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The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition by Vinson Synan
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997
Review by Eerdmans Publishers
Vinson Synan is dean of the School of Divinity at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This review from the back cover of the book summarises the scope of this book written by a world recognised Pentecostal historian.
Called “a pioneer contribution” by Church History when it was first published in 1971 as The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States, this volume has now been revised and enlarged by Vinson Synan to account for the incredible changes that have occurred in the church world during the last quarter of the twentieth century.
Synan brings together the stories of the many movements usually labelled “holiness,” “Pentecostal,” or “charismatic,” and shows that there is an identifiable “second blessing” tradition in Christianity that began with the Catholic and Anglican mystics, that was crystallized in the teaching of John Wesley, and that was further perpetuated through the holiness and Keswick movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the appearance of modern Pentecostalism.
Synan then chronicles the story of the spread of Pentecostalism around the world after the heady days of the Azusa Street awakening, with special attention given to the beginnings of the movement in those nations where Pentecostalism has become a major religious force. He also examines the rise of various mainline-church charismatic move- merits that have their roots in Pentecostalism. Because of the explosive growth of the Pentecostal movement in the last half of the century, Pentecostals and Charismatics now constitute the second largest family of Christians in the world.
“This could well he the major story of Christianity in the twentieth century,” writes Synan. “Pentecostalism has grown beyond a mere passing ‘movement’ . . . and can now he seen as a major Christian ‘tradition’ alongside the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Reformation Protestant traditions.”
The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition will continue to be an important handbook for shaping our understanding of this phenomenon.
The God Chasersby Tommy Tenny
Shippensburg: Destiny Image, 1998
Review By Ruth A. McKeand
Some books will make you happy. Some will encourage you. Some will challenge you. Some will make you think. Some will even make you angry. The God Chasers will do all these and more.
Tommy Tenney, whose pen authored The God Chasers, has spent 30 years in the ministry. He’s seen and experienced much of God. Like King David, he has always sought to be “a man after God’s own heart.” To Tenney, this seeking after God’s heart is the essence of a God chaser.
The God chaser longs for deep intimacy with God. He or she wants more than just the “stuff” of ordinary religious experience. Tenney, like all true God chasers, has questioned why we find entering into the desired intimacy so difficult. Why, if God is all I truly want, am I so aware of “where He’s been” instead of being conscious of “where He is?” And so, painting picture after picture, Tenney reveals many of the things that get in the way of intimacy with God.
First, Tenney challenges us to ask ourselves if we are truly seeking God. With statements like “it’s simply not enough to know about God. We have churches filled with people who can win Bible trivia contests but who don’t know Him,” he invites us to look at our own walks with God. Do we realize, as Tenney did, that “there is much more of God available than we have ever known or imagined, but we have become so satisfied with where we are and what we have that we don’t press in for God’s best.”
Secondly, we must honestly look at what we’re eating each day. Tenney’s comments may anger you but he believes that “most of us . . . keep our lives so jammed with junk food for the soul and amusements for the flesh that we don’t know what it is to be really hungry.” He views this daily diet of the typical believer as one of the main obstacles to intimacy with the Almighty for most of us. He sees too many of us being more concerned with our own comfort, and that of our families, and all the things we want (or have) to do, that God gets precious little of our attention. When we do come before Him, our minds are preoccupied with the cares of this life. He points out that “we’re happy with our music the way it is” and we’re content with services designed for pleasing men “instead of yielding to what God likes.” We want the stuff that God can give us, without the commitment and intimacy of union with Him. But Tenney calls us repeatedly back to the desire of the God chaser. The true God chaser wants to see His face, just as did Moses and the Apostle John.
Most of us want revival today. We truly believe we want God to be real to us and in us. But Tenney calls us to pause and think. There’s more to this relationship with God than getting the stuff. The first step to real, personal revival, according to Rev. Tenney, “is to recognize that you are in a state of decline.” Recognizing our true state will birth a “divine discontent” in us, out of which real hunger for God will grow.
Tenney contends that most of us have “become addicted to the anointing, the relayed word of good preaching and teaching,” preferring for someone else to go up the mountain to seek God for us. Like Israel of old, we prefer “distant respect” over “intimate relationship” with the Almighty. We seek revival instead of the Reviver just as we so easily fall into the selfish trap of seeking the gifts instead of the Giver.
Tenney points out that “there is something in us that makes us afraid of the commitment that comes with real intimacy with God.” One reason, he says, is that “intimacy with God requires purity.” In this hour “God is calling people who want serious revival into a place of transparent purity. It’s you who He’s after.” This kind of purity requires death and that is the greatest barrier of all that the believer faces. We all fear death, but to see God’s face, one must die. No one can see God’s face and live according to Scripture.
“It is God’s mercy that keeps Him away from us,” Tenney says. We are sinful flesh and He is absolute holiness and purity. The latter will destroy the former if, and when, it comes into its presence. But be encouraged. There is hope. Through “repentance and brokenness—the New Testament equivalent of death,” we can become “dead men walking.” And dead men can enter the presence of God without fear. Brother Tenney urges us not to shrink back from the altar upon which God would have us sacrifice our egos. Instead he provokes us to embrace death of self and to see it as the only way we can truly see God’s face.
The God chaser is after God Himself. Many know about God. He’s everywhere all the time. That’s His omnipresence. But, Tenney declares, “There are also times when He concentrates the very essence of His being into what many call ‘the manifest presence of God.’” That’s the deepest desire of the God chaser, the manifest presence of God! For this, he is very willing to die! But first we must admit our need and our hunger. That’s what God is looking for. It’s in this state of brokenness, repentance, and hunger that God can come with His presence and His power and begin to really change us. It’s admitting our need and our hunger, and then seeing our true state, which brings the brokenness and repentance that opens the door for God “to take us through the complete process . . . without hindering or quenching His Spirit, then when the kabod, the weighty presence of God, comes among us and upon us, then we will be able to carry it without fear because we will be walking in the purity of Jesus and our flesh will be dead, covered by the blood of the Lamb.”
Tenney believes the world cannot be changed until God is freely allowed to change each of us. We can truly touch our world as witnesses and evangelists only when we engage in what Tenney calls “presence evangelism.” He believes God can, and will, change us as we experience His presence because experiencing “God’s glory is life-changing. It is the most habit-forming experience a human being can have, and the only side effect is death to the flesh.” This prepares us for God’s true purpose, evangelism. But the evangelism that Tenney looks for in the church is “when the residue of God on a person creates a divine radiation zone of the manifest presence of God, so much so that it affects those around you.” This type of evangelism is not “an emotional encounter with man but a death encounter with the glory and presence of God Himself.”
“It is time for God’s people to get desperately hungry after Him,” says Tenney, “because the fires of revival must first ignite the Church before its flames can spread to the streets.” But he warns, “Supernatural things . . . will happen to you too, but it only comes one way. There is no shortcut to revival or the coming of His presence. God’s glory only comes when repentance and brokenness drive you to your knees, because His presence requires purity.” It’s only when we candidly look into our own hearts that we, like the prodigal son, see there the deep “poverty of heart.” It is this revelation that will propel us back to the Father’s arms. And once there we will see His face, sense His power, and experience His presence. It’s there, in the arms of Love Himself, the God chaser finds true happiness and a joy unspeakable and full of glory! It’s there that the God chaser finds that he’s been caught by the very One he’s been chasing all along! And that’s the purpose of this book by Tommy Tenney . . . to whet our appetites and change each of us into a God chaser so we too can get caught by the One Who’s caught him!
Primary Purpose by Ted Haggard
Orlando: Creation House, 1995
Reviewed by Tony Peter
Primary Purpose is a practical book on winning souls for the kingdom of God, especially from a pastoral point of view. Founder and senior pastor of the 6000 member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Ted Haggard is a graduate of Oral Roberts University and has co-authored with Jack Hayford a similar book called Loving your City into the Kingdom.
Ted Haggard writes with a pastor’s heart and a passion for winning souls to Christ in practical, relevant ways. His book includes charts and diagrams as well as practical stories.
The book is focused on three foundations for any attempt to win the lost for Christ and to grow the church. The first is prayer; all kinds of prayer. The second is keeping focused on the task of evangelism; all kinds of evangelism. The third is unity between individuals and the churches.
Haggard begins the book by giving a short testimony of the beginnings of his New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He describes the difficulties and the challenges in starting a new church in an area once known as a difficult place to successfully start and continue a work for the Lord. He describes not only his struggles in starting his church but also in continuing to keep his church on track for the primary purpose of winning the community and city to Christ.
The second part of the book deals with what he calls five principles of keeping your church on the primary purpose. The first principle is that of focusing on the absolutes of Scripture and not side tangents such as different doctrinal issues between individuals and churches.
The second principle is to promote Christ and his Word, not you or your own ideas. This is the key to reaching the lost. Haggard laments that too many individuals and churches focus on winning other Christians from other churches through transfer growth rather than focusing on winning the lost through conversion growth.
The Third principle is to pray for the Holy Spirit’s activity in your area. Haggard describes this as increasing the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in the area where you want to win the lost. This changes the climate of the area to open the way to win souls for the Lord.
The fourth principle is to appreciate and respect one another’s interpretations of Scripture. Different churches interpret Scripture differently and act accordingly. As long as they do not transgress the fundamentals of Scripture they will appeal to different people from all walks of life that become saved and then attend a church that will suit them. Divisions or conflict between churches can stifle the Holy Spirit and stop evangelism.
The fifth principle is honouring others through supportive speech and actions. Haggard explains that this is another way of maintaining unity in the body of Christ between the churches.
The third and last part of the book focuses on the lifestyle, character and fruit of Christians and churches in relationship to evangelism. Haggard explains that it is the church’s function to live as the Bible calls us to live. Then we shall see the fruit of this lifestyle, namely souls won for Christ and churches growing.
Haggard describes the Christian lifestyle as continuous spiritual warfare. Only through a righteous lifestyle can the believer and the church truly advance the Kingdom of God as we are supposed to.
This is a practical, thorough book on evangelism from a pastor’s point of view rather than an evangelist’s point of view. Ted Haggard writes with a passion not only to see souls saved and churches grow but to see the whole community, city and nation changed. The book is a vital manual for any Christian wanting to start a new work or church in any part of the world.
The stories and principles make it a great book for anyone, especially pastors, wanting to reach people with the gospel. This book focuses on proven strategies for the advancing the Kingdom of God today. Essential strategies include prayer warfare, unity between believers and churches, and focusing on the primary mission of the church, evangelism.
This book is one of the best I have read concerning winning souls, communities and cities to Christ through a pastor’s heart for people and not just as a quest for numbers. It shows that whole communities and cities can be won for the Lord and that God wants more of his children to step out in faith with love for the lost.
The Holy Spirit IN US is one thing, and the Holy Spirit ON US is another – D. L. Moody
Many Evangelicals, especially those who doubt the genuineness of the current awakening, look to people like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles H. Spurgeon, and Dwight L. Moody as exemplars of true Christianity, or genuine revival. However, these figures, and others to whom they look, such as G. Campbell Morgan, or D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, do not at all conform to the preconceptions of late twentieth-century Evangelicalism.
