A new life
Next morning - back home in Tønsberg - they got up early. All
of a sudden, the prevailing atmosphere had changed radically -
even if the change happened gradually. In the beginning, though,
they felt a little bit unsafe. Three of the children - Vera, Kai and
Monika - were at home, wondering what had really happened to their
parents. Yet, during the breakfast the ice was broken and they
found themselves thanking and praising Jesus for all his benefits.
That session ended up with the spiritual surrender of Kai and Monika
to Jesus; they just knelt down in the sitting-room giving their
young lives to him. Having fully understood that their mummy and
daddy had undergone just the same development as their granny and
grandfather, they made their decision at last. Now they both wanted
to be saved. Kai and Monika became the very first. In the
nearby future, however, 500 of Ludvig`s relatives were to become
personal believers.
At that time, the children of Lise and Ludvig went to school,
and Lise accompanied Vera to the kindergarten. Afterwards the
parents used to take the car and visit several places in the
district. Ludvig hoped to get a little job, preferably the task of
installing drainpipes. On this very day, however, they left the city of
Tønsberg in favour of the surrounding peninsula of Nøtterøy. Driving
along the southern main road, they just observed a signboard telling
them that they were now passing the assembly hall of the
Pentecostal congregation of «Betel», Nøtterøy. At this discovery, they came
to a stop outside the hall.
At that time, Lise and Ludvig never understood the importance
of joining a congregation. Neither of them saw the need to
preserve
their christianity, they were young, burning Christians who
trusted in their heavenly Father in particular, and the faith in general.
And at that time, God seemed much stronger than Satan. Later,
however, as they grew more experienced, they learned to value
the importance of Christian support and guidance. But really, that
nice, picturesque house looked rather cosy and inviting. Suddenly a
man came out and greeted them so heartily and warmly - a man
who introduces himself as the senior principal of the congregation.
His name was Asbjørn Andersen, and the meeting between him
and Lise and Ludvig represented the introduction of a long and
fruitful Christian friendship.
During this meeting Ludvig told the principal of their new
salvation, mentioning their efforts to find their own congregation.
And Asbjørn Andersen made them very welcome to Betel, inviting
Lise and Ludvig to the forthcoming meeting next evening. «But we can
do nothing; we know nothing», Ludvig said in their defence.
«We`d better place ourselves at the very back of the room», he continued.
Finally, the day of the announced meeting arrived. In the
evening, Lise and Ludvig took the car and made their way to the
assembly hall. On the back bench were many vacant seats, so they just took
two seats. To the couple`s great surprise, the atmosphere was
filled with love and sincere thoughtfulness to such an extent that
they both felt at home from the very first moment! Before long,
the children entered the Sunday School, to which place they
were brought by Ludvig - 1 1/2 hour from their house at Tolvsrød.
In the meantime, Lise and Ludvig were frequenting the teaching
of the confirmees in Betel. Under the leadership of Åge Solberg,
they received a thorough, though basic introduction to the Word of God.
Yet, during those days, Ludvig was haunted by an inside
struggle. Still, he was deeply influenced by his old life, for worldly habits,
a worldly way of thinking and worldly behaviour had become a
part of Ludvig`s everyday life. Actually, it appeared that his old
life was to become the greatest hindrance for a renewed life in
Christ, and Ludvig`s difficult situation was put forward to the
congregation in joint session. Meanwhile, Ludvig Karlsen was
struggling with a lot of unfinished things and occurences, the cases of
which
Four of the children,left to right: Wenche,Monika, Vera and Kai
became the object of constant praying and intercessional work
in the congregation of Betel. Through «secret» praying notes -
by which none knew the actual person - his spiritual needs were
thoroughly dealt with, and little by little Ludvig felt more at ease.
Still, however, he had to fight a spiritual battle inside himself to
overcome the power of Satan.
