PART THREE OF FOUR: THE KNOXVILLE BOY, HEALED FROM 26 DISEASES

Mother-and-BoyConsider the mercy of God for a moment. When A. A. Allen’s ministry visited this area, the Lord offered the gift of the Holy Spirit in a whole new dimension. Allen Meetings regularly saw power much like what was seen at the Shearer Schoolhouse with signs, wonders, and healings, except offered to thousands of people all at once. If it had been received, the immediate impact on Knoxville and region would have been tremendous. Yet rather than receive it, the Christian leadership of this area rejected it and viciously destroyed the character of the messenger. Imagine if one of us refused a precious gift from a friend or brother with such ferocity. It would be understandable for them to never speak to us again. Yet, the Lord’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are high above (Isaiah 55:9). Believe it or not, within 5 years of the rejection, the Lord would do something to communicate to this region that He was willing to show mercy and return if there was repentance. What is more, His message would come through the same vessel that was rejected: A.A. Allen.

On March 22, 1959, in another Allen healing revival in Birmingham, AL, a mother from KNOXVILLE brought her son forward for prayer. We do not know their last name, but little David H. was almost three years old and had already been called “the most underdeveloped boy ever born in the state of Tennessee.” He was paralyzed down his right side, blind in one eye, deaf, and mute. He had cystic fibrosis and was born without male genitalia. He could not even crawl because his limbs looked like twisted sticks and his feet were greatly deformed. At nearly three, he still could not eat solid food. All total, he had twenty-six major diseases or defects in his body. After seeing every specialist in Knoxville, his mother had been told by one doctor “only God can help your boy now.”

We may someday find in heaven that the most potent force on earth is a mother’s faith because David H.’s mother took that statement literally. God could still help her son. And when she heard that A.A. Allen would be holding healing meetings in Birmingham, she knew she had to get her boy there. As a single mother in 1959 with a special-needs child, this was no small task. Although it cost her all that she had, she drove the 250 miles alone with her boy to get him as close to God as she could. The Great Physician did not disappoint.

Allen-and-BoyWhat happened at that meeting in Birmingham is called the “greatest miracle of A.A. Allen’s ministry,” and it is far and away the greatest miracle I have ever heard of personally. I have included a link to a video of R.W. Schumbach telling the story, because it is worthy of a much more detailed telling than I can give it here.

As Allen held the boy in his arms and wept over him, a light suddenly shone out of the boy’s eyes. When it dimmed, two bright blue pupils remained where once there was only the milky-grey of blindness. The boy’s arms and legs began to morph like silly putty into the correct shape. His tongue, which had hung out of his mouth limply before, snapped inside his mouth and he began to call out the first words he had ever spoken: “Mama! Mama!” And when he caught sight of her, he took his first steps to go embrace his mother. He was completely healed!

However, the Lord did not end there. God stepped into the room that night and was not going to leave anything unfinished. The tent was full of people with significant needs. There was a section for people in wheelchairs and another for stretchers. Spontaneously, with no one praying for them, every person in a wheelchair stood up altogether, totally healed. Every person in a stretcher got up the same way. People began to file down to the front so they could throw their hearing aids on the altar because they were not needed anymore. Then came the glasses. Then came the walking sticks for the blind. EVERY SINGLE PERSON was healed as the glory of God rested under that tent that night.

Boy-WalkingI weep as I write this, longing to see that in our day. But is it possible for our region considering the way we treated the heart of God and His servant? I hold out hope. I choose to believe the Father was sending us a message that night, through the healing and through Allen, himself. If Allen had held a grudge against our area, I doubt such wonders could have flowed during the meeting. Instead, he did not flinch at the word, “Knoxville”, but wept and asked for God to heal. I believe God communicated His heartbroken compassion toward our region that night. Like Moses, that mother had to go “outside the camp” to meet with God, lest the glory bring well-deserved destruction to us. Yet even in the Old Testament, God was never satisfied with distance from His people. I believe that night in 1959, He was saying to our region, “Make this right, and I will return.”

On February 7th, 2007, at a conference in Sevierville, TN, a gathering of believers attempted to do just that. Below, I have included an itinerary of the meeting to give an understanding of the detail and desire that went into that moment. Here is the overview: Dave and Cheryl Bryan attended and represented the Allen family since Cheryl is one of A.A. Allen’s granddaughters. Several pastors and ministers from our area made a specific and thorough apology on behalf of the church in this region, both to the Allen family and to the Lord. By the favor of the Lord, the public repentance and apology were broadcast live on GodTV, allowing it to go worldwide. Gifts were exchanged, and the Bryans graciously received the apology and blessed this region.

I believe everything that could have been done was done to make right our region’s wrong in the eyes of God.

So where do we go from here? What is the Lord saying? What would He ask of us now, and how can we receive what He’s offering to our region in our day? That is what I will discuss in Part Four.