Critics of today’s move of God complain that it is inappropriate to spend time soaking in the presence of God; rather, we must be about the Father’s business, seeking and saving the lost. But such an idea would have been completely foreign to Dwight L. Moody, who believed that to be effective for God, people must first wait upon God for His power and anointing.
Here’s what he said: “Some people seem to think they are losing time if they wait on God for His power, and so away they go and work without unction; they are working without any anointing, and they are working without any power. . . . The Holy Spirit IN US is one thing, and the Holy Spirit ON US is another; and if these [first-century] Christians had gone out and went right to preaching then and there [at the time of Christ’s ascension], without the power, do you think that scene would have taken place on the day of Pentecost? Don’t you think that Peter would have stood up there and beat against the air, while these Jews would have gnashed their teeth and mocked him? But they tarried in Jerusalem; they waited ten days. What! you say. What, the world perishing and men dying! Shall I wait? Do what God tells you. There is no use in running before you are sent; there is no use in attempting to do God’s work without God’s power. A man working without this unction, a man working without this anointing, a man working without the Holy Ghost upon him, is losing his time after all. So we are not going to lose anything if we tarry till we get this power” (Secret Power, pp. 44-45).
Critics have raised objections to the laughter that has characterized the present move of God. They have said that weeping, not laughter, is appropriate for revival, since it is appropriate to weep over one’s sins in coming to a place of repentance. But Charles H. Spurgeon has said otherwise. In his Autobiography (Zondervan, 1946), p. 124-125, he writes, “I do believe in my heart that there may be as much holiness in a laugh as in a cry, and that, sometimes, to laugh is the better thing of the two, for I may weep, and be murmuring, and repining, and thinking all sorts of bitter thoughts against God, while, at another time, I may laugh the laugh of sarcasm against sin and so evince a holy earnestness in the defense of the truth.”
“I am not so afraid of excitement as some people” – D. L. Moody
Rodney Howard-Browne was severely criticized for his comments to the effect that he would rather have some form of life in his meetings than no life at all, implying that it would be worth it, even if there were a risk that the life was of the flesh. Yet, one would be hard-pressed to see how Rodney’s comments along these lines differed from one of Moody’s sermons, “Revivals,” in which he said essentially the same thing: “I am not so afraid of excitement as some people. The moment there comes a breath of interest, some people cry, ‘Sensationalism, sensationalism!’ But, I tell you what, I would rather have sensation than stagnation any time. . . . Don’t be afraid of a little excitement and a little ‘sensationalism.’ It seems to me that almost anything is preferable to deadness. . . . Where there is life, there will always be a commotion” (Moody’s Latest Sermons, pp. 111-112).
Critics claim that John Arnott opens people up to deception by quoting Luke 11:11 in order to calm peoples’ fears about the current move of God. Yet, this is precisely the language that Moody used when he said, “I believe that if we ask God for a real work, He won’t give us a counterfeit. If we ask God for bread, He isn’t going to give us a stone” (ibid., p. 114).
Still other critics complain that, in an age of Microwave ovens, we are far too accustomed to the instantaneous. Because we are not satisfied unless things are done immediately, the quick fixes that we see in today’s revival are suspect, and won’t last. On the other hand, Spurgeon’s outlook was just the opposite. He believed that revival and its results are instantaneous. In a sermon entitled “The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit” (June 20, 1858), he said, “There is no power in man so fallen but that the Holy Spirit can raise it up. However debased a man may be, in one instant, by the miraculous power of the Spirit, all his faculties may be cleansed and purged.”
“Follow the guidance of the Spirit” – Evan Roberts
Some people criticize the idea of the leading of the Holy Spirit during a church service as too dangerous or too subjective. Rodney Howard-Browne has often been severely criticized for claiming to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit during his meetings. This may be problematic for many twentieth-century Evangelicals, but it was most decidedly not a problem for Evan Roberts during the Welsh revival. G. Campbell Morgan, in his sermon, “Lessons of the Welsh Revival” (December 25, 1904) said of one of the meetings that he attended in Wales, that all the while, there was “no human leader, no one indicating the next thing to do, no one checking the spontaneous movement. . . . Evan Roberts is no orator, no leader. What is he? I mean now with respect to this great movement. He is the mouthpiece of the fact that there is no human guidance as to man or organization. The burden of what he says to the people is this: It is not man, do not wait for me, depend on God, obey the Spirit. But whenever moved to do so, he speaks under the guidance of the Spirit. His work is not that of appealing to men so much as that of creating an atmosphere by calling men to follow the guidance of the Spirit in whatever the Spirit shall say to them.”
Charles Spurgeon also believed that the leading of the Holy Spirit was absolutely essential in all of his church meetings. He said, “I have constantly made it my prayer that I might be guided by the Spirit even in the smallest and least important parts of the services. . . . I might preach to-day a sermon which I preached on Friday, and which was useful then, and there might be no good whatever come from it now, because it might not be the sermon which the Holy Ghost would have delivered to-day.”
“A blessed fanaticism . . . a heavenly enthusiasm” – C H Spurgeon
Some people assert that today’s awakening cannot be a genuine work of God since there are clear problems within it, and many indications that it is tainted by the work of the flesh. Such people do not realize that every awakening of history has been a mixture of the good and the bad. Here’s what Spurgeon wrote of the awakening of 1857-58: “We have received continually fresh confirmations of the good news from a far country, which has already made glad the hearts of many of God’s people. In the United States of America there is certainly a great awakening.. . . There may be something of spurious excitement mixed up with it, but that good, lasting good, has been accomplished, no rational man can deny.” Along similar lines, Jonathan Edwards, in The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of The Spirit of God, wrote of the Great Awakening that critics who “wait to see a work of God without difficulties and stumbling blocks . . . will be a like the fool’s waiting at the river side to have the water all run by. A work of God without stumbling blocks is never to be expected.”
In a sermon entitled “The Great Revival” (March 28, 1858), Spurgeon said that revival is like a hurricane, bringing chaos wherever it goes: “The mere worldly man does not understand a revival; he cannot make it out. Why is it, that a sudden fit of godliness, as he would call it, a kind of sacred epidemic, should seize upon a mass of people all at once? What can be the cause of it? It frequently occurs in the absence of all great evangelists; it cannot be traced to any particular means. There have been no special agencies used in order to bring it about – no machinery supplied, no societies established; and yet it has come, just like a heavenly hurricane, sweeping everything before it. . . . When there comes a revival, the minister all of a sudden finds that the usual forms and conventionalities of the pulpit are not exactly suitable to the times. . . . And there are sobs and groans heard in the prayer meetings. . . . And then the converts who are thus brought into the church, if the revival continues, are very earnest ones. You never saw such a people. The outsiders call them fanatics. It is a blessed fanaticism. Others say, they are nothing but enthusiasts. It is a heavenly enthusiasm. . . . It is not orderly, you say. . . . You may try to stop us, but we will run over you if you do not get out of the way.”
Spurgeon was decidedly in favor of revival, but he was opposed to some of the more controversial manifestations. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the manifestations that he disliked had taken place under the ministry of George Whitefield: “In the old revivals in America a hundred years ago, commonly called ‘the Great Awakening,’ there were many strange things, such as continual shrieks and screams, and knocking, and twitchings, under the services. We cannot call that the work of the Spirit. Even the great Whitefield’s revival at Cambuslang, one of the greatest and most remarkable revivals that were ever known, was attended by some things that we cannot but regard as superstitious wonders” (ibid).
Spurgeon is certainly not alone. One of the greatest bones of contention during the important revivals of the past has been controversial manifestations of this kind, such as people falling under the power of God, shaking and trembling, experiencing speechlessness, drunkenness in the Spirit, or holy laughter. In a 1959 sermon, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said with respect to revival that “Under the influence of this mighty power, people may literally fall to the ground under conviction of sin, or even faint, and remain in a state of unconsciousness, perhaps for a considerable time. . . . Then there are people who seem to go into trances. They may be seated or they may be standing, and they are looking into the distance, obviously seeing something, and yet they are completely unconscious, and unaware of their surroundings. They do not seem to be able to hear anything, nor to see anything that may be happening round and about them.” Lloyd-Jones lamented that “there are people who dismiss and denounce the whole notion of revival because of these phenomena” (Revivbal, pp. 134-136). He also said (pp. 136-144) that for many years, people had attempted to explain revival in terms of brainwashing, mass hysteria, mesmerism, hypnotism, or demonic activity, but that all of these attempted explanations leave many questions unanswered and fail at major points.
“A kind of ecstasy” – Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards had to deal with criticisms of the Great Awakening because of phenomena of this kind. One of his critics, Charles Chauncy, insisted that because these things were integral to the Great Awakening, that it could not possibly be a genuine outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
In his several works in defense of the Great Awakening, Edwards repeatedly pointed out that the presence of these manifestations neither proves nor disproves that God is at work. In our own day, critics attempt to argue that Edwards, especially in his later works, was against the manifestations. But any careful reading, even of his Treatise on Religious Affections (1746), will indicate that his viewpoint was always that, while the manifestations do not indicate that a work is of God, neither do they indicate the opposite. According to Edwards, the true sign as to whether a work is of God would be the positive effects in peoples attitudes and behavior, or the fruit of the Spirit in their lives and character.
Nevertheless, the writings of Edwards do demonstrate that the manifestations were a component of the Great Awakening. He made clear references in The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of The Spirit of God to “tears, trembling, groans, loud outcries, agonies of body, or the failing of Bodily strength.” He wrote, “some who are the subjects of it have been in a kind of ecstasy, wherein they have been carried beyond themselves, and have had their minds transported into a train of strong and pleasing . . . visions, as though they were rapt up even to heaven, and there saw glorious sights. I have been acquainted with some such instances, and I see no need of bringing in the help of the devil into the account that we give of these things.”
“Outward signs . . . accompanied the inward work of God” – JohnWesley
George Whitefield also played an important part in the Great Awakening. At first, Whitefield did not believe that the manifestations should be encouraged. On June 25, 1739, he wrote a letter to John Wesley about them, saying, “I cannot think it right in you to give so much encouragement to those convulsions which people have been thrown into under your ministry. Was I to do so, how many would cry out every night! I think it is tempting God to require such signs. That there is something of God in it, I doubt not. But the devil, I believe, does interpose.”
But about two weeks later, John Wesley had a talk with George Whitefield about these matters, and Whitefield changed his mind. On July 7, 1739, Wesley wrote of him in his Journal, “I had an opportunity to talk with him of those outward signs which had so often accompanied the inward work of God. I found his objections were chiefly grounded on gross misrepresentations of matter of fact. But the next day he had an opportunity of informing himself better: for no sooner had he begun (in the application of his sermon) to invite all sinners to believe in Christ, than four persons sunk down close to him, almost in the same moment. One of them lay without either sense of motion; a second trembled exceedingly; the third had strong convulsions all over his body, but made no noise, unless by groans; the fourth, equally convulsed, called upon God with strong cries and tears. From this time, I trust, we shall all suffer God to carry on His own work in the way that pleaseth Him.”