One evening, Ludvig felt that the time of climax was
approaching. His only hope was that God himself would protect him from
the power of Satan, but now he can`t endure the situation any
longer. «Anyway», Ludvig thinks from his position on the floor, «God
did what he could do for me, but now I don`t think he can help me
any more.» All of a sudden, Ludvig receives a divine vision. He
catches the glimpse of a man who walks on a road leading steadily
upwards. The man staggers slowly along, yet, he advances on
his way. And Ludvig understands the meaning of the vision; he
needs more spiritual strength if he is to move forwards on
his road. He asks God for power. Then, suddenly, something strange
occurs.
Ludvig has later described it as if he saw the heaven opened
up, while a warm stream ran into him - the stream of the holy Spirit.
It felt like rain from the sky. All at once, Ludvig was speaking
a strange, foreign language - a dialect for him hitherto unknown
- and he was baptized by the holy Spirit.
«This is my greatest experience so far», he told his friends
afterwards.
Still, he was constantly tortured by doubts during that period.
Often, he could be run into a rage of anxiety, pondering whether
he was going mad or sick. Had he really lived such a hard life that
he was about to experience «abstinences» as a result of his
«lost» years? Ludvig decided to come to the arranged meeting, on
that very evening. In spite of his reservation about the gift of
tongues and the following gift of interpretation, he had at least
become acqaintanted with these phenomenons.
«Let`s see what happens tonight», he said to himself.
During the preacher`s speech, Ludvig suddenly felt the need
to talk, too. Something or somebody was working with him;
something which directed a warm stream into his heart with
the following phenomenon of increased pulse-activity. Ludvig
simply felt an inner, spiritual need to talk - therefore he stood up and
just started uttering a stream of strange, apparently meaningless
words and sentences. The world suddenly stopped, and so did the
speech of the preacher. Everything and everybody seemed to take a
deep breath. But then he heard the voice of the preacher, saying:
«Is there a man or a woman in this room tonight who happens to
possess the spiritual gift of interpretation?»
At his request, a tall, elderly person rises from his seat - namely
the principal of the congregation of Betel. And what previously
seemed to Ludvig a series of meaningless words and terms, was now
translated into simple and easily comprehensible Norwegian thanks
to the commitment of the principal. How the interpretation
sounded that very evening is less important for us today; the main
factor was that Ludvig Karlsen spontaneously understood that he
had received a gift from the holy Spirit. Together with this
discovery,
however, went the comprehension that he should have waited
until the end ot the preacher`s speech before he conveyed his
divine meassage. At that time, Ludvig had only been a beliver for about
a fortnight.
Finally, Ludvig got himself a job. Praise be the day when the
Lord - owing to his great mercy and love - employed him as an iron
fixer in a little company at Nøtterøy. For a long time, both Lise
and Ludvig had prayed for the personal guidance and interference
of the Lord as to their efforts of finding a suitable job for Ludvig.
But that was rather an impossible thing, regarding Ludvig`s own
inefficiency and lack of education. He could hardly read and
write, and why on earth should any manager engage
him - a previous boozer and a prison-bird? Still, God encouraged Ludvig to
apply for the job as an iron fixer; he made him look into the daily copy
of the local newspaper searching the column of «jobs available».
Right there, Ludvig`s thumb stopped at one particular
advertisement seeking for an iron fixer. Yet, Lise and Ludvig both
hesitated in applying - evidently for the above -mentioned reasons.
However, as Ludvig now understood that God was working with
him wanting him to go out in faith, he said to Lise: «I shall apply
for that job immediately! Please, bring the car and drive me to
that company at once, Lise!»
So she did. When they arrived at the fixed address, Lise waited
in the car while her husband entered the building - without a
single reference in his pocket. She sat there praying, her fists tighly
pressed on the steering wheel until her bones became rather visible. A
pale, worn-out lady who awaits the forthcoming judgement with
every sign of anxiety and excitement written on her face. Suddenly,
she catches the sight of her husband, beaming with joy and relief:
«I got the job, Lise; I got the job!» he told her. «Why, you
never worked with a thing like that», she cried out in bewilderness.
