Bob Heppe Describes Early New Life in Published Testimony
B: In those early days '73, '74, now I didn't have any thing to compare it with but I can describe what as an unbeliever hippie kind of a guy who had no no interest in, I thought religion, Christianity was pase, hypocritical, old fashioned fuddy-duddy, unreal, not authentic. So when I came to New Life I was struck by a number of things. One that there was, it was personal It was not extremely liturgical, but personal, and that it was participatory that it wasn't just a leader who spoke to a congregation and everybody just sort of sat there the whole time. There was time for interactive prayer, people raised their hands and asked for prayer, gave testimonies on a fairly regular basis. There was a cert— although there was a structure to the church, there was freedom as well and it was closer to like people getting together to interact with each other as well as hear a sermon or something. That impressed me. The music, the fact that it was contemporary music, and not just, not simply, there where older hymns and some old but they were played on a guitar with piano and drums and musical instruments that I identified with. It was also important. And the, the teaching of the Bible was personal as well. Not just doctrine, not just here's what the scripture says. Not just knowledge about the Bible or faith but you were hearing Jack for example and the others who were influenced speak about how the how the truth was touching them. Their failures. Their sin. Their repentance. Their their discovery of grace. Now I don't, I don't think that that was happening in other churches very much, but I don't have the background to... #0:56:3.1#
B: Describe that, but all of that was very new I think in those days. And they mentioned discipleship groups were beginning, were were were in the air and we were early ones to take board that kind of idea as well. Another thing about what was going on in the church then too. There were a number of people who started l ...
Location: Bob & Keren Heppe & Rose Marie Interview 1