“God manifested Himself much amongst us” – George Whitefield
As can be seen in George Whitefield’s own Journal, from that time onward, the manifestations were one of the components of Whitefield’s ministry. On August 3, 1740 he wrote, “Before I had prayed long, Br. B. dropped down, as though shot with a gun. Afterwards he got up, and sat attentively to hear the sermon. The influence spread. The greatest part of the congregation were under great concern. Tears trickled down apace, and God manifested Himself much amongst us at the Sacrament.” The following day, Whitefield wrote, “I asked, ‘what caused him to fall down yesterday?’ He answered, ‘The power of God’s Word.’”
Whitefield wrote that during the same year in New York, on Sunday, November 2, “After I had begun . . . the Spirit of the Lord gave me freedom, and at length came down like a mighty rushing wind, and carried all before it. Immediately, the whole congregation was alarmed. Crying, weeping, and wailing were to be heard in every corner; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and many were to be seen falling into the arms of their friends.”
Similar things happened two days later in Staten Island: “Oh, how did the Word fall like a hammer and like a fire! One poorcreature in particular was ready to sink into the earth. His countenance was altered, till he looked, as it were, sick to death. At length he said, ‘What shall I do to be saved?’ Others were dissolved in tears around him; and one of my fellow- travellers was struck down, and so overpowered, that his body became exceeding weak. He could scarcely move all the night after. God, I believe, was working powerfully in his soul.” Whitefield wrote that a day afterward, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, “I had not discoursed long, when, in every part of the congregation, some one or other began to cry out, and almost all were melted into tears. . . . Most of the people spent the remainder of the night in prayer and praises.”
The following week, on Saturday, November 15, in Philadelphia, “the Word seemed to smite the congregation like so many pointed arrows. Many afterwards told me what they felt; and, in the evening I was sent for to a young woman, who was carried home from meeting, and had continued almost speechless.” Whitefield said that a week later, at Fagg’s Manor, “God’s presence so filled my soul that I could scarce stand under it. I prayed and exhorted and prayed again, and soon every person in the room seemed to be under great impressions, sighing and weeping. At last I was quite overpowered.” Whitefield couldn’t move, and a friend had to help him go to bed that night: “A dear friend undressed me. The Lord gave me sweet sleep, and in the morning I arose with my natural strength much renewed.”
There is an interesting quotation in The Biography of Barton W. Stone (1847) with respect to the manifestations of the Great Awakening and its aftermath: “Mr. Benedict, in his Abridgment of the History of the Baptists, on page 345, speaking of the great revival that began among them, on James River, in 1785, says, ‘During the progress of this revival, scenes were exhibited somewhat extraordinary. It was not unusual to have a large proportion of the congregation prostrate on the floor, and in some instances they lost the use of their limbs. . . . Screams, groans, shouts, hosannas, notes of grief and joy, all at the same time, were not unfrequently heard throughout their vast assemblies. . . . It is not unworthy of notice, that in those congregations where the preachers encouraged them to much extent, the work was more extensive, and greater numbers were added. . . . . Among the old fashioned Calvinistic Baptists of the Old Dominion these strange bodily agitations obtained; and many of the preachers “fanned them as fire from heaven,’ and the excitement and confusion that pervaded their vast assemblies well nigh fills Mr. J. L. Waller’s measure of a “New Light Stir” in Kentucky.’”
“He never saw a more glorious sight” – Barton Stone
According to Barton Stone (pp. 360-361), not only did George Whitefield encourage such things, but Charles Hodge wrote about them in his History of the Presbyterian Church, pages 85 and 86. Stone also wrote that “the manner in which Whitefield describes the scenes at Nottingham and Fagg’s Manor, and others of a similar character, shows he did not disapprove of these agitations. He says he never saw a more glorious sight, than when the people were fainting all around him, and crying out in such a manner as to drown his own voice.”
In his Journals and in his sermons, George Whitefield alluded frequently to the new wine of the Spirit. In New Hampshire, on one Friday and Saturday in March of 1745, “All [were] seemingly hearty friends to and great sharers in the late blessed work of God. Their accounts of it were very entertaining. Every time the Lord was with us, but he seemed to keep the good wine till the last, for on Saturday, many of God’s people were filled exceedingly.” In these cases, he is speaking with specific reference to God-given joy, and preached about it at considerable length in his sermon, “The Kingdom of God,” in which he said, “I have often thought, that if the apostle Paul were to come and preach now, he would be reckoned one of the greatest enthusiasts on earth. He talked of the Holy Ghost, of feeling the Holy Ghost; and so we must all feel it, all experience it, all receive it, or we can never see a holy God with comfort. . . . The apostle not only supposes we must have the Holy Ghost, but he supposes, as a necessary ingredient to make up the kingdom of God in a believer’s heart, that he must have ‘joy in the Holy Ghost.’ There are a great many, I believe, who think religion is a poor melancholy thing, and they are afraid to be Christians. But, my dear friends, there is no true joy till you can joy in God and Christ. . . . We are told that ‘Zaccheus received Christ joyfully,’ that ‘the eunuch went on his way rejoicing,’ and that ‘the jailer rejoiced in God with all his house.’ O, my friends, what joy have they that know their sins are forgiven them! What a blessed thing is it for a man to look forward, and see an endless eternity of happiness before him, knowing that everything shall work together for his good! It is joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
Bibliography
Curnock, Nehemiah, ed. The journal of the Rev. John Wesley, vol. 2. London: Charles h. Kelly, n.d.
Edwards, Jonathan. The distinguishing marks of a work of the Spirit of God. In Goen, C. C., ed. Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakening, pp. 213-288. In Smith, John E., ed. The works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 4. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1972.
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This unedited version of this article was first written for the Destiny Image Digest.
Rev Dr Phil Marshall wrote as the Evangelism Consultant for the Uniting Church in NSW. He served as a Minister in local congregations in South Australia and Queensland, Australia
The leadership gifts of Ephesians 4:11-12 are
critical to churches that are discipling people
in the post-modern Western world
We are in a time where we are witnessing the rise and rise of the apostle in the church around the world. As with the recovery of other spiritual gifts, the Pentecostal churches are leading the way, but in time, the affirmation of the gift of apostle will happen across much of the church. This gift will play a critical role in the missionary expansion of the church into the 21st century. It is important to take a fresh look at the apostolic gift in the New Testament so that the gift can be more readily discerned and affirmed.
Much interest has been shown in spiritual gifts in recent decades and particularly the leadership gifts listed in Ephesians:
“It was he (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV).
Neglected gift
Out of the five gifts listed by Paul in his letter, the gift of the apostle has been the most neglected particularly by mainline denominations.
Historically, little interest has been shown in the gift of apostle, as classical evangelicalism has associated it with the twelve apostles and Paul, limiting it to the first century. The Roman Catholic Church has tried to link itself to the ministry of the early apostles, through an unbroken succession of ordinations called ‘apostolic succession’ but this theory is rarely of interest to those outside the Roman Church. Pentecostal churches that have been willing to affirm the gift and acknowledge individuals as apostles, thereby starting a process, which in time will help many churches from different traditions, recover this gift. I suspect that in the 21st century we will see more and more evidence of the apostolic gift, and be increasingly willing to acknowledge this gift in individuals. This will happen in the same way that we have seen the restoration of the healing ministry this century. It was initially recovered by Pentecostals, then embraced by the charismatic movement and is now accepted as a normal part of most mainline denominations.
Diverse Definitions of the Gift of Apostle
Although we are seeing greater acceptance of the gift today, New Testament scholars have debated apostleship for the last hundred years. Lightfoot began the modern discussion when he included in his commentary on Galatians a section on “The Name and Office of an Apostle” (Kevin Giles, Patterns of Ministry Among the First Christians, Melbourne, Australia: Collin Dove, 1989. p. 152). He argued that more people in the New Testament than the twelve apostles and Paul were called apostles, and that in post apostolic writings the title of apostle was used quite widely with the commission of apostle being life-long and for the sake of the Gospel.
There have been diverse opinions about the definition of this gift in recent years. In the 1980s spiritual gifts were studied in great depth. During this time the gift of apostle was variously defined as general leadership, the same as the missionary gift, or as a teacher who was able to pass on the apostolic tradition of the church (Robert Hillman, 27 Spiritual Gifts, Melbourne, Australia: JBCE, 1986. pp. 22-23). There are hints of the importance of the gift but it remains on the whole undeveloped.
The Marks of an Apostle
The meaning of the Greek word apostolos literally means ‘a person sent’ (Giles, p. 153). The concept of the apostle acting in an authoritative way for the Lord was basic to the use of the term. The study of a single word is not sufficient in itself because it can not fully explain the nature and function of an apostle.
Paul, the most influential apostle, had to argue fiercely for his own claim to be an apostle when disputing with opponents in Galatia and Corinth. The marks of Paul’s apostleship were:
1. Intimacy with the Risen Lord.
To have seen the risen Lord was foundational to Paul’s claim to be an apostle (Giles, p. 162). It is not an essential mark because in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11 it is implied that anyone can be empowered for the work of apostle. The important factors for Paul was intimacy with Christ, being gripped by the calling of Christ and having the conviction that he was sent with an authority from the risen Lord.
2. Leadership in Church Planting.
To have brought a church into existence is another mark. Paul appeals to the fact that the Corinthians were the result of his work in the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1). In defense of his apostleship Paul claims that the church which he founded was “the seal of my apostleship” (1 Corinthians 9:2). Here the planting of new churches is confirmation of the apostolic gift.
3. True to the Gospel of the Early Apostles.
To be a church planter is not sufficient in itself. Paul argues that a genuine apostle must proclaim the one true gospel. In 2 Corinthians, chapters 11 and 12, Paul condemns those who call themselves apostles but preach another gospel. A mark of an apostle is that their theology and message centre upon the proclamation of the early apostolic period as recorded in the New Testament (George Hunter, Church for the Unchurched, Nashville TN: Abingdon Press, 1996. p. 152).
4. Suffering for Christ is more Important than Signs and Wonders for Christ.
Paul only speaks once of the signs of a true apostle by writing, “The things that mark an apostle – signs, wonders and miracles – were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12 NIV). The context is that Paul has to contend with the Corinthians who thought an apostle should be a more impressive figure than he was. The Corinthians seemed to have argued that a ‘super-apostle’ should be able to boast of visions and miracles. Paul puts his case in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 that he has known visions and miracles but prefers to boast of his sufferings in the service of Christ (Giles, p. 163). The marks of an apostle include signs, wonders and miracles but even more important is enduring suffering for Christ.
The case Paul makes for his own apostleship can become a sound foundation for how we build apostolic ministries today. I am not advocating a rigid checklist, but marks that distinguish the gift of apostle. These marks will then help the leadership in the local church recognise the gift and encourage the ministry.
The Character of an Apostle
The gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit can never be separated in a person’s life. The manifestation of the gift of apostle and the character of the apostle are inseparable. Cannistraci offers a general definition of an apostle that includes a person’s character:
An apostle is one who is called and sent by Christ to have spiritual authority, character, gifts and abilities to successfully reach and establish people in the kingdom truth and order, especially founding and overseeing local churches. (David Cannistraci, The Gift of Apostle, Ventura California: Regal Books, 1996. p. 29).
