The Chicago Bulls General Manager, John Paxson, believes that changes are on the way. He is unhappy with the Bulls disappointing season, and expects to get the Bulls back to “winning and competing.”

Paxson offered no excuses for the Bulls this year, and said he did not see this lackluster performance by the team coming. The Bulls were expected to go deep into the NBA Playoffs this year, and Paxson expected a further maturing of a young team, tweaking the roster, instead of making any wholesale changes.

Paxson said there is no definitive direction for the Chicago Bulls, but that “everyone is on notice, and we will analyze everything that we do. Expectations for this group were high, and we came nowhere close to those expectations.” Paxson is not sure if this is the beginning of a rebuilding scene for the Bulls, or if they are closer than it appears.

The Bulls Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was a move to compete this season, according to Paxson. Paxson stated that the move was also made to keep options open when trade talks are in session this off-season.

Paxson seems disappointed, but is realistic that the Bulls have several needs that must be filled. He claims that Bulls Head Coach Jim Boylan is the one coaching the team, and that he does not interfere with Boylan’s game planning or team management. However, Paxson gave no signal that Boylan would be back to coach the Chicago Bulls next year.

“Jim is the Coach, and he has to coach this basketball team, and this is his (Boylan’s) job interview,” according to Paxson. Paxson also stated that he has to “keep all his options open.” As for Tyrus Thomas, Paxson said he is “a supporter of Tyrus Thomas. I tried to explain to him that nothing is going to be handed to you (Thomas), and younger players get frustrated at times. Tyrus is not lost here at all. Tyrus has to make a commitment to the weight room, and play through contact.” Paxson feels that Thomas’ “future is a bright one,” although he did not specify if that future is with the Chicago Bulls.

Anyone will like his or her favorite car to be safe and secure in a busy city like Chicago. Unfortunately, the growing rates of crimes including theft and burglary have made this one of the most difficult tasks to be accomplished. It is never prudent to leave the repair of locks or replacement of key in unsafe hands. Professional Chicago Locksmith who is well reputed could be the answer to all such problems.

Preventing Unscrupulous People

Instead of picking the roadside Locksmith in Chicago it would be good to go for the established and registered ones in the city to ensure that such person does not make an additional duplicate key of your car using it for ulterior motives. That is why it is necessary that you make a little background research on the reputation and reliability of the Car Locksmith before you leave the task in his hands.

Car Lock Replacement

One of the best ways of protecting your car from possible future burglaries is to change the manual lock into something that is automatic. After all ensuring the safety of the car is in the hands of the owner more than anyone else. Hence also ensure that while the manual lock is replaced with automatic locks of modern times, the person whom the task is entrusted is a Chicago Area Locksmith and well known in the circle. One can also ensure that if there is some number or a remote to operate the automatic lock, the secrets of them are not retained by the locksmith after he accomplishes the task of lock replacement.

What Should Be Your Choice

In selection of the Car Key Locksmith Chicago the car owner will have certain issues to address. Three main factors for determination of the choice of the Locksmith to replace the car key or repair the lock would be the speed of work, quality, and affordability. It is also preferable to have the services of such Locksmith that would be available 24/7 at call so that you are not stranded in odd hours with the recurrence of the problems once settled. Maintenance is vital for smooth functioning of any device and it applies to the lock and key of the car as well.

It is Good Going for the Professional

Very often amateur or stop-gap services are available that are inexpensive and the car owner or user could be tempted to obtain the services of such Locksmiths for repair or replacement of car locks and keys. However, there are certain inherent pitfalls in the process. For one, the quality is not assured, and secondly and more important; safety and security of the car may be compromised substantially with such Car Locksmith. Their services may not be available round the clock either.

No such problem will be faced by the owner or use of the car when they opt for the Car Key Locksmith in Chicago.

Chicago “Black Sox Scandal” of 1919 shook baseball to its core and almost ruined the game. Sportswriter Ring Lardner was at the heart of the story and reported regularly on the subsequent trial and banning of the eight players involved. The case shook Lardner’s belief in the game and robbed baseball of one of its greatest early writers.

Adapting from Eliot Asinof baseball classic 8 men out, director John Sayles put Lardner back into the baseball and literary spotlight during the 1988 hollywood film Eight Men Out. The movie included some big name talent, including John Cusack and John Mahoney (of many films and later Frasier fame). Sayles, himself an actor, played Lardner, who quickly figured out something was amiss behind the scenes of the Chicago White Sox. Strong reviews from strong media outlets and critics such as the New York Times Janet Maslin (“story of boyish enthusiam gone bad in an all too grown-up world, Eight Men Out represents a home run.”) gave this movie its preverbal legs and is now considered a classic amongst baseball film buffs.

Ring began his sports writing career in South Bend, writing for both the South Bend Tribune & the South Bend Times. He moved to Chicago and wrote for the Chicago Inter-Ocean, the Chicago Examiner and finally the Chicago Examiner. After bouncing around for a few years, including taking time off to work on the fictional book You Know Me Al, Larnder returned to Chicago and resumed writing for the Tribune.

This leads us into the scandal itself. The official story goes like this: Many players within the Chicago White Sox organization were upset with the pay and negotiation tactics of the Sox owner, Charles Comiskey. When Joseph Sullivan approached White Sox first baseman Arnold Gandil on the behalf of New York mobster Arnold Rothstein the timing was right. Gandil was able to gather seven other players (thus brining to the total to eight) to throw games vs the Cinncinati Reds in the 1919 World Series. For this the players were promised $100,000 total.

Ring Lardner wrote pieces for the Tribune after the series hinting and reporting the rumors floating around the majors at the time, that the players may have been “on the take”. He continued with his stories and eventually major league baseball began to look into these assertions. After the owners appointed a new commissioner in Judge Kenesaw Mountin Landis the case was tried in a court of law. After a trial that was riddled with news coverage and most likely affected by public opinion, the players were acquitted. Judge Landis saw things another way however, as he proceeded to ban all eight players that were involved in the scandal.

After the scandal of the 1919 Black Sox played itself out, Lardner continued to cover baseball until he retired from the Tribune. According to biographies, while Ring did cover the sport, he did begin subtly questioning the happenings and outcomes of games. Ring Lardner passed at the age of 48 due to complications from tuberculosis in 1933.

My husband, Barry, has been a Chicago Cubs fan since he heard his first baseball game on the car radio during a car trip with his parents in 1945. The Cubs were playing and he decided to become a Cub fan because bear cubs were so lovable. He was ten years old and this was the beginning of a lifelong love of baseball.

He grew up in Danville, Illinois, 120 miles south of Chicago and slightly out of range for the radio station that broadcast the Cubs’ games. He discovered he could solve this problem by holding his finger on the aerial button on the back of the radio. However, he is forever grateful that there weren’t any local thunderstorms during the games since he had made himself a lightning rod.

The Cubs made it to the 1945 World Series because their players were older and all the best players on other teams had been drafted during WWII. In spite of this advantage, the Cubs lost the series four games to three to the Detroit Tigers and Barry was devastated. The only saving grace was that the great baseball player, Hank Greenberg, played third base for Detroit. Although he was too old to be drafted, he was still a superhero, especially to Jewish boys because Greenberg was also Jewish. This was an oddity in major league baseball as athletic skills weren’t associated with Jewish culture. However, he remembers that Greenberg was subjected to the same kind of abuses that Jackie Robinson, the first African/American player, experienced.

Barry was in high school before he saw his first baseball game at Wrigley Field and he still remembers the excitement of being there. “Before the game I had thought that the wooshing sound I heard on the radio after a foul ball landed behind home plate came from the ball hitting the net. I had even argued this point with a classmate,” he said. “At the game, I learned that the wooshing sound was made by fans and it was a tradition.”

