Full Flow

"But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:14

The Fire Hydrant

If you have stuck with me this long, you know that early on, I was a reluctant church convert. And, once I had hopped around enough, I determined that all churches were about the same. I resigned myself to Sunday mornings with nice songs, a canned message, and a donut and coffee chaser. I genuinely believed that was "The Way" of contemporary Christianity—show up, get a little spiritual juice, go home, and try not to mess up too badly during the week. Looking back now, I can see how naive that perspective was, but at the time it felt perfectly reasonable. Church was where you went to get your weekly dose of God, like putting out the trash bin or filling up your car with gas. I wasn't prepared for what actually happens when someone steps out of the pew and into the Kingdom, when we get off the bench and into the game as a starter for Christ.

After "The Fall," "Heavenly Rise, Seeing Jesus," and "The Jolt," it started with a drop—Off the Bench Water Ministry—a tiny taste of Living Water that was enough to add new life within me, but not enough to overwhelm or "shut me down." No Bible thumped me on the head at church, no preacher tapped me on the forehead, encouraging me to speak in tongues. It was manageable, like basic math where you were given addition and subtraction, faith and obedience in small sips of water given to a man dying of thirst in the desert. But God doesn't leave all of His ambassadors in Sunday school forever. Somewhere along the way—after delivering a sufficient amount of bottled water—the rusty faucet broke free. And I could almost feel a smile from heaven, because He knew what was coming. But I didn't.

First came a steady stream, then a torrent, and before I could brace myself, I was standing under Niagara Falls—mouth open, eyes wide, soaking in a flood of revelation, calling, and clarity that no sermon alone could ever supply. This wasn't basic math anymore. This wasn't even calculus. This was Kingdom Quantum Physics—requiring some high-level spiritual mathematics where the learning curve wasn't a curve at all but completely vertical, like an ejection seat ride straight into the heavens. It required trusting that the parachute would open and bring me safely back to earth, ready for the next day's adventure. And here's the part that still leaves me in wonder and awe: He designed it this way. No mystery to Him, but a complete revelation to me.

The Sunday sanctuary may be a place of rest from the labors of the world. The pew may be a place to take a water break from the game, but the day of rest should revitalize our Spirit to go back into the world, not as a laborer for the world, but for Christ. Using our basic math analogy, Sunday church might get someone from zero to one, but His Kingdom-expanding adventure is measured in exponential leaps. I discovered that if I was willing to act—to live faith off the bench—the flow would increase. Whether the road was dusty and desolate, or blistering hot asphalt in the middle of town, every risk taken to love, to speak truth, to shine light, flipped another Living Water valve open. The more I trusted, the more He flowed in the Spirit. Every single day brought new questions, new discussions with friends and strangers, new wonderings about the awesomeness of God and the sheer adventure of sharing His message.

This must be what the Emmaus Road felt like—two confused travelers, walking away from Jerusalem, thinking the story was over until the real Teacher showed up. Jesus walked beside them, unrecognized and unassuming. Still, then He opened the Scriptures and their eyes, and suddenly the floodgates opened. From confusion to revelation. From drip to deluge, from math to miracle. It hadn't been safe, and it hadn't been tame. There were days when the flow felt like it could sweep me off my feet, days when the risk of shining His light felt costly, even dangerous. But I was learning that this was the adventure God always intended for His disciples. This wasn't Sunday school anymore. This was the old Disneyland Mr. Toad's Wild Ride meets the Road to Emmaus—faith at full throttle.

And yet, the only thing He asked of me was simple: "Show up. Look up. Stay in the flow." So there I stood under the waterfall, looking up, heart ready. Whatever came next, I was all in. The fire hydrant had been opened, and there was no going back to the drip system of Sunday morning Christianity. This was full flow—not a destination, but a way of traveling. It wasn't a ministry to build as much as it was a mission to live.

But standing in front of a spiritual fire hydrant and actually living in full flow are two very different things. The revelation was exhilarating, the expanded calling was clear, but the question remained: what does Kingdom quantum physics look like when it's applied to Kingdom living on Monday morning? I was about to discover that moving from awakening to reality meant getting my hands dirty and my shoes muddy while doing the beautiful work of following Jesus beyond the church walls.