Not enough can be said about the importance of character and the fruit of the Spirit. There have been a number of examples of high profile Christian leaders with influential ministries ‘falling from grace’ because of moral failure or fraud. An apostle never acts alone because the gift is exercised within the context of the body of Christ. The character and relationships of an apostle are just as important as the effectiveness of their ministry.
Cannistraci rightly argues that apostleship begins in a person’s heart and character, and then culminates in action and the work of the kingdom of God (p. 96). Christian character remains an essential element to the exercise of any ministry and there needs to be tangible evidence of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) before there can be an affirmation of the gift of apostle.
Conclusion.
The leadership gifts of Ephesians 4:11-12 are critical to churches that are discipling people in the post-modern Western world and it is exciting to see the restoration of the gift of the apostle. This has already happening in some Pentecostal churches but this restoration will have a widening influence in a variety of churches across the world. The apostolic gift will find a variety of expressions but its enduring marks will be:
1. Intimacy with Christ.
2. Leadership in Church Planting.
3. True to the Gospel of the Early Apostles.
4. Suffering for Christ.
All these characteristics are undermined and therefore become irrelevant if they are not confirmed by the fruit of the Spirit in the character of the apostle. Those denominations that embrace the restoration of the apostolic gift will see an increase in new Christians and new churches.
Being prophetic is essential
to the very nature and mission
of the whole body of Christ
When Holy Spirit activity happens among fallible flesh and blood like us, tensions are bound to arise. Our church, Metro Vineyard Fellowship in Kansas City, has made many mistakes during our journey toward becoming a prophetic church.
A few years ago, David Pytches wrote a glowing report of our church’s prophetic history in his book Some Said It Thundered. I appreciated the book, but also thought there was merit in someone’s suggestion that I write a follow-up book revealing all our past mistakes in prophetic ministry. He said I should call it Some Said We Blundered.
The term “prophetic” is typically used to refer either to the fulfillment of end-time biblical predictions or the speaking forth of current revelatory messages. But beyond these areas, the church is to be a prophetic servant community in a much broader, multi-dimensional way. Being prophetic is not to be the exclusive domain of “charismatics”; it is essential to the very nature and mission of the whole body of Christ.
Those whose prophetic ministry includes supernatural dreams and visions need to view what they do in the larger context of the church’s calling as a prophetic servant community. Prophetic manifestations such as dreams and visions do not comprise the prophetic ministry in its entirety; they are really only one expression of a community that is prophetic in at least eight distinct dimensions.
1. Revealing the heart of God
The angel of God told the apostle John, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). The spirit (purpose) of prophecy is to reveal three aspects of Jesus’ testimony: who he is, what he does, and how he feels.
Passion for Jesus will inevitably result from this prophetic revelation. Such holy passion is the highlight of the prophetic church. The prophetic ministry is to be stamped and sealed with an affection for and sensitivity to the heart of God. It is a ministry that passionately feels and reveals the divine heart.
Prophetic ministry involves not only receiving and communicating information; it also includes, in some measure, the ability to experience the compassion, grief and joy of God. As we experience God, we will be given insight into some of his future plans and purposes.
If you “desire earnestly to prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:39) by merely seeking information from the mind of God, you have bypassed the cornerstone and the essence of prophetic ministry – the revelation of his heart.
The apostle Paul said, “Though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love [for God and people], I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).
The message and ministry of Old Testament prophets was often prefaced in terms of the “burden” of the Lord. Habakkuk 1:1 speaks of “the burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.” The word “burden” implies emotional and heartfelt issues are at stake – not just abstract truth.
So then, one prophetic dimension of the church’s ministry is to proclaim, reveal and call to remembrance God’s affection for his people. That includes his jealous longing for us and His intense grief over our sin that separates us from him.
Often I have shared at our church that our passionate affection for Jesus can only come from an ever-increasing revelation of his passion for us. Though I rarely voice a revelatory prophetic word in our church, I seek to contribute to the mission of the church as a prophetic servant community by teaching on the passionate heart of God.
2. The fulfillment of biblical prophecy
For hundreds of years the prophets told of the Messiah who would come and the kingdom he would establish. Jesus sometimes spoke of the kingdom as if it had come with the advent of his public ministry, and at other times as if the kingdom was “not yet.” In whatever sense and to whatever extent the kingdom has already come, those to whom it has come are the living fulfillment of what the prophets spoke.
Jesus said to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). He also described the kingdom of God as being like a mustard seed that inevitably grows (Mark 4:31-32).
Throughout the last two millennia all the powers of hell have been unable to eliminate the gospel or the church. The church has only continued to grow. The survival and growth of the church is a continuing witness to prophecies fulfilled – a prophetic voice of what will come in the future.
All that the church does to make herself ready as the bride of Christ -worshiping, celebrating communion, witnessing, casting out demons, healing the sick, being peacemakers – is a prophetic trumpet to the world. These prophetic acts declare not only the gospel, but also the relationship of Christ to his church and to the fact that he is coming again to reign over all the earth.
The next time you are sitting in a church service, remember that even though we are almost two thousand years removed from the first-century church, the very fact that you are gathering with others in his name is a both a prophetic fulfillment and a prophetic statement to the world.
3. The prophetic standard in the Scriptures
Scripture is the ultimate trumpet of God’s heart, purpose and will. Fortunately, while our church has grown as a prophetic community we have had several gifted Bible teachers as part of our leadership. As experts in exegesis, hermeneutics, systematic theology and the history of the church, these teachers serve as a balance and plumb line to the prophets and exhorters among us, who sometimes want to apply a scripture in a questionable way.
Sound teaching not only makes the Bible come alive, it gives the church a sense of connection with those who began the race. The church as a prophetic community must realize that we are a continuation of what they began. The torch has been passed so many times, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we are running the same race they started. Their leg of the race has been completed, and they have now gathered at the finish line to cheer us on.
The church is the living testimony of the prophetic purpose of God in history. It is also a prophetic community which is to preserve and accurately proclaim the Word of God.
4. Moving when the cloud moves
The fourth way the church must be prophetic is to discern the current move of the Spirit – the “present truth,” as respected church leader Dick Iverson calls it. Just as the children of Israel followed the cloud through the wilderness, the church needs to move when the Holy Spirit says to move (Deuteronomy 1:33). And the Spirit is continually doing a “new thing, with the church as a whole and with each individual congregation” (Isaiah 43:19).
While the scriptural truth the church preserves and proclaims is unchangeable and immovable, the relationship that exists between the church and the Holy Spirit is not static. The Ten Commandments given on Sinai are forever true and unchangeable, but the people of Israel were changing locations constantly as they moved around in the wilderness.
The kind of moving I am referring to is the changing emphasis placed on elements of truth, structure and strategy. We are, so to speak, moving around within the boundaries of the unchangeable truth of God’s Word.
Several recent examples of people sensing the Lord’s instruction concerning the means and methods of the church’s prophetic expression can be cited:
* A renewed emphasis on small groups and cell-based churches;
* The public expression of worship, now known and practiced worldwide as The March For Jesus;
* The refreshing of the Holy Spirit as experienced in Toronto and many other places;
* A new movement towards prayer, spearheaded by people like C. Peter Wagner, Dick Eastman, David Bryant, Wesley Tullis and Larry Lea.
The leaders of such movements are not necessarily those who exercise the gift of prophecy as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, yet they can clearly sense the direction the cloud is moving. They might be compared to the sons of Issachar who “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).
Church history is filled with examples of how part of the body of Christ discerned a current emphasis of the Holy Spirit as it related to a particular element of structure, strategy or biblical truth. Unfortunately though, some have followed the cloud to the next place in God, then never moved again. After camping around a certain structure, strategy or truth for a period of time, they shift from being a prophetic community to being a prophetic monument to something the Holy Spirit did long ago.
This doesn’t mean we should abandon all the older traditions with every new move of the cloud. The greatest expression of the church as a prophetic community is in those congregations or denominations that move on with the cloud, but carry with them all the wisdom, experience and maturity of their history.
5. Demonstrating the power of God
Elijah was a mighty prophet who called down fire from heaven as a sign of God’s power. In the New Testament, though, attesting miracles were not limited to the prophets. The Holy Spirit now distributes the gifts “individually as he wills,” one of those being the gift of miracles (1 Corinthians 12:10-11).
As in the days of Elijah, miracles attest to the truth of God’s Word. But this doesn’t mean the church no longer needs miracles, since we have the written Word. If attesting miracles were needed when the apostles personally testified within a few years of the resurrection, how much more are miracles needed today to confirm the veracity of their written accounts.
Attesting miracles are also valuable as a dimension of the prophetic community because, more than anything else, they make people aware that God is actually present with them. Without an up-to-date awareness of his presence, the church sometimes takes on the air of a society only gathered to venerate the memory of Jesus and his death two thousand years ago.
Miracles jolt our sensibilities and make us joyfully (or frightfully) aware of the fact the he is in our midst. A hundred sermons on God being with us will not awaken our hearts as much as a personal encounter with the manifestation of his presence through the miraculous.
This in no way diminishes the power or authority of the written Word. It simply means that in the miraculous the living God of the written Word shows up in a powerfully personal, intimate and tangible way. Through the miraculous, the church prophesies and proclaims that he is alive!
6. Prophetic dreams and visions
God gives certain people the ability to see and hear things that most people do not see or hear. The term “seer” carries with it some very negative connotations because of its modern-day, non-Christian applications. Consequently, when referring to someone as a “seer,” one must be careful to qualify and define this term in the light of Scripture:
* “Formally in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus:
‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer” (1 Samuel 9:9).
* “And Samuel answered Saul and said, ‘I am the seer’” (v. 19).
Prophets like Ezekiel and Zechariah saw profound visions of God but are not known for demonstrations of power such as healing the sick or raising the dead. Often this type of prophetic person is not gifted with great demonstrations of miraculous power, yet they regularly see things by the Spirit – things such as future events, the secrets of people’s hearts and the calling of God on people’s lives.
Like Ezekiel’s visions, the things prophetic people see are sometimes baffling.
7. Crying out against social injustice
The church has the responsibility to be a “prophet to the nation” concerning the injustice and unrighteousness that eventually cause a nation to incur the judgment of God. One of the more stellar examples of this was the prophetic outcry against slavery from William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and, prior to that, from Lord Shaftesbury (1621-1683).
Many times prophets to the nation speak from a secular platform. Joseph and Daniel were two biblical examples of people who represented God in a position of secular power. Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, likewise, prophetically stood for justice and righteousness in America’s social order.
The church must be careful as it carries out its prophetic ministry to the nation. Although many believers will hopefully be active in civil government and even in party politics, the church and those who speak for it must understand where to draw the line.
If and when Christians enter politics, they do so as godly individuals, not as representatives of a church’s pastoral staff. The church itself should be as a prophet standing for the advancement of righteousness – but without indebtedness to political party affiliations.
8. Crying out for personal holiness and repentance
Throughout the generations, God has raised up prophets to cry out against the sins of his people. This outcry is similar to the prophetic cry against social injustice, but different in that it is specifically addressed to the people in the church. It is less like Jonah prophesying against Nineveh and more like Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesying to Israel and Judah.
