Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire [Hardcover]

Jim Cymbala (Author), Dean Merrill (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As though blowing oxygen upon the dying embers of a fire, pastor Jim Cymbala revived a broken-down church in a rough-shod inner-city neighborhood through Christian faith. Twenty-five years ago, the Brooklyn Tabernacle could barely draw 26 people to a Sunday service. Nowadays the congregation is 6,000 strong--filled with converted prostitutes, pimps, drug addicts, and homeless people, as well as yuppies and wholesome families. Although he's quick to give God credit for this miraculous success story, Cymbala admits that there may be a few human decisions that led to this Christian triumph. Most significantly, he made sure his church community embraced everyone, from all walks of life--no matter how distasteful or foreign. "Christians often hesitate to reach out to those who are different," according to Cymbala. "They want God to clean the fish before they catch them. If someone's gold ring is attached to an unusual body part, if the person doesn't smell the best or the skin color is not the same, Christians tend to hesitate." Thus, Cymbala encouraged his congregation to adopt the very same tolerant and accepting attitude as their God does. The results? Let's just say a church thrives in Brooklyn. Accomplished cowriter Dean Merrill helps this tender true story stay satisfying and highly readable. --Gail Hudson

From Booklist

Twenty-five years ago, Cymbala, worn out from pastoring two congregations, devoted himself solely to the dwindling band of worshipers at ramshackle Brooklyn Tabernacle. Today, the old building has been replaced, there are 6,000 worshipers at four Sunday services, the church choir wins Grammies and sings for Billy Graham's crusades, and Cymbala is asked to speak all over the world about how he did it. Although he believes he didn't do it--God did--Cymbala does have a secret: the church is first and foremost a house of prayer, he says, a place where souls can call on God. Accordingly, Cymbala established Tuesday-night prayer meeting as the most important church function (later, church members began a "Prayer Band" to intercede round the clock for all and sundry). With professional Christian writer Merrill's help, Cymbala tells not his church's story as much as the stories of individual souls whose saving illustrates the truth of his testimony that God responds to prayer made in repentance and faith. Cymbala considers his work part of the revivalist tradition of nondenominational Christian evangelism, and he cites 300 years' worth of the great revivals and revivalists often, adding greater interest to a book that voices some of the oldest Christian wisdom with the vivid immediacy of telling tomorrow's news. Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1st edition (April 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310211883
• ISBN-13: 978-0310211884
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (154 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #43,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #10 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Pneumatology
  #28 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Protestantism > Pentecostal
  #3 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Cymbala, Jim

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, January 29, 2000

By	Larry O. Sanders "[e-mail]" (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (Hardcover)

A powerful book on the real power of prayer. When I was given this title by a friend to read, I told him I'd put on my reading list of which there are >40 other books. He said "Put it at the top, I'm reading it for the 7th time"! If you want to know how Christ would have done things in the 20th century, read this book. Cymbala, relies on prayer to bring a multiracial church of just over 20 members to a church of over 6,000. He is not a seminary trained pastor with a slick message. His church does outreach as Christ did, they go where the people most in need live and work. He has great sadness for those pastors rate their value in "attendance, building and cash, the new holy trinity." This book is a great testimony as to how God wants us to be, loving, forgiving and merciful, with the people in most need of God. A tremendous book.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent testimony to God's power in our time., June 21, 2000

By	Eric Lazarian "New England Calvinist" (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (Hardcover)

In reading "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" I was struck by how God-centered the book was. It was not just a typical "how-to" on modern Christianity, but it was a timeless work that demonstrated the power of God that He sends out when we trust Him above all others and above all things. Pastor Cymbala did just that in Brooklyn. How refreshing it was to read about the Holy Spirit entering people's lives (people that most American Christians wouldn't have given a chance...) and changing them forever. Brooklyn Tabernacle became a place that God worked mightily because the whole church decided to admit to God that they had nothing else but Him, and that the power was all His. They could not trust in money, buildings, programs, famous people, websites, big staffs, high attendance, affluent neighborhoods, cutting-edge teachings, seminary training, human knowledge, big denominations, long-standing traditions, or anything else. Pastor Cymbala guides the reader toward the power of prayer in a healthy way, as well. We are not tempted to think that the mere installation of a prayer meeting will automatically force God's hand either. I loved nearly every bit of this book. Glory goes to God. I am now reading the follow-up work: "Fresh Faith".

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Behold, the power of prayer..., January 5, 2000

By	NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (Hardcover)

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire should be required reading for everyone in ministry. Within the framework of telling the story of his own ministry, Jim Cymbala illustrates the awesome power that can only be tapped when we communicate with God through prayer. This book has a lesson for all who will read it. This book will also inspire you with testimonies of what God can do in the lives of everyday people when His people pray. I heartily recommend purchasing this book.