«Well, but thanks to God I have received the job all the same, and now
I know that he will protect me and take care of me!», Ludvig
replied.
From that day onwards, they experienced a total new life.
Rising very early in the morning, Ludvig set out for his daily work
which
started at 7.00a.m. Equipped with a lunch packet together
with a bottle of milk, he went off. But, as he couldn`t afford to buy
himself suitable working clothes, he wore a pair of
ordinary, worn trousers and a matching jacket.
During this first period of their new life, Lise and Ludvig
didn`t possess any Bible, either. This need was met by the lending
of New Testaments, which the children had got at school.
Both husband and wife now recognized the importance of the
Word of God and - in that connection - the necessity of daily,
spiritual nourishment. They were like newborn babies, whose entire
lives were dependent upon their mother`s milk. All through the
week the couple were frequenting Christian meetings of various
kinds, ranging from house-meetings in their Pentecostal
congregation to meetings arranged by the Salvation Army and the Blue
Cross. They simply couldn`t get enough of Christian meetings
and spiritual nourishment!
On one special, memorable occasion Ludvig came into
their house carrying a big packet under his arms. Everyone was
looking forward to investigating the contents of the parcel, and
to their great astonishment a brand new, black preacher`s
Bible appeared right before their eyes. With the Bible followed a
little note with «a lot of warm greetings from Daniel» -
Ludvig`s youngest brother. At that time, Daniel Karlsen was not a
personal believer, yet, he was rather impressed by the things
which had occured to Lise and Ludvig.
And - as he put it itself - «Those `wicked` persons needed
a Bible more than anything else in the world!». It belongs to
this little story that Daniel Karlsen - as well as his entire family
- was saved later on, and that he today has found his place as
a principal in the Pentecostal congregation of Salem, Halden -
a medium-sized town in Eastern Norway.
Still, however, the sky was not entirely free from clouds.
One day, as Lise returned from her job, she became rather upset
on finding Ludvig at home. As this was quite unusual, she
understood that something was wrong. And true enough;
Ludvig
was complaining of a severe stomach ache - according to
his own words the pain was rather unbearable. On visiting the
local medical, they were both told that Ludvig`s bad
stomach was the result of his great alcohol consumption and his
many years as a down-and-out - sleeping in the open air on the
streets of Oslo. Ludvig`s wild and though lifestyle had suppressed
his basic, human demands and needs and now came the bill!
No wonder that he and his wife got depressed at this sad news!
Besides, Lise had started to worry about their future life.
What about his job as an iron fixer; would Ludvig`s employers
sympathy for the fact that he had become ill? In the present
situation, they both turned to God for protection and guidance,
and days, as well as nights, were spent in a rather close
fellowship with him. They never stopped praying, in the hope that
their heavenly Father would have mercy on them!
Then, one night, something strange happened! Lise and
Ludvig had just gone to bed, and the children rested peacefully in
their bunk beds. Everything was quiet in the house! Then, all of
a sudden, the entire bed-room of Lise and Ludvig was
marvellously illuminated! Waking up, Lise perceives an unknown
power in the room; a power whose spiritual, positive energy fills
her with awe and happiness. Intuitively, she understands that
Jesus is close at hand.
After a while, she is being addressed by her husband.
«Hey, Lise, do you sleep?» «No», she answers. «Did you feel
something strange, right now?», Ludvig continues. «Yes, indeed»,
is her reply. «Did you know that Jesus himself visited this room
a little while ago, putting his hand on my stomach? Now, I
know for sure that I will recover!» After Ludvig`s statement no
more words were exchanged between husband and wife that
night; they both felt as though they had experienced something
sacred - the memories of which they would like to preserve in
their minds. Naturally, neither of them were able to sleep after
that event.
On the following day, Ludvig went to see his doctor to be
reported off the sick list. The doctor looked at him with
every
sign of bewilderness and uneasiness written on his face.