Leaders such as Billy Graham, Charles Colson, John Piper, David Wilkerson and A.W. Tozer have been effective prophetic ministers raised up to cry out against unrighteousness in the church. Their words have been anointed by the Spirit to awaken hearts to holiness and passion for Jesus. God uses such prophetic voices, just as he used John the Baptist, to prick the conscience of believers and bring them to revival.
The church is the prophetic expression of the kingdom of God on earth. It is called to represent, preserve and proclaim the truth of God to this world. Although not every member of the church is a prophet, all are called to participate in God’s ongoing prophetic plan and purpose.
Those particularly gifted with dreams, visions, prophecies and revelation need to be careful not to think of themselves too highly, as being the prophetic group. They serve only one dimension of the church’s greater calling as a prophetic community.
My prayer and eager expectation is that God will work mightily in our generation to help the church live up to its prophetic calling among the nations of the earth. The proclamation and demonstration of the Word of God through a Spirit-filled church is the only true hope for humankind.
May the Holy Spirit come upon us in unprecedented measure for the glory of God and Christ Jesus!
Taking Our Cities for God explores history, geography, demographics, and spiritual warfare as part of an overall strategy in wining a city for Christ. John Dawson gives sound biblical foundations illustrated with examples of his own experience in dealing with spiritual powers and principalities. Floyd McClung notes, “Occasionally a book comes along that is more than a good book, it is indeed a word from God. This is such a book” (p. 11).
People face a multitude of problems and opposition by spiritual forces on a daily basis. John Dawson identifies certain keys and spiritual insights into how we may overcome these obstacles, which may be instrumental in a overall strategy to winning any city in the world for Christ. He covers topics such as studying the spirituality of a city’s history; discerning the spiritual strongholds which work against a city; the power of intercession for a city; planing and gaining God’s strategy in breaking strongholds and restoring a city for God; and gaining understanding of the weaknesses of the spirit realm over a city. The book has a thirteen lesson study guide which includes an application for daily living.
Taking Our Cities for God has five sections.
Section One: Battle Stories
Besides the biblical and personal examples of spiritual warfare in missions and evangelism, Dawson devotes part of this section to teaching Scriptural principles. He describes the work of the Holy Spirit in the gift of discernment of spirits, and reveals the importance of acting from obedient will and faith. He brings clarity to a very touchy subject for many Christians. His dependence on God, and insistence of working with the Holy Spirit is evident, and brings this crucial situation to the door step of the reader, in any city.
Dawson combines his theory with experience. An interesting example occurred in Argentina when a group of Youth With a Mission workers came against the city’s spiritual stronghold (Pride) and humbled themselves by kneeling down with their foreheads on the ground praying. All over downtown Cordoba, Youth with a Mission workers preached to attentive audiences and a harvest of souls began (pages 19‑20).
Section Two: Deliver The Dark City
Over half the world population lives in urban centres (p.34). In developed nations like the U.S. the percentage is much higher, e.g. 91% of California’s population live in cities. He examines the historical issues of today’s modern cities, taking into consideration some of the changes that have taken place. For example, Los Angeles has four and a half million Hispanics, is the second largest Chinese city outside Asia and second largest Japanese city outside of Japan (p35). Since the fall of communism in Russia the remark that Marxist cities are closed to the gospel is no longer applicable.
Dawson compels the reader to ask “Why is this town here?” (p43) and gives examples of God’s purpose in the location of a city. For example Omaha was once the place where pioneering wagon trains were provisioned for the arduous trail into the western wilderness. “We believe that we are still to equip the pioneers,” one pastor told me. “This time it is to support world‑wide missionary work.” Now that’s a vision worth living for (p44).
Dawson realised the benefit of examining how a city will grow and change over the next twenty years. He develops an argument from an historical view of how relationships have changed with the modern city’s growth.
Section Three: Discerning The Gates Of Your City
Dawson’s main thrust in this section is to know the city’s history and what has brought about change. “When you look into the history of your city, you will find clues as to what is oppressing the people today” (p77).
He calls upon the prophets, intercessors and spiritual fathers to be the “watchmen” over the city, with the emphasis on repentance, reconciliation and prayer, alert to current and future trends. Uncovering these trends will help the church to advance.
Dawson studies the concept covenant over a city. He cites good examples such as the Azuza Street Revival in Los Angeles, and Wilber Chapman and Aimee Semple McPherson in Denver. He encourages the reader to seek God and find out what point of entry evil had to gain entrance to a city or nation. He lists twenty questions ranging through religious divisions, wars, poor leadership, economic corruption and racial practices.
Section 4: Learning To Fight
Dawson concludes that we must fight because through Jesus we have regained our stewardship of the earth (p.158). He provides the reader with the foundational traits of spiritual warfare by taking spiritual discernment a step further. He has demonstrates the realities of the two kingdoms – God’s and Satan’s rebel province ‑ and includes a biblical background on angels and their origin and functions. He reveals the tactics of spiritual warfare by first focusing on Jesus, the giver of the spiritual gifts. We are provided with the power of the cross and with the truth of Scripture .
Section 5. Into Battle: 5 Steps To Victory
Dawson divides this section into worship‑ the place of beginnings, waiting on the Lord for insight, identifying with the sins of the city, overcoming evil with good, and travailing till birth. Part of his strategy involves the importance of waiting on God, and allowing God to reveal the situation in the spirit. We need to come to him with repentance and humility. Dawson gives practical advice about overcoming evil with good by resisting temptation and taking positive action through prayer and fasting. Again the emphasis is on ministry in the opposite spirit, such as overcoming pride with humility or violence with turning the other cheek.
Dawson combines his theology with practical experience in the front line of spiritual warfare. His examination of the historical and geographical nature of a city provides an excellent understanding of how the demographics of a city will effect an outreach. His examples of the size and nature of various ethnic groups within Los Angeles demonstrates the problems a local church may face in the mission field. His consideration of trends was also an interesting revelation, as most churches do operate with a catch up mentality.
Dawson gives examples of occasions when he got it wrong, and also when he got it right. He maintains a balance, observing that although he has given the reader very good keys to the taking of our cities for God, it is necessary to seek God for ourselves.
(c) 2011, 2nd edition. Reproduction allowed with copyright included in text.
Dr CharlesV. Taylor wrote as a well known Australian linguist, Bible teacher, author, and Christian magazine contributor. His doctoral studies researched the Nkore-Kiga language of Uganda in Africa where he served as a missionary.
Can the leopard change his spots? This, and the question about the Ethiopian’s skin, is found, surprisingly enough, in Jeremiah 13:23. I used to think it was in Proverbs. The text is appropriate to the subject of discipleship, because the second half of the verse says literally: ‘Can you also do good, you who are discipled to do evil?’ It seems we can be under false discipleship as well as the healthy version.
The English word ‘disciple’ comes from Latin and means a learner. The corresponding Greek New Testament word mathetes comes from manthano, ‘to learn’, so it’s the same idea. In fact, even ‘mathematics’ originally meant something learned, a science.
The Hebrew word for ‘disciple’ is found only six times in the Bible. This word, limmud, is translated in the old King James Bible as ‘taught’, ‘learned’ (twice), ‘accustomed’, fused’, and ‘disciple’. Originally it meant ‘goaded’.
Do you remember how Gideon promised to ‘teach’ the men of Succoth in Judges 8:16? He taught them with thorns and briers. They were goaded into knowledge. In some such way, may not God sometimes goad us into the knowledge of the truth?
Whether you accept that or not, the idea of being a learner is associated with ‘coming into line’, or as we also say, ‘being disciplined’. That’s why the biblical reference translates limmud as ‘accustomed’ or ‘becoming used to’. In Jeremiah 13:23 the leopard can’t change his coat. He’s grown quite used to it. True, he didn’t have to be taught, but he’s marked for life.
A Christian should be marked for life. A Christian should, without being forced, stand out in the world as somebody different. Whether some sort of badge is worn or not, the world should be able to recognize the Christian, and the Christian should attract others, not to him/herself, but to Christ.
When someone is converted to Christ, the first thing should be to say so, as Romans 10:9-10 explains. All churches worthy of the name should also offer baptism of some kind or other, and the Christian can also be distinguished by ‘going to church’, which in this mobile age is unfortunately not so universal as it used to be. The home churches are wonderful, but without cover and discipleship they can give the impression that Christians are all ‘separated by a common faith’, just as many of my linguist friends used to say that Britain and the United States are ‘separated by a common language’, referring to misunderstandings that can occur from the two sorts of English.
The outsider wants to see at least some resemblance to a united front, to submission to the Gospel, to some sort of discipline and discipleship. Isaiah 54:13 says we should all be children taught (discipled) by the Lord. Jesus said that to be converted we had to become like little children.
A process of uniting Christians
So I see discipleship as a process of uniting Christians, while not making them all identical. All leopards don’t have the same spot patterns. When I lived in Ethiopia for two years I found that all Ethiopians were not the same sort of black. And if you (rightly) tell me that ancient Ethiopia is today’s Sudan, well, the same thing holds there too. God isn’t stamping us all with an identical mould. But he does want us to be basically recognizable, and truth is one and indivisible.In Isaiah 50:4 the prophet says God gave the Servant of the Lord the tongue of the learned, that is, of the discipled. With this tongue we can sustain the weary. In Isaiah 8:16 the law must be sealed up among his disciples, which seems to mean that they alone will really know the Lord’s mind.
If this is so, may it not be that it reflects the fact that the true disciple or learner from God is able to understand spiritual things which those outside just can’t understand? Isn’t it true that when a Christian speaks of things that move him/her most, outsiders are just puzzled? That’s a sure sign that a person has been born again through the Holy Spirit. The reason for this is not that the Christian lives in a sealed case, but that, living openly in the world, the Christian is sealed ‘with that Holy Spirit of promise’ (Ephesians 1:13) and so is often a mystery to friends who are not themselves learning from Jesus.
The basic idea of a disciple is one who learns along with others. It was unusual in the ancient world to find single disciples of one leader. What is more, the disciple is not the slave of his leader. He is only a learner, following an example or following some counsel. John 15:8 indicates that discipleship with Jesus is manifested by bearing fruit, by a life modelled on the disciple’s teacher, or at least on his teaching. We bear fruit by staying in the vine.
Now if a teacher has a number of disciples, it is more likely that needs will be met. One of the benefits of preaching is that in a mixed multitude, the listener cannot usually say the speaker is directing the message at him/herself alone. For this reason, a listener, and in the same way a disciple, is more likely to take to heart what is said and imitate what is done.
You might sum up discipleship as loyalty, first to Christ and then to Christian leaders that we learn from. But, as with everything else in life, loyalty must not become inflexible, or it becomes merely a new slavery. To guard against this we should look at Galatians 4:2, where Paul is telling us about tutelage.
We shouldn’t always be learning and never coming to the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). Some people lean on others beyond the stage where they should become distinctive and free in themselves. We can get into bondage to people as well as to rules. So yes, be loyal to those who are over you in the faith, but let your first loyalty be to the unseen Jesus, manifested in the word of God.
As Paul even challenged Peter, who was before him in the faith, let’s all pull together and stand firm in the freedom in which Christ has made us free.
And of course, like-Paul, let’s do everything in love.
(c) 2011, 2nd edition. Reproduction allowed with copyright included in text.
