The Ultimate Treasure Hunt

Today, I received and began reading Kevin Dodman's The Ultimate Treasure Hunt. The book describes an approach to evangelism that's centered on using words of knowledge to identify "treasure," that is, candidates for ministry. Once a candidate is actually located, teams using the approach minister physical or inner healing, prophecy, or such other gracelets as may be needed and available.

Tonight, as usual every other Wednesday, I dropped by my weekly kinship just to make contact and then skipped out to a nearby mall, this time with a view to trying a treasure hunt. The approach is designed for teams of 3-4 people but, lacking partners, I decided to give it a go solo rather than wait.

I readily got several clues to the identity of the night's treasure:

• Location: near a particular store in the mall
• Name: Bob (unsure of this)
• Appearance: brown and green clothes
• Prayer need: foot (right?)
• Unusual clues: something to do with the voice or talking

I walked to the designated location, where I found convenient brown and green benches. I wondered if that meant the clue regarding appearance pertained to the benches rather than the treasure. But I ultimately decided that I had heard God correctly the first time.

I decided to wait as long as 30 minutes, about 20 minutes before closing of the mall. Although I watched my surroundings carefully, no one wearing the proper color clothing appeared during my wait. I did see a man with a limp that seemed to be due to a problem with his right foot. In retrospect, I should have investigated that near match. I suppose that's lesson #1.

During my wait, I developed a headache, a symptom I almost never suffer. At first, I thought it might point to another treasure nearby. But then, I considered that it might be an attempt of the enemy to distract or disable me, a possibility suggested by a team member on another occasion and which was subsequently borne out. So, I rebuked the headache and commanded it to leave, which it promptly did. After 5-10 minutes it returned at lesser strength. I rebuked it again and it did not return a second time.

So, my first experience with treasure hunting produced mixed results, at best. Nevertheless, I am encouraged and look forward to opportunity to hunt in company of a team that can bring to bear a wider range of gifts and abilities.