«But you can`t», he said to Ludvig. «You are a sick
person, whose entire life-situation is dependent upon medical care
and rest. Have you completely forgotten the results of our recent
X-rays investigations?» Yet, Ludvig kept on saying that Jesus
had healed him, and that no further treatment was necessary.
And he was right. God has kept his promises to Ludvig Karlsen
ever since, and has protected and guided him for the benefit of
so many unhappy and miserable persons. God is always
truthful, he always keeps his promises!
In the evenings, Ludvig took up his former activities as
a preacher. Together with a civil worker in Betel - by the name
of Terje Rygh - he was engaged in the task of saving persons
for Jesus. With great enthusiasm and commitment Ludvig set
out to work - receiving God`s calling already within a
fortnight. Still, the principal of Betel - Asbjørn Andersen - treated
him with a kind of sober reservation.
As Ludvig put it later on: «He put on all the breaks!»
Still, their need for winning the unsaved had become a
growing, dominant feature with Lise and Ludvig. Already a few
days after their salvation, a new and hitherto unknown care for
those unsaved had emerged. The following story - which is only
one of many similar - shows in a striking way - Lise and
Ludvig`s great care and commitment for those unhappy persons.
One day, they happened to meet «Jan» from the town of
Tønsberg, and their joint conversation which to begin with was so
fumbling and uncertain, lasted for quite a while. During the
conversation, Lise and Ludvig got the impression that «Jan» was
a worn-out drunkard who obviously needed help. In spite of
this, he wouldn`t receive any help at all. Nevertheless, Lise
and Ludvig bid him farewell with the half-hearted promise that if
he ever needed help, he should call them at once. Now,
months passed on, during which time the incident was nearly
forgotten. Then suddenly one day, however, they heard a knock on
the door and a weary, depressed person entered their house. It
was
Jan whom they recognized in a rather miserable state of
mind, and he was immediately invited to have a cup of coffee. But
the coffee didn`t seem to have any refreshing effect at all on
Jan; instead of thanking them he began pouring out all his
problems and many worries. According to his own words he didn`t
want to live any longer, for constant depressions and
hopelessness had been haunting him for quite a while. Now Lise and
Ludvig became rather confused. Why on earth should Jan bother
to visit them telling them this sad and depressing news? Then,
all of a sudden, joint enlightenment was brought to their minds
as they remembered their words to him - during their last
encounter. Jan had come to see them in order to receive spiritual
deliverance for all his torments and worries. Having observed
that Lise and Ludvig were such a nice, happy couple with an
inner, spiritual conviction which obviously was worth living for,
Jan wanted to have a share in their «life-elixir» too. He had come
to see them just to find his Saviour. In view of this discovery,
Lise abruptly interrupted his confusing stream of words with
the following statement: «The only thing which we can offer
you now, Jan, is a personal encounter with him who has
foregiven all our sins - namely your one and only Saviour, Jesus
Christ. Tell me honestly, do you really want to be saved?» «Yes»
he exclaimed , «yes, I do indeed!» So, their encounter which
originally started so fumbling and vague, became a revelation
of their total surrender to Christ and humility before their
heavenly father. And as a final gesture they all knelt down in
prayer, thanking Jesus for his unbelievable mercy for saving Jan,
and total deliverance. On this very Saturday morning, heaven
visited the house of the Karlsen family, and yet, this incident
represented only the beginning of a series of similar happenings
in their lives. As time went by, Ludvig had to build their
garage into a little block of bachelor flats - in order to comply with
the demands of his many miserable and needy visitors. These
bachelor flats served as a reception for those people, and even
Jan had to stay there for a while. It goes with the story that Jan
- later on - got himself a wife, and quite a big family. But
ever since that happening Jan has devoted all his life and time
to
Jesus - today he is one of His full-time servants constantly
occupied with the work of saving needy, miserable people like himself!
