Backyard Church

Thoughts on applying a 2000 year old religion to 21st Century life

Member-only story

The Most Important Bible Character You’ve Never Learned About

7 min readMar 12, 2025

--

Image source: Canva Pro

I was promised an encounter with God.

Not just any encounter — a full-force, undeniable, Holy Spirit smash.

I was fifteen, standing in a packed conference hall at Hillsong in Sydney, desperate to experience something real. At this point in my faith, I was searching — really searching — for something more. And that morning, Pastor Brian Houston had announced a special “Holy Spirit Elective” for anyone who wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit and encounter God’s power firsthand.

So I went.

Heck, if it was real, I wanted it.

At the end of the session, the preacher invited anyone who wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit to come forward. I didn’t hesitate. I made my way to the front, heart pounding, hope rising.

The guy on the podium promised that the Holy Spirit was about to sweep through the place and smash everyone. That every single person would receive it. With growing fervor, he prayed and prayed, building to a crescendo until finally, he shouted:

“HERE HE COMES!”

--

--

Backyard Church
Backyard Church

Published in Backyard Church

Thoughts on applying a 2000 year old religion to 21st Century life

Dan Foster
Dan Foster

Written by Dan Foster

Writer, Poet, Blogger: Tackling life, faith, culture, religion, politics, and spirituality. Connect with me: https://linktr.ee/DanFosterWriter