Mentoring is the empowering of one person by another through personal life, prayer, conversation and example. It is the making of disciples to go into the entire world who will in turn reproduce others to do the same.
Mentoring is the latest buzzword whether it is in business or church. The dictionary defines mentor as ‘a wise or trusted advisor or guide’. The word first appeared in Greek mythology when Ulysses asked a wise man named Mentor to take care of his son Telemachus while Ulysses was fighting in the Trojan Wars. Mentor was in charge of his household and was advisor to the young boy, ‘not only in book learning but in the wiles of the world.’
Mentoring has been common in society. On the farm, boys and girls were mentored by their parents or by extended family members. Fathers taught their sons the skills of farming. Mothers taught their daughters how to keep the home and the finer points of being a wife and mother. Apprentices were mentored at the side of craftsmen for a number of years while they learned the skills of the trade. In early universities students learned in the home of the scholar.
Mentoring also occurred in the church. Early Monastic practice had a spiritual director whose task it was to help discern the will of God for the trainee monk’s life. The focus of the relationship was not so much on teaching as on prayer.
Eighteenth century New England pastor Jonathan Edwards, and his wife Sarah, usually had one or more ‘disciples’ living in their home. This gave ample time for the learner to observe the quality of a marriage, personal spiritual dynamics, and the vigorous pursuit of pastoral activity.
The present interest in mentoring highlights the impersonal attitudes and individualism that can be seen in society. Much of today’s spiritual and theological training is done in classes. Many apprenticeships have become more class-orientated rather than one‑on‑one traineeship. Classes require less personal and relational contact. They make fewer demands on the lecturer than does mentoring. Mentoring is an endeavour to bring back a personal touch in an impersonal, individualistic and spectator society.
Is mentoring biblical?
The Bible demonstrates a number of mentoring situations. Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Naomi and Ruth, Elizabeth and Mary, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy, Pricilla, Aquila and Apollos, and of course, Jesus and His disciples. The word mentoring does not occur in the Bible but the concept of mentoring does. This concept is best described by the term discipleship.
The Greek term for discipleship, mathetes (found in the Bible 262 times) is most frequently used to designate one of Jesus followers. Discipleship is a central theme of both the Gospels and Acts. The term disciple is scarce in the Old Testament and the word mathetes does not occur in the Epistles and Revelation. However, there is abundant theological expression of the concept of discipleship everywhere in Scripture.
The roots of biblical discipleship are found in the concept of God’s calling, as in the recurrent promise ‘I will be your God and you shall be my people’.
The ideal form of discipleship for Israel was the nation in covenantal relationship with God. The nation was called to a relationship in which God was with His people. This Old Testament theme finds its explicit fulfillment in Jesus with His people. Jesus was Emmanuel, ‘God with us’.
The dynamics of Christ’s discipleship
Although discipleship was a voluntary initiative, as with other types of master/disciple relationships in the first century, with Jesus discipleship lay with his call, and his choice of those who would be his disciples. This call demanded a response, an obedience to his call, and the counting of the cost of following him. Disciples of Jesus were to follow, but unlike other disciples of their day Christ’s disciples were to remain followers of Him all their life.
To be a mentor, or discipler, one must first be a disciple. This was and is the heart of the great commission in which Jesus told His disciples to go into the world and make disciples. The goal of Christ’s discipleship was fourfold:
To become like Christ.
Love and servanthood towards others.
Good stewardship of God’s kingdom and his gifts.
Make disciples of all nations.
Jesus’ primary focus in teaching his disciples was not to help them master the skills often associated with the making of leaders and leadership such as setting goals, formulating strategies, and evaluating the results.Jesus gave them an example of how they were to relate to God, and the type of people they had to be. He showed His disciples how to follow, how to obey, how to respond to authority and to the call of God. He set them ministry tasks allowing them to fail, and correcting them where necessary. Jesus’ ministry and mentoring demonstrated that the disciples must first learn to be faithful followers before they could be leaders.
He taught them attitudes of humility, self‑sacrifice, and servanthood. He knew what the destructive attitudes of pride and ambition could do among the community of disciples. He taught them to love one another and serve one another rather than be over one another in authority. He encouraged them to continually abide in the vine in order to gain fruit, and that when he left another Comforter would come and be a mentor of the same kind. Jesus ordained his disciples to be with him. His mentoring was with prayer, example, word, deed and touch. The Book of Acts is a great testimony to the effectiveness of his mentoring.
Confusion over discipleship in the church.In evangelical circles today discipleship is often confused with the development of younger Christians, as in discipleship classes or courses. This is not a clear biblical position. The word disciple is a common word for every believer in Acts. A disciple can be a mature believer or a younger Christian. A believer is always a follower of the Lord. He remains a disciple even though he might hold an office as an apostle or pastor.
Mentoring and discipling should be considered synonymous terms.
There is no better example in the Bible of this than Christ. He did not have classes with exams at the end to test the students like many teachers today. He spent time with His disciples, lived and traveled with them. He prayed with them. He loved them and warned them of impending dangers. He taught them, imparting his own life to them. He was the way, the truth and the life, to his followers.
He was the good shepherd who was training his disciples to follow him and do likewise. He showed them what a true shepherd was so that they would be able to shepherd others. It involved both relationship and discipline. The heart of Jesus’ discipleship was relationship yet He disciplined His disciples. Mentoring will become weak without discipline or relationship. Both are needed.
Drawing distinctions between discipleship and mentoring creates confusion and unbiblical mentoring. For mentoring to be successful it must be kept to its biblical foundation of discipleship. Discipleship should be predominately Christ-likeness, love, servanthood, stewardship, the development of the individual, and the fulfilling of the great commission.
Mentoring DynamicsThe key to mentoring is the relational process. Christ called His disciples to relationship with himself. As mentors we must not only draw people into relationship with Christ but also into relationship with each other. Trust and love must be central to this mutual relationship not the authority of one over another. No better example of the problems that can ruin mentoring can be given than the ‘discipleship movement’.
In the 1980’s a discipleship movement formed in the charismatic church. Its heart was to mentor people in their spiritual growth. After much hurt and great controversy the movement was disbanded in the late 1980’s with public apologies being made by many of the leaders. This movement demonstrated the excesses and dangers that can potentially happen in mentoring by sincere leaders. The discipleship movement had a strong emphasis on spiritual authority. Much of its biblical basis was taken from Watchmen Nee’s book of the same name.
It was this excess of authority that caused much of the hurt in what was a sincere movement. Had they based their emphasis on building better relationships with love and trust, rather than spiritual authority, and obedience to those in authority the movement would still be in existence. They would have avoided much of the hurt they caused. Relationship is to be at the core of mentoring, not control. These distinctions will help avoid the excesses of the discipleship movement of the 1980’s.
Stanley and Clinton also believe that mentoring is a relational experience between two people with varying degrees of involvement and intensity. They believe mentoring is able to be organized into three categories and placed on a continuum ranging from being more deliberate (with more depth and awareness of effort), to less deliberate involvement.
The three categories are:
Intensive: Discipler, spiritual guide and coach,
Occasional: Counselor, teacher and sponsor,
Passive: Contemporary models and historical heroes.
Since mentoring is a relational and empowering experience not all people will qualify for intensive mentoring. Factors such as time, proximity, needs, shared values, and goals will affect the relationship.
However everybody can be passively mentored through the biographies and autobiographies of contemporary and historical people (e.g. David Yonggi Cho, Oral Roberts, Billy Graham, John Wesley, William Carey, Jonathon Goforth and others).
In passive mentoring the mentoree has control in the mentoring process. They choose the mentor and can learn from their life at will. The draw back is that there is no real relational process. They can learn and be inspired but they miss out on the personal process, the prayer, love, care and specific encouragement and direction. The more active the mentoring process the greater the relational dynamic.
Stanley and Clinton further suggest that there are three vital dynamics to building a mentoring relationship:
Attraction: This is a necessary starting point in relationship. The mentoree is drawn to the mentor for various reasons: perspective, certain skills, experience, values and commitments modelled, perceived wisdom, position, character, knowledge, and influence. The mentor is attracted to the mentoree’s attitude, potential, and opportunity for influence.
Responsiveness: The mentoree must be ready and willing to learn from the mentor. Attitude is crucial for the mentoree. A responsive, receptive spirit on the part of the mentoree, and attractiveness on the part of the mentor, directly speed up and enhance the empowerment.
Accountability: Mutual responsibility for one another in the mentoring process ensures progress and closure.
Intensive mentoring builds upon these three dynamics. Attractiveness is the spark that ignites the relational process. It provides the desire, which initiates and fuels that relationship. Not every mentor needs to be a super-star to attract mentorees. A genuine concern for others, sincerely valuing the mentoree, and a desire to develop the other’s potential, are qualities that many crave for in today’s world. However no matter how attractive and great the mentor is, it will be of no avail unless the mentoree responds.Response is the glue that provides the cohesion for the relationship to continue. Even though mentoring relationships continue there is still no guarantee of successful outcomes. It is only when goals are mutually set and both parties are held accountable to their individual goals there can be any achievement of a hopeful outcome. These goals will need to be continually evaluated and adjusted to ensure maximum progress and closure.
Mentoring and leadership developmentMentoring is an important tool in developing leaders. Although leadership is a popular topic today, effective leadership is acknowledged to be sadly lacking. There is an explosion of leadership books and programs. The most important question to be asked about any training program is, ‘Are they producing leaders?’
J. A. Conger addressed this topic in his book Learning to Lead, outlining four common approaches in leadership programs today:
Personal Growth: this focuses on the development of the leader’s character.
Conceptual Understanding: these programs highlight the difference between management and leadership and include skill-building procedures.
Feedback: this approach assumes that those who want to be leaders already possess certain skills. The program helps participants to identify strengths to build on and weakness that need attention.
Skill building: this emphasis believes that leadership can be broken into a set of behaviours that can be learned.
Congor’s conclusion is that an effective leadership training approach must incorporate core elements of all these four approaches. He contends that each of these elements builds upon the others creating a synergistic outcome. He also sees the primary value of these programs as awareness building, and affirming that ultimately developing leadership depends upon the gifts and desire of the individual and the receptivity of the leader’s organisation. Congor also advocates realism. Even if a leader changes for the better, that transformation may threaten superiors and followers who want stability.
These organizational principles apply to churches. However, many churches and organisations are simply not prepared for leadership. Often conformity is more important to them than changing their vision and risk‑taking.
All of these approaches identified by Congor apply also to mentoring.
The first is Personal Development. It is in this area that mentoring is unequalled. Mentoring by its nature is very personal. The mentor can address very specific and personal issues in the mentoree’s life. These issues can encompass every area of their life (marriage, family, vocation, social, spiritual and ministry life). The mentor should be concerned with developing Christlike attitudes and habits in the mentoree. Character is foundational and no one can escape it. The higher one rises in leadership the more stress one receives. Mentoring is therefore needed at all levels of leadership.The second approach is Conceptual Understanding. Everybody wants to be led but few want to be managed. This creates tension as most people tend to be either task oriented or people oriented. By natural preference they gravitate to task or people and so they tend to be better at management or leadership but both areas must be developed. One can not be an effective leader without acquiring the skills of each. Mentors must understand these principles themselves or they will not be able to develop the person adequately.