He went to college in Chicago and could get to Wrigley Field easily on the El, the part-elevated, part-underground Chicago subway system. At that time, Wrigley Field did not have lights so all games were in the afternoon. During one spring quarter, he was enrolled in a political science course that was well known to have irrelevant lectures and tests based solely on the book. He spent those afternoons in the left field bleachers. “The Cubs were especially bad that year but it didn’t matter,” he said. “Cub fans were used to bad teams. I only attended one lecture and for the first time the political science final exam was entirely based on the lectures. Whoops!”

Wherever we lived, Barry remained a Cubs fan which is true of most fans who continue to root for the Cubs in all the other team’s ballparks. What is unusual is why so many men remain loyal to a team that has failed to get to the World Series in 71 years and has broken their hearts so many times. In 1984, they led the San Diego Padres two games to none in a five-game National League Championship Series but lost three in a row. In 2003, they were again one win away from advancing to the World Series. When they were leading in the 8th inning of the third game, a fan interfered with a catchable foul ball. The Miami Marlins rallied, won that game and the next two to eliminate the Cubs. The unfortunate fan became the human incarnation of “The Curse”. He had to leave Chicago and has remained in hiding.

Barry is convinced there is a curse. In the 1945 World Series, Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave game four of the World Series at the Cubs’ home ballpark, Wrigley Field. He had bought two tickets as he had many times before, one for him and one for his pet goat, Murphy. This time he was asked to leave because fans were complaining about the strong odor coming from his pet goat. He was outraged and declared, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” This curse meant the Cubs would never be in another World Series game at Wrigley Field and the Cubs, who have not won a World Series since 1908, have not been there since.

There have been many bizarre attempts to remove the “Curse of the Billy Goat”. For example a Greek Orthodox priest sought to end the curse during the 2008 playoffs by spraying holy water in and around the Cubs’ dugout. In 2013, a severed goat’s head was delivered to the Cubs’ owner in a possible effort to lift the curse. In 2014 four men consumed a 40-pound goat in thirteen minutes and twenty-two seconds at a restaurant, “Taco in a Bag”, in Chicago. None of the attempts have worked. At away games, fans of the opposing home team often wear a goat mask

It isn’t just the “Curse of the Billy Goat”, Barry explained. In 1969, the Cubs were leading their division as the end of the season approached. A black cat visited the dugout and the Cubs lost that game, followed by a long losing streak.

Cub fans even have their own folktale. Barry related following tale: “Two cub fans were so frustrated after watching the last game of another losing season they drank too much, crashed into a tree and ended up in hell. The Devil came to see them and found them roasting ballpark hot dogs and telling each other jokes. The Devil asked them “how can you be happy in this miserable place?” They said, “It’s OK, we are used to it; we are Cub fans.” The Devil turned off the heat to make them suffer more. He came to check on them and found them surrounded by ice and high-fiving, laughing and dancing. He said, “How can you be even happier in this frigid cold?” They said, “We have never been happier. We are going to the World Series! Hell has frozen over.””

This year, the Cubs have the best record in Major League baseball and were the first team to qualify for the playoffs that would lead to the World Series. They won the first two games of the five game playoffs with San Francisco and lost the third game. Several nights ago they played their fourth game and were losing 5 to 2 at the end of the 8th inning of the fourth game. Barry turned off the TV and went to bed, certain that it was happening again. He said he dreamt about Billy Goats.

In the morning, he learned the Cubs had scored four runs in the 9th inning and won the series. They still have to win the divisional playoffs to play in the World Series. But he is convinced that, once again, the curse is going to end it.

“Just like Moses led the Jews through the desert to the edge of the Promised Land but died before entering it, we will be taken to the edge of baseball glory only to again say ‘wait until next year,” he told me. “But it’s OK. I’m sure that many of us Cub fans would not be able to handle the shock of getting to the World Series let alone winning it. We thrive on rooting for the perennial underdog. We get satisfaction from loving losers. We are baseball masochists. I am going to see a psychiatrist and try to understand what is wrong with Cub fans.”

The Chickering brothers, out of Chicago, was a short lived piano making company from the early 1900’s. Even though they were in business for such a short time, they made up for it by creating one of the best pianos ever made, in my opinion, called -The Acoustigrande.

