Wanting What the Lord Wants, an Interview with Paul King
I got connected with a charismatic Christian and Missionary Alliance Church north of Pittsburgh (rare in those days, not as rare today) and became Associate/Youth Pastor and worship leader. The pastor was involved with the New Wine ministries (which later became known as the discipleship/shepherding movement). Frederick Price came to our church, when he was speaking at the 1972 Pittsburgh Charismatic Conference at Duquesne University, home of the Catholic Charismatic movement. At the time, he was a C&MA pastor, and eventually became the first and leading African-American Word of Faith preacher. I had the opportunity to sit under many early charismatic leaders at that conference and other events—Bob Mumford (one of my favorites), Derek Prince, Don Basham, Corrie Ten Boom, Larry Christiansen (Lutheran), Jamie Buckingham (who founded Charisma Magazine), Mel Tari (from the Indonesian revival), and many more.
I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in revivals through the years. I believe in and encourage the real, and caution about excess and error.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to be involved with many charismatic and Pentecostal churches and movements and conferences around the country. I transferred to Oral Roberts University in 1973. I had already known of Kathryn Kuhlman in high school with her meetings at First Presbyterian church in Pittsburgh and the church she pastored in Youngstown, Ohio. I was trained under her as an usher in her ORU crusade to watch for healings taking place. Oral Roberts trained us students in what today is known as soaking prayer. At his healing conferences, Oral would line us up on either side of the line of people waiting to be prayed for by him. Some people were healed before they ever reached Oral.
Paul King speaking at the 2014 Society for Pentecostal Studies convention.
I was in meetings with Tommy Tyson and Francis McNutt, with John Wimber and James Robison. Once I sat on the platform in Kansas City next to Derek Prince. I knew Mike Bickle in St. Louis in 1980 and Kansas City in the mid-80’s, before the Kansas City Prophets movement and founding of the International House of Prayer (IHOP). Jim Goll prophesied over me in the mid-80’s, before he became known for his prophetic giftings. I served on the faculty of Oral Roberts University for 16 years as Director of their Bible Institute training program and professor. Mrs. Yonggi Cho was one of my students in the ORU doctoral program, as was Dennis Lindsey, President of Christ for the Nations Institute.
Through the years, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly—I’ve done the good, the bad, and the ugly too. I was involved in the shepherding movement for a few years and saw the good and the bad, not so much of the ugly that some have talked of. I had a negative view of the Toronto blessing movement, but knew some people whose lives had genuinely been touched. I had opportunity once to talk with Rodney Howard-Browne for 20 minutes. In more recent years I have been involved with Randy Clark’s ministry, serving as a professor in his schools.
Category: Living the Faith, Summer 2019
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