The third approach to leadership is Feedback. Since feedback assumes that everybody already possesses certain skills and gifts. Mentors must spend time with the mentorees in order to evaluate, recognise and develop their skills. Feedback also helps the mentoree gain a proper perspective on issues. The mentor can encourage his protege to be a risk taker and so avoid falling into the rut of conformity, or they can help the mentoree understand and manage threatened superiors and followers. All these are issues that often require an outside perspective.
The last approach is Skill Building. Skills are personal and can be developed quicker in a mentoring situation than in a class. The mentor must take on the role of a coach who provides motivation, skill building, and who teaches the application of these skills in order to meet a task or a challenge. No other training system can provide better skill building than mentoring.
The Mentoring ProcessMentoring is an empowering process that is not without difficulties. Not everyone will be a good mentor, or mentoree, but realistic goals will help to avoid many disappointments. Commitment is important to the process and builds a climate of trust. This commitment is not only to each other, but also to the lifting of the mentoree to a higher level. If both parties work at Godly relationships and avoid hidden agendas then growth is inevitable. The stronger the relationship the greater the empowerment.
Listening is a must as it is in any relationship. When relationships are truly established then mentorees are open to sharing all of their heart, the good and the bad. This is a powerful climate for growth. Some mentoring situations will be more effective than others, but all can gain if these suggestions are implemented.
Conclusion
Mentoring needs to be biblically based. It is to be founded upon God’s call to be his people, true disciples. Mentoring is the empowering of one person by another through their personal life, prayer, conversation and example.
It is the making of disciples to go into the entire world who will in turn reproduce others to do the same. Mentoring can take deliberate to less deliberate forms. Relationship is at its heart. Attraction, responsiveness, and accountability are important to the working of that relationship. Effective mentoring must take the person out of the classroom and provide that person with growth in Christ-likeness, real‑life situational training, understanding, skill building, and feedback.
From ancient days to present times mentoring has proved invaluable and essential in the training of people. Let us continue to foster a climate for its renewal and development.
Bibliography
Bennett, D.W. Metaphors of Ministry. Carlisle: Paternoster, 1993.
Clinton, R.J. & Stanley, P. D. Connecting. Colorado Springs: Navpress. 1993.Congor, J. A. Learning to Lead. Cited in Barna G. (ed.) Leaders on Leadership. Ventura: Regal. 1997Engstrom, Ted W. The Fine Art of Mentoring. Tennessee: Wolgermuth & Hyatt. 1989.
Ford, L. Helping Leaders Grow. Cited in Barna G. (ed.). Leaders on Leadership. Ventura: Regal. 1997
Wilkins, M. J. ‘Disciple, Discipleship’ cited in Walter E. Elwell (ed).
Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker. 1996.
A Mentor’s Letter from Prison
I write this to you, Timothy, the son I love so much. All the best from our God and Christ be yours!
Every time I say your name in prayer – which is practically all the time – I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful goodbye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion.
That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith – and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed – keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.
So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Saviour, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.
This is the Message I’ve been set apart to proclaim as preacher, emissary, and teacher. It’s also the cause of all this trouble I’m in. But I have no regrets. I couldn’t be more sure of my ground – the One I’ve trusted in can take care of what he’s trusted me to do right to the end.
So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It’s as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.
I’m sure you know by now that everyone in the province of Asia deserted me, even Phygelus and Hermogenes. But God bless Onesiphorus and his family! Many’s the time I’ve been refreshed inthat house. And he wasn’t embarrassed a bit that I was in jail. The first thing he did when he got to Rome was look me up. May God on the Last Day treat him as well as he treated me. And then there was all the help he provided in Ephesus – but you know that better than I.
So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me – the whole congregation saying Amen! – to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. When the going gets tough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn’t get caught up in making deals in the market place. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It’s the diligent farmer who gets the produce. Think it over. God will make it all plain.
Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It’s what you’ve heard from me all along. It’s what I’m sitting in jail for right now – but God’s Word isn’t in jail! That’s why I stick it out here – so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:
If we die with him, we’ll live with him;
If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up –
for there’s no way he can be false to himself.
Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. …
You’ve been a good apprentice to me, a part of my teaching, my manner of life, direction, faith, steadiness, love, patience, troubles, sufferings – suffering along with me in all the grief I had to put up with in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. And you also well know that God rescued me! Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it. Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They’re as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.
But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers -– why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Eugene Peterson, The Message. Navpress, 1994, pages 527-530, from 2 Timothy. Used with permission.
(c) 2011, 2nd edition. Reproduction allowed with copyright included in text.
“When Princess Diana died, and particularly the weekend of her funeral (September 6, 1997), this nation found its soul,” Wynne Lewis, general superintendent Elim Pentecostal Churches (UK), told me when I was in England recently. “There came a realization of the stark reality that a heroine had gone – tragically – and life and materialism are very uncertain. It has become easier to preach salvation and the need to trust God.”
Indeed there has been a powerful fresh move of God sweeping through many churches, including mainline and the various pentecostal streams as well as the historic AOG and Elim movements.
A Significant Sign
Many Christians and leaders spoke of the so-termed ‘Diana prophecy’ received in two parts by a Sheffield lady as being highly significant to the nation. In case you missed it, the following is an extract:
(16/5/97) “I am at work in the heart and the spirit of the people of this nation. I am doing a work which, at the moment, is unseen. Things are happening much more quickly than you think. And as a sign, there will be a day very soon when the whole nation will mourn and put flowers in the cities.”
(31/8/97) “When that day happens the sign is this: the speed at which the heart and the spirit of the people of this nation can be affected, that is the speed at which I will work among this nation. Do not think that what you see and hear of are small, insignificant happenings. Do not despise the day of small things. For I tell you, when you see this sign, I am on the move in the cities of this nation and where flowers are laid, my Spirit will be moving faster than those flowers are removed.
“For I am bringing the power of my Spirit to bear on the cities. As fast as that mourning went through the nation, joy will go through this nation. And I tell you that you will know the miraculous entering your lives. You will see changes in areas where you never expected to see changes. You will see relatives you never expected to see coming into the kingdom of God. You will know areas in your life where you’ve battled and battled and never overcome – you will overcome in a day, says the Lord. For I am at work in this nation and I will bring (it) to its knees before me and they will know the joy of their salvation in the mighty risen Lord Jesus.
“Therefore, rejoice. And do not let that spirit of mourning pervade your own spirit. Do not let that spirit of mourning grasp at your heart. For you have joy inexpressible in your hearts. Therefore, let the rivers of living water flow from within you and know that you will have many opportunities from this point to speak of my grace, to speak of my love, to see in action my Spirit at work. Know that I will be with you in that and you will see the miraculous, says the Lord.”
God is Moving
There are several major spiritual initiatives and thrusts occurring in the UK. In particular concentrated prayer, as in other European nations and the States, has become a top priority with many leaders and churches and is bringing amazing results. London especially has become a main target for prayer. Powerful prayer meetings and conferences are calling for the nation and Christians to repent before a holy God. Church services see people repenting at the altar and even where they’re sitting.
Ken and Lois Gott’s Revival Now Ministries’ great October prophetic conference was no exception when God’s Spirit ‘blew in’ a wind of repentance and forgiveness regarding snobbish attitudes between people ‘representing’ the north and the south of England. Then individuals from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Jamaica, Germany and South Africa also came to the altar to similarly apologise for their countries’ wrong attitudes towards the British. Tears flowed openly and prayer for the nation as a whole was powerful. Humbly recognising afresh that Jesus is the answer to all humankind’s needs, other nations were also prayed for.
Pioneer People’s Gerald Coates unadvertised Sowing the Seeds of Revival meetings in the rotunda Emmanuel Centre, Mawson Street (close to Westminster Abbey) five nights a week attracted over 40,000 people in a matter of months. Around 150 full of faith Chinese Christians purchased the former Christian Science building for only £2.6 million instead of the asking price £6m. Allowing the Pioneer Team to use the church has resulted in hundreds saved, many on their knees and in tears, and lives changed. Personalities from Parliament and Buckingham Palace have visited and been touched by God. Dustbin loads of surrendered pornography, illegal drugs and weapons, masonic jewellery and clothing and personal effects have had to be dumped.
London’s Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) and Queens Road Baptist continue to hold significant revival meetings with hundreds of attenders hungry for God. Many AOG and Elim churches are moving in revival and planting more churches. There is a greater openness to networking to gain more meaningful results, and many noteworthy conferences are held across the nation. More and more churches are taking HTB’s Alpha program on board and seeing converts and stronger disciples of Christ. Over half a million people have embraced the course.
Reaching Out
The AOG of Great Britain and Ireland has increased by 250 churches in the past four years. General Superintendent Paul Weaver sees the need for strong churches effectively communicating the gospel locally. With 650 fully accredited churches and several probationary, the AOG in the UK is determined to play its role in impacting the nation, and reaching thousands for Christ. Their general conference this year – Impact 21, affecting change in the power of the Spirit – should prove historic in inspiring and releasing leaders.
Christian Channel Europe, headed up by Rory and Wendy Alec, was finding good response from the UK and Europe when based in Crown House. Miraculously God arranged for the Alecs to be given top class TV studios nearby. Despite a presently limited time slot, 3am to 7am, CCE has been reaching as far away as the Baltics. Now, with the greater facilities, the channel will ‘hit Europe and the UK in a bigger and more effective way.’
Kensington Temple, England’s largest pentecostal church, has tapped into the incredible potential of satellite TV for its churches and teaching courses. These programs reach Europe as well as the UK. Praying and open-air preaching by KT youth at Leicester Square has seen thousands saved. Over 2000 people now attend KT’s Sunday night services in the new ex-BBC warehouse auditorium in North Acton. A whole month of ‘unprogrammed’ meetings Wednesday through Saturday saw hundreds of lives dramatically changed, healings and signs and wonders. On the Saturday nights the church took to the streets and saw hundreds saved.
Sense of God’s Time
Many believe strongly that God is at work in the nation and exerting his influence as Sovereign Lord over churches and Christians. Leaders are becoming more challenged and sensitive to allowing the Holy Spirit to have his way.
Ken Gott virtually echoed Wynne Lewis’ words when he stated, ‘Britain found its soul when people prayed along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, “Our Father, your kingdom come.” Princess Diana’s death deeply touched the nation spiritually. There is a searching going on!’
He then told of a man in a London pub who went over to two other men who were sitting quietly having a meal. He was searching, desperate for answers, and ‘somehow knew’ they were Christians.
‘Sir,’ he said to one, ‘I perceive you are a man of integrity. Do you have something to say to me?’
‘Yes, Jesus loves you.’
‘Do you have anything else to say?’
‘Yes, you’re dying.’
It was a sure word of knowledge. The man was dying – from AIDS. He had been walking all day around London praying to the God he did not know personally and saying, ‘If you’re real, God, reveal yourself.’ God did and the man got saved!
There is a definite awareness of God’s time for the UK. Prophet Paul Cain has declared that God has targeted Great Britain for harvest. I sensed it deeply in my own spirit and encouraged many to believe for God to raise their nation on a powerful ‘next wave’ that will exalt the Lordship of Jesus, see thousands come into the kingdom, the nation turned around and, as in years gone by, again touching other nations especially the Continent.