The patent reveals that they changed the angle of the spine of the piano to create a larger soundboard in width. The magic was that it didn’t look bigger.

Chickering Brothers, which should not be confused with the Chickering & Sons Piano Company from Boston. The Chickerings from both firms were related to one another, and Clifford Chickering had even worked at the Chickering and Sons factory for seven years, before starting his own firm.

He was called upon to finish a drawing that Frank Chickering (Uncle and owner of Chickering & Sons) was working on before his death. Clifford incorporated a couple of innovations into the drawing that resulted in the Acoustigrande.

Besides width, it also features a new way of tapering the rim to match the tapering of the soundboard to improve the tone.

Clifford became very skilled in piano acoustics, and he decides to branch out onto his own and he move to Chicago with his brothers.

Tragedy after next befalls Clifford, his brother Fred dies, then Wallace too, and at the same time the city of Chicago condemns the Chickering building for street widening. All while fighting with his uncles firm over use of the Chickering Name in relation to piano making.

He ends up selling his company to Ampico and also ends up returning to Chickering and Sons to become their Vice President.

Clifford was a major force in keeping the Chickering and Sons Piano Company going strong after Frank Chickering died. But due to economic conditions of the oncoming of World War 1 the firm calls it quits in 1908 selling to Ampico. Ampico took good advantage of the use and rights of the Chickering name but the pianos were a less expensive version. I have also seen a Chickering Brothers piano produced by Ampico and this too was a very inexpensive version, and not worthy of the original design

If you ever come across, or own an Original Chickering Brothers piano, please know that it was a very special design and is very much worth restoring.

It is one of the few pianos from the past that I have come across that was better than most pianos made today.

We’ll start with his father.

Julius Bauer was born in Berlin on July 20, 1831. At an early age showed natural talent for constructing musical instruments and by the time he was 18, had accumulated many years of experience working on pianos and violins. At this time, the revolution of 1848 was erupting, so he left for America and arrived in New York.

Immediately opening his own store, within 8 years his company had grown rapidly. He leaves his brother John in charge of the New York store and comes to Chicago in 1857 with his other brother Herman. They sold several piano brands such as Behning, Miller, McCammon, and Knabe.

In the great Chicago fire of 1871, his business was destroyed. For the next year and a half, he operated in a church while having a new building built. During this time of tragedy, his brother John dies, and so he closes down the New York branch.

Although Bauer started as a retailer, he soon began to build pianos that sold under his name. Bauer pianos became known for being exceptionally well made pianos.

With his success, Bauer was able to afford lavish warerooms in two major cities, Chicago and again in New York by 1880.

Julius dies in 1884 and his wife Anna Marie takes over management of the company.

Their son William was born in 1870, and after graduating from High School, he goes on a European vacation. When he arrives back in Chicago, he starts his career in the factory learning everything he can about pianos from the ground up.

Now the fun begins. William turned out to be a gifted piano maker with an inventive mind. In my opinion, he was one of the most original thinkers in piano technology history.

(The following may be a little technical.)

His designs seem to be based on stiffness. His plates are designed so that the string tension is placed in a horizontal plane inside the middle of the plate, whereas in a “regular” grand piano, the string tension is horizontally on top of the plate.

He goes one step further in his upright. A major flaw with uprights is that the sound can be smothered by the cabinet. William tackles this issue by placing the soundboard in the back of the instrument for maximum sound exposure, but the plate and the strings are in the middle of the instrument. He connects the soundboard to the bridge and strings with dowels.

Quite amazing!

I recommend that you should see his patents which are accessible online by searching Google Patents.

Another example of his unique approach is the soundboard itself. You can easily spot a Julius Bauer piano because his soundboards have ribs on the top and the bottom.

Later he even invented a piano with no steel plate at all. It features a wooden plate to replace the traditional cast-iron plate with the goal of giving the piano a sweeter tone.

His piano designs and methods of construction were very unique and highly praised in his day. Today they are worth a second look, and they are very much worth restoring.

He sold his company to the Wurlitzer Piano Company in 1930 being hit hard during the Great Depression.

Wurlitzer continued to build the Julius Bauer name up until about 1938.

I recently read a really interesting blog article from an appraiser in Philadelphia titled “Zillow vs. The Coyle Group”. In the article, Michael Coyle analyzes over 20 of their most recent appraisals and compares them to what Zillow says they are worth via it’s Zestimate. With sites like these appearing to be gaining popularity with consumers over the last few years, I thought I would do my own analysis.

The results may surprise you, they did me. Of the 20 properties analyzed, many of which were recent sales, Zillow differed from the appraised value by more than 5% on 16 of them and the average difference was 20.16%! And the four that were within 5% were recent sales in the last 6 months. That means on an average $300,000 home Zillow’s value estimate is off by an average of $60,000. Another interesting statistic is that it was high/overvalued 10 properties and low/undervalued 10 properties. To further substantiate my results I compared them to The Coyle Group’s and noted that they found an average difference of 18.95%.

When digging deeper into the individual properties, I was unable to determine what exact factor lead to some of the biggest discrepancies. For example, the Glencoe Colonial property is currently an 1100 sq. ft. split level that is going to be torn down and a new 3200 sq. ft. home built. It is listed for $1,199,000 (the exact Zestimate value) and is under contract for around $1,050,000. This would lead me to believe that Zillow is giving the MLS list price the most weight and ignoring the actual property characteristics. However, the Zestimate was off by 41% on the Portage Park bungalow which was listed for $460,000 and sold for the same price. In this case, why would the Zestimate be $273,265? It must have ignored the list and sale price when it appeared to rely exclusively on list price on the Glencoe proposed construction. Yes, I’m scratching my head as well.

While I am not here to breakdown Zillow’s method or algorithm used for determining values, I do want to caution the prospective homebuyer/seller about relying on Zillow’s values and advise that you hire a certified appraiser to ensure that all factors have been included in the opinion of market value. This will prevent you from listing your home too high which could lead to your house being on the market way longer than is necessary. It will also prevent you from listing your home too low and potentially leaving money on the table.

You can read Zillow vs. The Coyle Group here.

Chicago is a popular business location for many reasons. There is so much to see and do in Chicago that opening up shop in this area simply makes sense. Being in a location where the Chicago Symphony Orchestra takes music to a whole new level or where the Magnificent Mile provides shopping and dining options galore, it is no wonder that business owners want to lease commercial real estate in the downtown area.

You could own a piece of Chicago commercial real estate and take advantage of the cultural and downtown Chicago amenities or you could take an even better route and lease commercial office space in Chicago. Some of the areas you can look into for leasing office space in Chicago include East Loop, Central Loop, West Loop, South Loop and North Michigan Avenue, to name a few. These areas share quite a few attributes in common, such as the wide array of commercial leasing office options and amenities such as restaurants, retail shops and more, but each locale is distinct in its own right.

Leasing Commercial Real Estate in Chicago Opens Up Transportation Options

One of the main benefits to leasing office space in downtown Chicago relates to the transportation options you will have to take advantage of. For those who need to take the train to work or do business with your company, the Metra has plenty of stops, no matter whether your leased office is in West Loop or on North Michigan Avenue. Since many employees and customers use public transportation to get to downtown, having these Metra stops by your office is an extreme benefit.

Since the train may only get people to certain areas in Chicago, the Pace bus line is readily available for downtown business owners as well. Sometimes individuals will need to ride the Metra to a certain stop and then take the Pace bus line from that point to their destination. When you lease an office in Chicago, the Pace bus line is right there as well. Add on the availability of taxi cabs and multiple parking garages downtown and you have ease of access galore.

When Your Company Leases Office Space in Chicago Your Customers Will Appreciate The Convenience

When you lease an office in the downtown Chicago area, you will be doing your customers a favor as well. People like to be able to get a lot of things done in a single trip. With a downtown location, this is even more possible. Suppose you lease an office space on the Magnificent Mile. Your clients can come to your office to do business and then head out to Tiffany & Co. for some elegant jewelry shopping or make their way to Starbucks for a coffee or Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush for a fine dining experience. When you choose a downtown Chicago location for your office lease you are making your company that much more desirable to customers who like to get a lot done in one trip out.

Leasing Chicago commercial real estate has so many benefits for business owners. You can find a place to open up shop without the commitment which a purchase has with it and put yourself in a downtown Chicago location where your customers will be able to get plenty of errands done in one day and use public transportation routes to do so. Take advantage of the many benefits which go along with leasing commercial real estate in Chicago and make your business as lucrative as it can be.

Chicago is the third largest metropolitan in the United States and as such attracts thousands of people each day. The city is also a formidable financial center making it a magnet for people seeking economic and career opportunities. Chicago has many different apartments which are excellent for any purpose and for any family size. If you are shopping for an apartment rental in Chicago, it is best to be armed with the necessary information required. One of these is to know your credit score because Chicago apartments will conduct credit and rental history checks not to mention criminal background checks as well. So where can one rent an apartment in Chicago if they have a prior broken lease, less-than-adequate credit or a criminal record?

There are many different localities within Chi-town where this is possible. The following areas have different apartment leasing homes that cater to applicants with an unflattering rental history, tainted credit or criminal past:

• Downtown Chicago
• Southside
• Center City
• Southwest
• Bridesburg

One challenge that many people who have a poor rental background or less-than-perfect credit is where to locate apartments that are willing to work with them. This is because many second-chance apartments in Chicago do not advertise that they work with people with imperfect credit. This leaves applicants to guess which can be a costly and frustrating exercise indeed.

Techniques of find bad credit apartments in Chicago

One way to find second chance apartments in Chicago is off course the Internet. This can also be tricky because not all websites are straightforward and apartments rental regulations are constantly being revised.

Another option is to contract an apartment locator. Usually if you tell them what the issue is they can look for an apartment for you which can cater for people with previous issues such as broken lease agreements, bad credit or criminal pasts.

Important information to bear in mind

It is essential that you understand that even if the apartments are willing to work with impaired credit and/or an imperfect record as far as renting, they will still request that you fulfill a few requirements:

• Have a job for at least six months prior
• Be earning at least 3 times the rental amount
• Not be convicted of violent crime or crime against minors
• If felony, it has to be at least 5 years old

Sometimes the apartments will also require a hefty deposit and may hike their rent. But again these requirements vary from apartment to apartment and locality to locality.

Are you looking for apartments in Chicago which will approve you despite a previous broken apartment lease agreement, sub-prime credit or a criminal record?

The ancient prophet once cried out, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” That cry has been echoed all down through the generations of those who have hungered for the manifestation of the presence of the living God. Throughout the history of the church, God has rent the heavens and intervened on behalf of His people.

The Great Chicago Visitation of 1913 was such a time. It was one of the most powerful visitations of divine presence that this city has ever experienced.

Maria Woodworth-Etter, a well-known evangelist, had been invited to hold a series of meetings at the Stone Church, located at 37Th and Indiana, beginning on July 2, 1913. Posters had been placed throughout the city to advertise the meeting. The services were to last until the end of July. This was a time of divine appointment for the city of Chicago; God rent the heavens and came down!! Scenes from the days of the Early Church began to occur at Stone Church. Word began to spread throughout Chicago of miraculous healings, deliverance from demonic possession, conversions, and of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happening in these meetings. Advertisement was no longer necessary!

Incredible healings were reported. A woman, who had been blind 15 years and had never seen her children, was instantly healed. A paralyzed man, whose joints were ossified, could not move any limb or his head, had to be fed with a spoon, and could barely speak, was prayed for. For eight years, he suffered the confines of this prison of infirmity. Sister Woodworth-Etter commanded him in the name of Jesus to rise and walk. The power of God fell on him. He jumped from his wheel chair, ran down the isle of the church and a half a block down the street. Many followed him outside and waved their hats in the air yelling, “Hurrah for Jesus.” He ran back into the church and shouted praises to God. A young woman, who had lost total hearing in one ear and was losing hearing in the second ear, came for prayer. She was instantly healed. During one song service, four crippled people were healed and began to walk without the use of canes or crutches.

Word spread throughout the city of the miraculous intervention of God. Thousands came on trolleys, buggies, and trains, while many walked. Some came from hundreds of miles away. 1200 to 1500 packed into Stone Church each night. The basement was filled and many stood out on the street. Street meetings were held to accommodate them. Three services were held on Sundays. No services were scheduled for Saturdays so that the ministers could have a day of rest. However, some came on Saturdays and were met by Christians who prayed for them. A crippled woman, not knowing that services were not held on Saturdays, came on the trolley. She got off and hobbled down the street to the church. A German woman met her at the church and informed that no services had been scheduled for Saturdays. However, she invited the crippled woman to come into the church and she and others would pray for her. As soon as the woman walked into the church, she was instantly healed. A father traveled from Oklahoma bringing his two daughters with him. One could not use her limbs nor talk. The other was born deaf and dumb. Both were instantly healed. One of the girls wept and laughed when she heard singing for the first time in her life.

God had rent the heavens and came down into Chicago. Thousands were healed, incredible miracles occurred; multitudes were saved, and thousands were filled with the Holy Spirit. The meeting, which was scheduled to last for a month, lasted for six months. Sister Woodworth-Etter and believers dug a deep well of revival.

The Chicago Visitation possessed several remarkable characteristics:

1. The success of the work was not due to preaching of profound theological doctrine and differences. Instead, the Gospel was presented in its simplicity. The people were drawn by the manifestation of the presence and power of God.

2. There was extraordinary unity among Christians. Denominational lines vanished. Christians from all backgrounds joined in the work. Great harmony prevailed among believers. Controversy was not tolerated and was absent. It was a “strife-free zone.”

3. Worship was in its purest form. Entertainment and obvious display of talent did not exist. Music, singing and praise were to glorify God and Him only.

4. The entire Body of Christ was involved in ministry. Laying – on of hands was not regulated to the evangelist or pastor. People ministered to one another.

5. Ministers and members from all denominations were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

6. A prophetic word was given the last night of this six-month long meeting.

As Christians prayed around the altar, Sister Woodworth-Etter and others gave a powerful prophecy and divine promise for the future:

“We are not yet up to the fullness of the Former Rain and that when the Latter Rain comes, it will far exceed anything we have seen!”

Frank Bartleman, the chronicler of the Azusa Street Awakening of 1907, once wrote, “In order to understand what God is going to do, we must understand what He once did.” It is imperative that we study and understand these “old wells of revival.” We need to understand the divine dynamics of these moves of God. We need to know the promises that God has made in the past, which will impact us in our day. God has ways of reminding His people of that promise. In 1999, before I had any knowledge of the Chicago Visitation of 1913, I had a dream. In the dream, I was standing with a small group of believers in the basement of Stone Church. A pastor friend of mine asked us to form a circle and offer up “pure praise and worship” to God. I looked around and saw many, many rooms filled with hospital beds containing the sick. In these beds were people suffering from a diversity of illnesses and infirmities. Caring for them was an elderly head nurse. As we began to worship and praise God, the nurse left the sick and came and joined in the worship. As the worship continued, I saw all of the sick rise from their hospital beds. They were instantly healed and came to join in the worship! I awoke from my dream. Now, ten years later I understand the meaning of the dream. The same things that occurred in the Visitation of 1913 will happen again. Pure worship and praise will ascend unto God. The blind will see, the deaf hear, the lame walk and the dumb will talk. Healing and miracles will flow again throughout this great city. God IS going to reopen this “old well of revival” in Chicago! Why, because He promised that He would and that it will far exceed the Visitation of 1913!

What is our responsibility in the reopening of this old well of revival? Second Chronicles 7:14 gives us that needed direction, “If My people who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves and pray, seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND HEAL THEIR LAND.” It is time to come clean with God, to be honest about our wicked ways and repent. As Joshua

told the Israelites the day before crossing the Jordan River into the promised land, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” We would do well to follow this directive!