Rebuilding sermon was prophetic

MAYFLOWER - On April 27, the Rev. Walt Hollis prophetically preached a sermon on rebuilding walls.

Hollis, who preaches at Lifeline Church, centered his sermon on the story of Nehemiah, who, after hearing the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down, worked to rebuild them. The pastor urged the congregation to rebuild its “spiritual walls” as Nehemiah did.

“A few hours later, I realized it was not just a spiritual thing,” he said Sunday. “But that the walls of the church were down.”

Hollis revisited Nehemiah’s story Sunday during a service at the cafetorium of Mayflower High School.It was the church’s first meeting since last week’s EF4 tornado ripped through the city, killing three people and destroying several buildings, including Lifeline Church.

“Most of the time, when I minister the word of God, I feel like I’ve gotten for that week what God wants for the church that Sunday,” he said. “I felt like I knew what I was talking about, but I don’t think I really did.”

Hollis told about 150 churchgoers Sunday that after the tornado, he’s seen members of the congregation stopping by the church and helping with the cleanup efforts.

“I’ve also noticed tears,” he said. “I’ve noticed tears here this morning. The tears are because of what we’ve gone through and the fact that the walls are still down.”

The church’s staff dotted each of the seven rows of seats with tissue boxes before the service opened with “Amazing Grace.” Some clutched a handful of tissues and others swayed as the musicians started “Our God.”

Nikki Stolzer lifted both her hands up high, closed her eyes and tilted her head back as that song came to an end.Mayflower School District Superintendent John Gray grabbed tissues from his pants pocket, took off his glasses and dabbed at his eyes.

Stolzer, 35, said after the service that her family never misses a Sunday at church, but it was especially important to go this time around.

“We weren’t going to miss showing unity in our church,” she said.

The week before, Stolzer’s family of five crammed into a bathroom in the middle of its Mayflower home, between the church and Dam Road. Her youngest daughter “kept saying the Lord’s prayer,” she said, but the tornado missed her home.

“God put his hand on our house and blessed us,” Stolzer said. “Everything around us was down.”

The church staff reached out to Gray after the tornado destroyed the building, the superintendent said, adding that he was glad to help Lifeline Church or any church in need.

Despite the disaster - “from deaths to displacements” - the support and graciousness from everyone has uplifted the community, he said.

Hollis had just left the church some 20 minutes before the tornado struck. He’d received a picture via text message from a church member who shined headlights on the wreckage.

By the time Hollis was able to get to the wreckage last Monday morning, members of the congregation were already cleaning up. The church was able to recover most of its chairs - though some needed cleaning - and altars that looked untouched, he said.

There’s always a question of why, Hollis said, and often there’s not an answer. Faith was tested in the past week, he said, urging everyone to restore their worship.

“Until it does, the church is going to weep because some walls are still down,” he said. “No matter how great the storm, no matter what the EF is, no matter what the winds say, the church will always stand. There’s nothing that can blow down the walls of God’s presence. There’s nothing that can stop the worship of these people. There’s not a storm big enough or a wind strong enough that can stop us from singing his praises.”

The congregation needs a passion for accomplishment, consistency, spirit of unity and organization to build a new church, he said. The reason Nehemiah said that wall was built was because “the people had a mind to work,” Hollis said.

“I think I’m looking at a group of people that are ready to work,” he said.