I first heard of Richard Ellis when I heard a singer talk about her church in Dallas. It was, she said, a church where people got up to ask for prayers, and they turned out to be very serious prayers. She had been used to prayers of a type–help me with my boss, help me get a promotion–but when she started going to Reunion Church she heard prayers of a different sort–help me stay clean from heroin today, help me not pick up a bottle today. The church challenged her suburban faith because it was planted smack dab in the middle of Dallas’ center city. The pastor was some guy named Richard Ellis who had moved his whole family into that community.

Richard and I would become friends, and I admire him greatly. I posed the “Does Jesus follow?” question to him. His response:

David,

Jesus lived the life and set the example. If someone is a Christian then technically the Holy Spirit dwells in them. The Book states that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father praying for believers.

If someone is not a Christian, a follower of Christ, then the Holy Spirit could be pursuing that person in order to point them to faith in Christ. If a person is already a follower of Christ then the Holy Spirit is stuck not with that person but in that person. As a follower of Jesus I take God with me where ever I go. That’s why it is so important to be a faithful follower of Christ–so he doesn’t end up in some places He would rather not be. Hope this helps.

Richard