Faith in Action Ministry

I was getting comfortable being assigned number 00 as God's Team water carrier when He dumped the continuous bucket of water on my head. It was like He was saying, "Get in there! Get on the field and make some plays for Me!" I was full of excitement. He called my number, still unsure of the position I would be playing as the calendar turned to January 1, 2025. But He knew the Divine Appointments and the Divine Interventions that would lead me to my expanded role in His Kingdom work.

On January 2, 2025, I had coffee with a Baptist pastor friend of mine. I had visited his church a couple of years ago, just before attending the independent fundamentalist Baptist Church, where I was introduced to door-to-door evangelism. I had my Bible open to The Book of Romans as he came and sat across from me at the table at McDonald's. As we talked, I could feel the Holy Spirit nudging me as if to say, "Ask Pastor Dwight what you can do to serve." So, filled with the Holy Spirit, I asked how I could be of help to him. He threw up his hands in the air and let out a "Hallelujah!" that woke up every senior citizen in McD's that morning. Who needs high-octane coffee from Colombia? He asked me what I was reading, seeing my place in Romans Chapter 7.

I told him I was doing a deep-dive study into God's Word through the Apostle Paul. Pastor Dwight said, "I would love for you to teach a Book of Romans Bible Study on Sunday mornings." And just like that, I had a new mission as a Bible study teacher. The fact that I was unqualified to teach it—and I expressed the same to the pastor—was apparently irrelevant to God. He wanted me to teach. How could I say no?

Later that same week, I learned that a former client's dad was in a local nursing home. I decided to visit him and possibly study a scripture or two with him while I was there. The visits became twice per week while he was in the facility. In my 40 years in the "helping profession," the nursing home population was one with which I had no experience. I was surprised at how rewarding it was. In fact, as I was visiting with my friend in the nursing home, we found ourselves joined by other residents who wanted to be part of the conversation. We agreed that when he was released, we would go back and continue meeting with his comrades in suffering. Unfortunately, following his release in February, he decided he no longer felt the need to go back. I contacted the administration at the nursing home to see if I could become a volunteer. Crickets! Never a returned phone call or email. God had closed that door.

And then I discovered that one of my brothers in the Bible study class was a retired nursing home administrator. I discussed my experience with him. He gave me the name and number of an activity coordinator in another nursing home. He suggested I call her after he spoke with her himself. I thought about what I would like to do with this new outreach ministry. God was opening a new door, and I wanted to be ready for the opportunity. As a veteran myself, I've always been drawn to working with other veterans. I could visit them. Maybe I could lead the Book of Romans Bible study there at the nursing home? Besides, I was already six weeks into teaching it at church.

God used my church brother to open the door at River Hills Health and Rehabilitation. I went for the visit with the Activities Coordinator. I asked her what they needed help with and what I could do to serve. Here's what she said, "I could use someone to visit our veterans and teach a Bible class." I couldn't make this up! The shocked look on my face was obvious. I asked her if our mutual friend had told her about my background. She said, "No," and had only called and highly recommended me. I said to her that is precisely what I wanted to do. We both agreed this must be a Divine Appointment. I began leading a weekly Bible study on Wednesday mornings and visiting the veterans on Thursdays.

In the previous 20 years, God had made His plans for me unmistakable. So, on March 11, 2025, when I heard in my head "Faith in Action Ministry, Texas Hill Country," I knew exactly what I needed to do. I secured the domain name, www.FaithInActionMinistry.com, and created the website and blog. I knew God was establishing a new ministry with new opportunities to serve and write. Before the end of March 2025, Faith in Action Ministry had seven team members, each representing different varieties of "Christians" but each having a passion for serving the Lord in some way. The veteran outreach expanded with a new veteran team member (and his dog), and we began planning and meeting to launch a new Suicide Survivors Support group that also meets weekly. Most team members contribute Divinely-inspired articles for the blog. We also became active in minor roles during the Kerrville Flood on July 4, 2025. So this is how God began to open the fire hydrant in 2025. But there was no time to catch my breath. The next wave was about to hit.