MIAMI, Okla. — In the midst of a "Holy Spirit" revival meeting at Full Gospel Temple Saturday night, Barry Munrow, 58, suffered a heart attack and went unnoticed for three hours because dozens of people were "slain in the Spirit" around him.
"I thought he was overcome by the power of God," says associate pastor Kevin Toomey, 35, who saw Munrow fall into the aisle during the visiting evangelist's sixth impassioned altar call. An usher laid a modesty cloth over Munrow and various people prayed for him throughout the evening. The evangelist came by at one point and touched Munrow's forehead and said, "More, Lord. Fill him up."
But at 11 p.m., when the service wound down, people noticed that Munrow had not moved for at least two hours. They also noticed he was blue.
"That's when we knew something was wrong," says pastor Lou Dilbeck, who has known Munrow for twenty years.
They called 911 while people prayed passionately for Munrow's healing but he was "pretty cold by then," says one observer. The ambulance arrived and took him to the county hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Munrow's wife says she will not sue the church, and she takes solace that he "went to his heavenly reward under these circumstances." But as a result of the incident, Dilbeck is adding a crew of "life signs" ushers to work revival meetings alongside regular "catchers" and "modesty cloth drapers." Life signs ushers will carry small mirrors to check if "slain" people are breathing, and they have permission to gently feel for a pulse, if someone appears to be dead.
"We want people to meet with God at our meetings, but not face to face," he says. •
All content © 2003 LarkNews.com. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment