Reclaiming Prophecy. Darin Slack
at the time was a severe reverse culture shock. My new church was much more conservative on everything, including the gifts.
Prophecy wasn’t a new thing to them, and the leadership encouraged the gift’s use. They even had prophetic ministers come in and minister to the church. But clearly, care, character, and doctrinal preaching were the only real focus.
What’s wrong with that? Raise that question in a room full of pastors and there will be amens and affirmation all around.
Except we know from Scripture that the Church doesn’t primarily exist to be cared for, have great character, and to be preached to by pastors who love to speak; pastors are called to equip, build up, and make disciples in the Church--disciples who preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world, with a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power that produces lasting change for the glory of God.
We aren’t called to setup a meeting where everyone’s felt-needs are met, everyone gets to see their friends and to fellowship, and everyone learns a Sunday school lesson that really hits us in the heart. That is a club with a motivational speaker. That is not the ekklesia, the “called out” ones, the Church of Jesus Christ, currently engaged in a holy war.
Believers certainly need care, character, and preaching, but we are foremost children of the most High God, who need the manifest power of the Holy Spirit every moment of every day.
The call to war against materialism, idolatry, and secret sin can too easily become the focus of our weekly meetings. Personal holiness is important, but rooting out personal failure can easily displace the burning passion for fulfilling God’s calling to go forth in His great power!
When the Holy Spirit uses us to manifest His love and glory, we are compelled to live rightly by the grace of God that teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Titus 2). But if we only hear what we need to work on in ourselves, no matter how much grace is preached with it, we lose heart.
Most pastors truly desire power for Christ-glorifying ministry through the Holy Spirit in their ministry. They must equally pray the same for the gifts resident in their congregation or they can grow complacent and comfortable. In the members’ minds, it can appear easier and safer to leave all ministry to the pastor. Pastors wondering why they have such a “quiet” and unresponsive congregation may not realize that their significant efforts to care, build character, and preach doctrine has unwittingly led their congregation to an anemic “spectator” mentality.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 (niv, emphasis added),
I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Many pastors quietly assent that the charismatic gifts (prophecy for our purposes) continued after the first-century Church. Called continuationists today, but not fully associating with charismatic culture, they identify with the gifts as continuing in principle, but they do so “under protest.” They are likely protesting unrestrained, unaccountable, uncontrolled ministry they see or fear.
Like many on the fringes of the faith who want Jesus but not the Church, they want the Holy Spirit, just not as He’s being portrayed by those who claim to have Him. They may genuinely want to see most of the gifts in action, but aspects of the charismatic culture appears so “anti-order” to them that managing prophetic people who would come in with controversial gifts and might immediately criticize their doctrine, refuse to play by the “rules,” and/or not appreciate what elders face in cleaning up after them, is simply not worth the risk.
Those who pursue some gifts may lay down so many disclaimers and cautions about the gifts of the Holy Spirit that they default to functional cessationism because they have yet to see a model of truly gifted, accountable, Holy Spirit-empowered prophetic ministry they can support. This doesn’t mean these prophetic people don’t exist; they just haven’t met them yet.
Other pastors fall into another category of having tried the “gift experiment,” only to fail in some way. It became too much to administrate, it got out of control, took the focus away from more important things, or didn’t bear lasting fruit. Also, they may not have had anyone who could help them administrate it. They didn’t have a proven prophet or see anyone with a level of maturity in their gifting and doctrine who could help equip and train the gift ministries.
Another common occurrence is the pastor who invites a visiting prophet who didn’t come to help others be equipped for ministry, but came to minister. Response to such a prophet may be strong, but the church still needs to grow its own prophetic ministry. The visiting prophet, like pastors who only preach and do not equip in gifts, creates a “spectator spirit” that makes the congregation content to watch and not participate.
Still other pastors may be comfortable with a certain measure of spiritual gift development and inclusion in the corporate gathering, but don’t know how to create a strategic plan to develop people in their gifts and callings.
Here’s a way to sum up what I believe to be the challenges facing pastors.
In addition to caring, building character, and preaching, all pastors know they are to prayerfully identify, develop, equip, and mature gift ministries within the Church themselves. It’s part of their Ephesians 4 call to equip and build the Church to fulfill its various callings. But, truthfully, many aren’t even sure what those relationships with Ephesians 4 gift ministries is supposed to look like, much less work together to build the Church.
Many conclude that the apostle and prophet must have ceased in the first century. Where are the examples of gifted believers? The few in the public eye are solo evangelists and prophets, and if they are busy building their own “brands,” then the pastor is left holding down the local church alone. So they wait.
Pastors are on the tip of the spear fighting for the people of God every day, holding whatever ground they’ve captured, only to have to deal with believers practicing the gifts who aren’t partners in building the local church, but people who need more leadership than the pastor feels he has to give.
Instead of the gift ministries arriving to serve the pastors in the local church, they come in expecting to out-rank them and be served for their anointing. These unchecked gift ministries lack validating qualities the pastor needs to see, like humility, genuine care for the local church, observable character, and sound doctrinal preaching that equips, not entertains.
No wonder pastors are fearful and fatigued!
I believe the Holy Spirit is doing a new work to counteract the undisciplined and immature prophet and the brand-building soloists out there.
I believe he’s going to envision pastors everywhere to engage the gifts in their local churches.
I was one of those immature and exhausting prophets, but God has been faithful to give me local pastors who recognized my calling as a partner with a slightly different function - to provide the same care, character, and sound doctrine in the equipping of the gifts. Together, we have stumbled along, guided by faith, to discover a clear, God-given vision for the gifts.
Pastors will have to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit giving gifts, coming alongside manifesting believers to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
It’s my hope that what He’s taught us will inspire pastors to open the door to the gifts again, with fresh vision that we may prophesy.
My Introduction to the Voice of God
I first encountered Jesus in my early days of college. God grew me as a leader in many ways – in on-campus ministry, in church, and among a secular crowd. I became an All-American college quarterback, who led others, while God was constructing a plan to humble me greatly so He could use me.
The early days of my Christian faith were filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. I didn’t understand what it was at the time; I just felt like I was being followed everywhere. At times, I literally had to stop and look around to see