Burning with enthusiasm, Ludvig set to work devoting
himself entirely to the the task of evangelism. As he was rather new «in
the game», however, he strived to limit his working-capacity to
the benefit of himself and the congregation as a whole. Still, his
only «theological» education was that of 6 months in Sunday
School. But one night, Ludvig received the call of God to be his
special witness - in spite of Ludvig`s lack of education and experience
in the field. In reply to Ludvig`s refusal, God told him: «Even if
you possess but a few qualifications, you have
some abilites!» And what was enough for God, surely was enough for Ludvig Karlsen!
Ludvig had always been full of thoughtful consideration
for his own people. Among other, outstanding gipsy- preachers, his
father Valentin was considered as one of the leading figures.
Everywhere he went, Valentin`s efforts were crowned with success, yet, it
was a fact that no revival had ever emerged in his footsteps.
Nevertheless, revival was in the air! Aunt Tina - Ludvig`s own auntie -
had for years been praying for a national-wide revival among the
Norwegian travellers. She always used to finish her prayer with
the following words: «Dear God, please see to the salvation of
one from of our own ranks, and use this person as your very
instrument for saving others of our miserable people».
This was the background. One day Ludvig told his auntie:
«Auntie, I think I have received the call of God!» And she answered
him: «Yes, that`s right. I have talked it over with God. Please, start
at once!» «But I have no recommendations», Ludvig told her.
«Oh, don`t worry», she said, «just come with me into my kitchen -
you can start there!»
Did Ludvig really represent God`s anointed instrument?
Some doubted it, but Valentin was firmly convinced that it was so.
And after 3 months` of constant evangelism in the kitchen of Aunt
Tina, the statistics showed that 110 persons had been saved so far!
God had granted their prayers as to a mighty revival!
As time went by, the kitchen of aunt Tina obviously became
too
small. Now Ludvig started to preach the gospel in the local
Pentecostal congregations - among those were Elim at Jessheim
and Betel at Dal. Ludvig loved the congregation of Elim, the
congregation which he visited as a boy and the place where he was
baptized.
As Ludvig`s entire family lived in the district of Øvre
Romerike, Ludvig naturally was more than nervous at the thought of his
own preaching-duty among them. However, as they were all aware
of his lack of education and experience as a preacher, Ludvig
was met by rather small expectations.
He was known as a rather quick speaker! On his first
performance as a preacher, his speech lasted for about 7 minutes! During
that time he managed to convey the inner thoughts of his heart in
addition to his own, acquired life-experience! On the very next
day, however - during his attendance of the joint meetings with the
Pentecostal congregation of Kløfta - he had decided to prepare
himself much better. But alas - his speech this time didn`t last for
more than 7 minutes, either!
Thinking that Ludvig was rather a brief speaker, the principal
of that congregation glanced around looking for another fellow
to replace Ludvig. A lot of persons were present at the meetings,
and the problem with brief speeches became rather obvious when
the actual evangelist entered the pulpit to leave it shortly
afterwards. However, Ludvig prayed to God for longer sermons, and
God granted his prayers. On the very next evening, Ludvig
preached for a quarter of an hour - and three persons were saved. And
from that time onwards, Ludvig Karlsen has experienced a
continous revival - again and again! Mention should here be made of
the many reborn men and women - new people were constantly
added to the congregation every year, every week and during every
single meeting.
Now Ludvig started travelling about, preaching the gospel.
Several Pentecostal congregations were visited, becoming the
subject of his witnessing words regarding his personal experience with
the Almighty God. And back home, Ludvig never omitted any
oppor
tunity to tell about his results to his own congregation at
Nøtterøy. Very soon, Ludvig learned the lesson of not boasting too much
of his marvellous results - it didn`t pay!
