Do it again Lord...

One of the things that I have been praying about lately (as I shared on Pentecost Sunday) is that the Spirit would do something in our day that would not only bless the entire city as a whole but would also serve to encourage the hearts of Jesus followers in a hundred years from now. That they would be able to look back and be encouraged about the Lord's faithfulness to His people, to His Word and to our city.

One of those stories that does this to me is the story of what happened here in Long Beach back in the 1920's. Of late I have been learning more about happened during this time period. By coincidence (!?) on Pentecost sunday Christine Lu (*hat tip*) happened to give me a Press-Telegram magainze from 2003 that was entitled "100 famous faces of long beach." If you have never heard of a local preacher from those days whose name was George Taubman check this out. Along with the likes of Cameron Diaz (grew up in a house around the corner from me), Nicolas Cage, Denise Austin, Bo Derek, Steven Spielberg, Warren G, he made the top 100 list! Here is how they told the story:

"Dr. George Primrose Taubman found his way to Long Beach in April 1915 when he was already 46. A pastor who tended flocks in Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio and Oklahoma, Taubman became the first pastor of the First Christian Church, then at 4th street and American Ave. The men's Bible group had a membership of 40, with about 25 attending most meetings. Under Taubman, that figure would grow a bit. With the (apperently) charismatic Taubman leading the studies, the group outgrew its room at the church by 1917 and moved to the Laughlin Theater on Pine Ave. Two years later, it moved to the biggest indoor meeting spot available, the Municipal Auditorium, where 2,000 men would gather to hear Taubman's sermons and sing to their God and country. And it still grew. Throughout the 1920's, Taubman had to take his class outdoors in Lincoln Park to accommodate regular turnouts of 4,000 men (women were allowed twice a year - on Easter Sunday and Mother's Day). Occasionally, Taubman would put together a special program that would draw as many os 30,000 men. With the radio audience, the figure would go as high as 100,000 listeners to Taubman's sermons. On June 12, 1938, with his health declining, Taubman gave up the Bible class. The last crowd he drew was the hundreds who showed up for his funeral in Long Beach on March 14, 1947."

I have pictures of these gatherings in my office. It might look different in these days but none-the-less come and do it again Lord...