "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" draws parallel of this church to the first century church in Acts 2:1-4. This book is a remarkable testimony of the awesome work of the Holy Spirit in how He could do great and mighty things through His people when they humble themselves in prayers. The increase in number for the Brooklyn Tabernacle is spectacular, but it turns pale when comparing to the increase in Pastor Cymbala's faith and dependency in God. God simply turned him from an amateur into warrior. It is a short book, but it is an important book for every serious Christian.

This book is divided into three sections, namely (1) Waking Up to a Powerful Promise, (2) Diversions from God's Best, and (3) The Road Ahead. Section 1 centers on the promise God revealed to Pastor Cymbala in Florida, that if he and his wife will lead his people to pray and call upon His name, He will provide everything they need: sermon, money, church building, and people (p. 25). Once he realized that prayer meeting is the engine of the church, and serious about it, Lord never stopped blessing them. Section 2 underscores that our lukewarm churches nowadays are in trouble by the lure of novelty, marketing, pleasing people, and dead doctrine without passions and actions for the Lord. Section 3 warns us not to be proud of ourselves and take credits from God. He challenges us to "look at the scoreboard" and be brave for God. At the end, he encourages us that the never changing power of the Holy Spirit is all-sufficient as He has never changed since the day of Pentecost.

This book is full of powerful true stories with drug addict, male prostitute, demon-processed person, homeless, all for the glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom. Besides touching stories, this book refers to scriptures in the Bible just as well - an important attribute for any Christian writing. Pastor Cymbala quotes Acts a lot, and is a doer of God's words when he follows the model of first century church in Acts.

This book emphasizes the sufficiency of the power of Holy Spirit. As a church to proclaim God's message in this evil generation, nothing will work better than the Holy Spirit Himself working through his humble and broken people. This is nicely summarized in his comments after the biblical example of Asa, that "such [whatever works is the way to go] thinking is due for a rude awakening when we stand before the Lord." (p. 164).

This inspiring book has made me think a lot. As a choir member, I was touched that even the Tabernacle choir would devoted at least half an hour to pray before the practice. Why can their music be so touching? The answer is in prayer. Life in the music comes from prayer (p. 49). I was so moved when I read the determination of that prayer band member to pray for her pastor before the Jewish man disturbed the worship service with a gun. I was equally touched by Pastor Cymbala's story on his rebellious daughter after the prayer meeting. Why can they do those great and mighty things through prayers but we can't? Why is our prayer meeting so poorly attended? The book provides an answer: prayer has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. We cannot just say "we ought to pray", but " we have to be driven to pray" (p. 49). I am a firm believer in prayer and the promise in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." How encouraging it is to see prayer and faith in full action in The Brooklyn Tabernacle! This book rekindled my faith in the Lord. Nothing is too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32:17). Brethren, I encourage you to read this book, and get serious on the prayer ministry. When we work, we work. When we pray, God works! Amen.