His own congregation strongly wanted to reward him with the
title of elder brother, and Ludvig himself was not a total stranger
to that idea. As an elder, he could enjoy many peaceful and
fruitful years in his congregation at Nøtterøy in close companionship
with his own family. But as God had other and more «exciting»
plans for Ludvig Karlsen, He wanted him to operate as a national
evangelist. According to this, Ludvig`s spiritual call was publicly
announced and efforts were soon being made in favour of
Ludvig`s new service. His own congregation backed him up,
preparatory articles were written in the main organ of the Norwegian
Pentecostal movement - «Korsets Seier» - and last, but not least
verbal recommendations were being launched in support of Ludvig`s
function as a national Pentecostal evangelist. At last, Ludvig
Karlsen had found his own platform in his service of the Lord!
You may well question his congregation`s sense of spiritual
judgement in the case of Ludvig Karlsen. Did the congregation do
right in holding him back during his first years as an evangelist?
Normally, the congregations belonging to the Norwegian
Pentecostal movement would put the brakes on their most eager and
engaged young evangelists, just to ensure that their promising «kids»
will have sufficient time to mature as Christians and as gifted
preachers. And in this connection, no exceptions were made in the case
of Ludvig Karlsen, either.
As with other, young preachers he, too, was to face difficult
situations in the years to come. Thus, every preacher must acquire
a basic knowledge and comprehension of his own duties.
In the case of Ludvig Karlsen, for instance, it was commonly
known that he, as well as his family, suffered from a bad economy.
And this was contrary to the Word of God which said that His
servants should be richly blessed, also economically.
The salvation of Lise and Ludvig was in itself a great
testimony! How come that such miserable and alcoholized persons could
find
mercy and even deliverance from the living, Almighty God?
Many were those who attended his meetings just to see for
themselves. And truly, Lise`s and Ludvig`s salvation came to be of
crucial importance for people in the same situation. If this couple could
be saved - who couldn`t?
And people came to their meetings in crowds.
Throughout the years, leading Norwegian Pentecostals had
been praying for revival and expansion. And now, as such a gifted
evangelist suddenly appeared, people queued up behind him.
Thus it was not his oratorical gifts, but rather his qualities as
a spiritual consoler which brought Ludvig into the light.
In contrast to most other evangelists who first and foremost
were preaching to tanned bench-persons, Ludvig always addressed
himself to unsaved and «miserable» persons who wanted to
become aquainted with their Saviour in a special way - i.e. wanting to
get saved.
At this point, mention could be made of Ludvig`s very first
speech in the congregation of Berøa, Oslo - a speech which is rather
representative for the man. Being an uneducated «country boy»,
he was quite nervous about preaching the gospel to the citizens
of Oslo. However, on his arrival in the national capital his very
first act was to open the national newspaper of «Aftenposten» to
read the advertisement dealing with his meeting in Berøa. His
name stood there all right. Having prepared himself very well all the
way from Tønsberg to Oslo - during which travelling time he had
received some inspiring ideas and thoughts concerning various
Bible-texts - he knew that nothing could fail. Unless, of
course, something or somebody was going to prevent him.
Especially, Ludvig feared of loosing his sense of concentration - for some
reason or other. As he arrived rather early in Oslo, he went into
the station restaurant to have something to eat.
To his great surprise, Ludvig discovers one of his old mates in
the restaurant. Well aware of his important, forthcoming
meeting Ludvig tries to avoid his old boozer fellow. Sneaking away
from him, the preacher moves to another table. But then,
something
strange happens. The waitress asks his drunken, old mate to
move away - out of her sight. And soon he finds the only vacant
and available seat - just in front of Ludvig. Now, any effort of
avoiding him becomes impossible, and he greets Ludvig warmly: «Oh
hello there, how are you?» Ludvig moves towards the man, telling
him that he had become a Christian. At his words, however, his
old fellow boozer starts to cry.
«I would also like to be saved», he said.
This caused Ludvig to cry, too. And in the middle of the
restaurant two grown up men could suddenly be seen praying together.