To hear R.W. Schumbach’s telling the story of the boy, visit this link:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SAnYQxXWCME

Part 1, Introduction and The Shearer Schoolhouse

Part 2, Repairing the Reputation of A.A. Allen

Part 3, The Knoxville Boy Healed of 26 Diseases

Part 4, The Hub of Eight, The Gate of Apostolic Revival

THE APOLOGY/RECONCILIATION TO THE ALLEN FAMILY – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007

(DOCUMENTED FIRST-HAND BY MIKE MCCLUNG)

The Reconciliation took place at The Abiding Glory Conference held at Father’s House in Pigeon Forge, TN.

The entire meeting was televised worldwide on GODTV.

Those who participated are as follows:

  • Dave and Cheryl Bryan – Cheryl is A.A. Allen’s granddaughter. At the time, they pastored the Church of Glad Tidings in Live Oak, CA.
  • Ryan Wyatt – Conference host, Leader of Abiding Glory Ministries, now
  • Fuse Church of Knoxville, TN.
  • Len and Edith Sisson – Directors of the Healing Rooms of Knoxville at the time.
  • Gary Beaton – President of Transformation Glory Ministries
  • Mike & Kelly McClung – Directors of Lionheart Restoration Ministries
  • Others in attendance: Bob Jones and Rick Joyner

 

Ryan Wyatt opened and explained what we were going to do. Dave and Cheryl were introduced and brought up on the platform. Then I (Mike McClung) was introduced next. So, I came up and explained why we were there and what was going to take place.  I described the entire scenario of Allen being in Knoxville. including the two different coroner’s reports. We had copies there for anyone to inspect.

The following is the Protocol for the Reconciliation Meeting with Dave and Cheryl Bryan that was carried out:

  • The Bryans and all the leaders participating were introduced.
    • Dave and Cheryl were welcomed and given time for any opening remarks.
    • We prayed and acknowledged we were coming before the Throne of God and the Council of heaven.

 

I gave a retelling of the facts:

  • A.A. Allen was a man called and anointed by God to bring the message and demonstration of the love and power of God to his generation.
  • Great and tremendous healings miracles and deliverance took place through his ministry, with one of the greatest miracles of the child from Knoxville who was healed in the Birmingham, AL tent meeting.
  • When he came to Knoxville in October 1955, there was open, severe persecution and opposition from the people of the area, including the church.
  • There was a purposeful attempt to discredit him, and his ministry carried out by framing him for drunk driving.
  • The church and people of the Knoxville area actively rejected and wounded Allen, his ministry and his family.
  • In March of 1959, a woman from Knoxville took her son, who had 26 different congenital and degenerative diseases, to Birmingham, AL, to said Allen meeting.
  • The child was completely, and miraculously healed of ALL the defects, 3.5 years after the Knoxville incident, showing Brother Allen’s heart was still open to Knoxville. As was the heart of the Lord to extend His miracle power to Knoxville, if the people would humble themselves and receive the work of the Holy Spirit.
  • From the writings and opinions of those who knew him, what happened to Allen in Knoxville was not true, according to what was reported in the media. Regardless, what was done to the servant of God was wrong and unrighteous, and according to scripture, brought judgment against those who acted in such manner, including the Knoxville area.
  • Gen. 9:20-25: “And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. So, Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: ‘Cursed by Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren.’”

 

We stated the following:

  • We acknowledged that by rejecting the servant of the Lord, we rejected the Lord, as well as His healing and delivering power, and because of the things perpetrated against Brother Allen, there remained a curse upon the church and the region of Knoxville.
  • We stated our intention to apologize to Allen’s descendants, and to ask forgiveness from them and from the Lord.

 

 Points of Repentance:

  • Gary Beaton confessed and apologized to the Bryans that jealousy was a root and cause of the unrighteous activity against brother Allen.
    • The Bryans responded with forgiveness.
  • Ryan Wyatt confessed and apologized to the Bryans that covetousness was another root cause and unrighteous activity against brother Allen.
    • The Bryans responded with forgiveness.
  • Len Sisson confessed and apologized to the Bryans for the rejection, mocking and dishonoring of Jehovah-Rophe, God the Healer, and to His servant, A.A. Allen.
    • The Bryans responded with forgiveness.
  • Mike McClung confessed and apologized to the Bryans on behalf of the church and people of the area for wounding and bringing shame to Allen, his family, his ministry, and all those associated with him and his ministry.
    • The Bryans responded with forgiveness.

 

 Presentation of Gifts:

  • Gary Beaton presented the Bryans with a gift.
  • Len Sisson presented the Bryans with a gift, and both Len and his wife, Edith, were slain in the Spirit.
  • Ryan Wyatt presented the Bryans with a gift, and the power of God surged through both he and them.
  • Mike McClung presented the Bryans with a gift, and the power of God began to surge throughout the auditorium.

 

The Bryans’ Response:

  • The Bryans pronounced that they fully received the gifts, the apologies, and the restitution. Then released a blessing over the area, asking the Lord for the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit in every area.

The Bryan’s shared their hearts, in tears, and broke any and all curses that had come upon the church, the people, the Knoxville area and the state of TN that might have resulted from what had been done to Cheryl’s grandfather. They spoke and released a blessing over the area and the entire state.