Ludvig prayed to God that He would have mercy with his old mate,
and gone was his inspiring sermon and all his carefully planned
preparations. When Ludvig entered the assembly hall, all
self-interest had left him. And he felt relieved and happy by the fact that
another soul had been won for Christ. And entering the platform
his mind was totally filled by the «miracle» in the restaurant: «God
is really a merciful and loving God», he told the audience,»who
could change such a miserable and depressed drunkard into
a person beaming with joy and happiness». And on his later invitation
during the post-meeting to come forwards to the platform to seek
God, people came in crowds.
However, heavy stress should be laid on one special feature:
Ludvig`s exceptional progress was not only due to his
excellent abilities as a preacher. The meetings in itself contained the
element of revival. An important factor - in this respect - was without
doubt the aspect of the holy Spirit`s manifestation during every
meeting. Ludvig didn`t operate with a fixed timetable where a certain
period of time was devoted to each particular item in the
meeting programme, he directed the meetings under the supreme
leadership of the holy Spirit. Allowing the Spirit to be completely free,
his meetings reminded people of the very first, Pentecostal revival
in Norway - during its pionering period. His meetings were not
just an imitation of modern, imported American revival methods.
Thus, whenever a man or a woman were standing up during a
session, giving some sort of testimony or anything else - the power of
the holy Spirit could suddenly be released. People started to cry
or
laugh vehemently, after which they crowded in front of the
platform for intercessionary assistance.
A characteristic feature with Ludvig Karlsen`s preaching
service, was that the manifestation of the holy Spirit
didn`t limit itself to the assembly hall only. In a particular case, a wife sat crying in
her house while her husband was walking restlessly around - in
another room. «Why do you cry?» he asked her. «Oh I don`t
really know», she responded to his question, «but all of a sudden I got
so worried for my soul!
When eternity comes, where would I be?» To her great
surprise, her husband answered her: «Me, too. Something new has
really come over me!» Shortly afterwards, however, they arrived at
the assembly hall, entered it and got saved.
Ludvig devoted his entire time to the job of saving such
«ordinary» and miserable men and women. His bondless self-sacrifice
broke every timetable, not to mention the old and traditional patterns
of preaching and prophesying. Accepted and well-established
customs and manners were broken, too.- among them the
traditionnal, Norwegian distance between the church leaders and the
common man and woman. Ludvig Karlsen was a church leader all right,
but all the same the man had almost no education and no
thelogical references - neither in himself nor in his family. He had never
been rich, and would never come to belong to the higher classes of
the Norwegian population. This very fact caused people to love him
- especially the most needy and miserable. And Ludvig - in return
- didn`t bother so much if he lost a good night`s sleep if he
could save an unhappy soul.
His sincere commitment and self-sacrifice, however, also came
to cause a lot of hitherto unknown problems. Very soon, it
appeared that the congregations - among which were many rather
well-established Christians - were not prepared at all for an eventual
revival. They simply hadn`t enough human resources to deal
with the situation of the newly saved. Experience, as well as
patience with the newcomers` difficult situation, was rather a shortage
in many congregations, and besides - what about the invasion of
young boys(many of whom had a criminal background) with regard to
its
influence on the traditional congregation pattern in general and
to the many, young and proper girls in the congregation in
particular?
The newly-saved persons were, on their side, harassed by
some problems, too, among which the general problem of
adaptation evidently was the greatest one. Having difficulties with the
traditional, Christian lifestyle where such things as alcohol,
amusements of various kinds, card-playing and extragavant parties
were regarded as sinful and harmful, the newly, reborn Christians
had problems. In their old environments, many of these elements
were of everyday occurence and they were accustomed to those
things. That went with the story that some things, like for example
films on TV which previously had been on the cinema screen, could
be watched by principals and elders. As to smoking and
drinking, however, those things were looked upon as sinful. By and
large, many of the reborn Christians were tempted to leave the
traditional Christian lifestyle in favour of their old, sinful life. This gave
birth to Ludvig`s idea of finding a new place for the very miserable
and needy converted Christians - outside the church!