A deepening hunger to know God more intimately and to redeem the time is also prevalent. As Fulton Sheen put it: ‘Every moment comes to you pregnant with a divine purpose; time being so precious that God deals it out only second by second. Once it leaves your hands and your power to do with it as you please, it plunges into eternity, to remain forever as you made it.’
Hope and Expectation
The flowers have been laid and lifted and God is moving! Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that Britain would be a compassionate nation, a giving one and one on the cutting edge. I personally believe that will also happen spiritually and we’ll be receiving wonderful exciting reports of the power, grace and favour of God at work in Great Britain, with an emphasis on the ‘Great.’
Hope and expectation would aptly describe the present state of many Spirit-filled believers there. Australia may not have been as deeply affected by Princess Di’s death as the UK and even Eire, but great expectation and strong hope in Christ, accompanied by serious prayer, laying aside personal priorities and even church programs, and getting right with God, lead to amazing accomplishments in taking Jesus to any nation.
May it be so in Australia as the Holy Spirit seeks to, and is allowed to, dig new wells in places not yet familiar with the sounds of the river of God’s refreshing and his saving grace.
Reproduced with permission from The Australian Evangel, February 1998, pages 47-48.
(c) 2011, 2nd edition. Reproduction allowed with copyright included in text.
Lindell Cooley wrote as the worship leader at Brownsville Assemblies of God in Pensacola, America, a church in revival since 18 June 1995. This article is from his book A Touch of Glory (Revival Press, 1997).
One of the most important things I can tell you is that true revival comes when God descends upon man in His glory. That’s it. There is no formula or religious dogma to memorize and implement at your church. There is no “12‑Step Revival Plan in a Can” that you can purchase at some expensive church growth seminar. Extraordinary things happen when the Extraordinary God shows up among ordinary people who long for more of Him. That is a summary of what happened at Brownsville Assembly of God on Father’s Day in June of 1995.
When I moved my mountain of boxes to Pensacola, Florida, and began to lead worship there, I quickly realized that I had come to an ordinary Assemblies of God church. Pastor John Kilpatrick was a wonderful pastor and a skilled teacher of the Word, but he struggled with the same problems every other pastor has to deal with. He worried about motivating and training workers, finding time to handle his counselling load, and balancing his roles as administrator, family man, and spiritual leader of the flock. He worried about the welfare of the sheep in his care, and he was fervently praying for revival. It was a church that wanted more because it didn’t have it yet.
I inherited a great worship team and a talented group of musicians, but like anyone else I struggled with rehearsal schedules, motivation problems, and the constant need to learn new songs and resuscitate the old ones. The congregation was a normal mix of young, old, and in‑betweens, representing almost every musical taste you could think of. In the midst of the normal challenges, we desperately wanted to see revival spark in our services and we were frustrated. Brownsville Assembly of God was like most of the medium‑sized Pentecostal and Charismatic churches scattered across America. We wanted something that we didn’t have, and we were pressing in by faith to see it come to pass.
I was scheduled to return to the Ukraine for a short missions trip in June, but before I left I began to teach the worship team, the choir, and the music team some Vineyard worship choruses. I had done away with most of the hard‑driving, lively praise songs I favoured before. I didn’t want to do anything that smacked of hype or emotional manipulation. I just wanted to go directly into worship and bypass praise altogether. The congregation seemed to enjoy some of the choruses and was indifferent to others. Something was still missing.
Revival!
I went to the Ukraine in June of 1995 to help conduct a short choir tour and planned to return the week after Father’s Day. I was getting ready to leave the Ukraine when revival came “suddenly” to the Brownsville congregation on Sunday, June 18th. At the end of the Father’s Day service, the visiting evangelist named Stephen Hill gave an altar call. He had just delivered a normal sermon during a normal Sunday service, but everything changed when the Spirit of God suddenly descended on the congregation.
Many people who were present, including Pastor Kilpatrick, literally felt a wind sweep through the sanctuary during the visitation. A thousand people rushed to the altar that day to confess their sins, repent, and commit themselves to the Lord without hesitation or compromise. At this writing, the revival has continued week after week for two years and 125,000 souls have been added to the Kingdom by conservative count. The Lord continues to visit us with ever‑increasing power and glory month after month.
I flew into John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Tuesday the 20th after reluctantly bidding my beloved Ukranian friends good‑bye. I found a phone and immediately called Pastor Kilpatrick.
“Hey, John what’s going on?”
“Lindell, It has happened!”
“What has happened?”
“Revival is here.”
I had waited to her those words for a long time.
My heart leapt in my chest because I knew it had to be real or the man on the other end of the line wouldn’t say it like that. I wanted to get back to Pensacola just that much quicker, but I knew I couldn’t make it until Wednesday. During the flight from New York to Florida, my mind kept taking me back to those “gentle laid‑back moments in God’s presence” that I had embraced since April.
When I arrived, John and Brenda Kilpatrick picked me up at the airport, and he began to share with me what God was doing. It sounded wonderful, but I was very tired, and felt disconnected. I didn’t realize it then, but that disconnected feeling would stay with me for about two weeks. There was no doubt that God was in the house, but I was having trouble entering in. I ran headlong into a major disappointment because I was expecting “Toronto”.
Breaking Old Dislikes
First there was this Stephen Hill character. I had never met him before the Wednesday night service after Father’s Day, but this evangelist seemed to be just a little “too hyped” for me. Pastor Kilpatrick assured me that he was okay and said that he had known Steve for years. My daydreams of a ‘gentle’ move of the Holy Spirit that morning were jolted back to reality by Stephen Hill, a dynamo with an unquenchable passion for souls. He was far from gentle. I thought he came across like a speeding freight train that first night.
He had us sing one chorus for 30 minutes straight at a clip of 90 miles an hour, and I felt like I had stepped back into my old Pentecostal roots again. All the wonderful things that the Lord had done for me suddenly seemed to disappear and my own heathenistic self came out again. I thought, I am not going to do this! Sorry, but I’ve been there, done that. I don’t want to do this! I want that gentle sweetness that I had.
After the service I was pretty hard on Steve Hill once we were alone. I said, “Steve, I am not going to get up there and do all that hype stuff. If you want it, then get someone else to do it, because I’m not doing it.” Frankly, I had a rotten attitude. Do you know what Steve did? He totally disarmed me with his answer. He said, “Well, brother, that’s all right. Whatever you want to do.” I had to repent to him shortly after that because I was so mean to him. He could have been angry with me but he wasn’t. The battles in my heart would continue for a while, but we were on the way to becoming close friends with one heart.
I knew that my reaction to Steve was rooted in my dislike for the old pattern of wanting to be worked up by powerful music. After my breaking in April, I was so moved by the revelation of just loving the Lord that I could be moved to worship at any time by the slightest breath of the Spirit. All I have to do is say from my heart, “Lord God, all You want is my worship. All You want is my attention. You are like a Father to me.” I don’t need a lengthy time of praise to crank my flesh up to speed. At the mere mention of His name I am ready to fall to my knees and worship. He has touched me so deeply that I must respond.
I didn’t realize it, but God was also out to break my deep‑seated desire to be somebody important. (Everyone I’ve ever known has had this desire too.) I was just floating along on a cloud of simply loving Jesus and hungering after the Lord, but there was some hidden poison still lurking in my heart and God wanted it out.
It was the glory of God that finally destroyed the yoke around my neck. Before God touched me, I always thought that God had called me to a greater grace and a higher calling than to just be somebody’s “flunky musician.” I thank God for His mercy and grace in forgiving my arrogance.
Just when I was convinced that God wasn’t doing anything in me, He brought all my wrong motives to the surface. In the first few weeks of the revival, any time Stephen or Pastor Kilpatrick would interrupt one of my songs or stop the worship service to say something, I would be totally offended. I wouldn’t say anything or change my actions, but in my spirit I was offended. My face might have been smiling but my heart and head were shouting, “Doggone you, get away from the microphone. I don’t interrupt your sermons, do I? Now stay out of my hair ‑ I’m trying to lead worship here.” (I am not interested in being “politically correct” in this book; my goal is to speak the truth in love so that you and others can avoid the mistakes I made and move directly into God’s best.)
It was wrong, but I felt like these godly men were invading my territory. Musicians seem to have an old link to lucifer the first rebellious worship leader ‑ they have a pride that is never satisfied. They jealously guard what is “theirs” and then wonder why they don’t have what the pastor or evangelist has too.
God would be using me mightily in worship, and then this “old ugly” would come out. Right then and there, in the middle of an anointed Brownsville Revival service, I would feel my hidden spiritual pride, piety, and ego rise to the surface. I’d catch myself thinking, I’ve been in this thing a long time, and here is some old drug addict [Stephen Hill] preaching a sermon. Dear God, he just said he got saved in 1975! I was rolling on the floor and speaking tongues in 1975. Why, I’ve been in church all my life and never veered from the path! (Sounds like the older brother of the Prodigal son, doesn’t it?)
God never let me get away with it. He would just zap me and say, “Stop it. If you want Me, humble yourself.” Yes, you thought you had that jealousy under control, but I brought that out to show you that you don’t. Repent of it, and let it go.”
One of the greatest joys of working with Pastor John Kilpatrick and Stephen Hill is the fact that they are transparent. They prefer direct communication. I told Pastor John one night after service, “You know, God has brought out some really ugly stuff in me, and I’ve had to repent.” I don’t think he was surprised, but I do know he was pleased.
When the Spirit’s work was complete in the area of my calling and self‑worth in Christ (He has so much more to do in me), I had a totally different attitude. Now any time those brothers need to say something or interrupt for any reason, I think, ‘That’s fine, brother. I trust your judgement. Go ahead and do anything you want to do. If you want to prophesy, if you want to stop me in the middle of my favourite song, that’s fine.’ Yes, the musician in me will still occasionally grumble a little bit when I’m interrupted, but now I have a tolerance for it. I just tell myself, Oh well, what is the big deal? The guy is trying to follow the Lord here. Relax.
Pastor Kilpatrick, Stephen Hill, and I have great confidence in one another today. We trust each other. We’ve cried and wept in each other’s arms, and we are soldiers. We’ve been in the fox hole together, we’ve watched out for each other’s back, so all of the small differences and irritations just don’t bother us now.
New Things ‑ Even in Revival
Once my eyes were opened to the incredible work God was doing in me those first two weeks of revival, I became content. I realized, for the first time in my life, that I wasn’t “somebody’s” piano player ‑ I was God’s piano player. (My mother had been saying it for decades, but I guess I just wasn’t listening close enough.) If that was what God wanted me to do for the rest of my life, than praise His name; I would be content. I had to pass that hurdle before the other gifts within me could be released to grow. If I had failed to pass that test, my selfish ambitions would have tainted all the other gifts and callings in my life.
Very early in the revival we began to notice some supernatural occurrences in the worship service that let us know God was personally involved in this revival ‑ even in areas not related to the hundreds of souls won each night and the filled altars. I looked in my personal journal and found an entry dated August 17, 1995 (about two months after the revival began.) This is what I wrote down after I got home that night:
August 17, 1995
The service tonight seemed to be pretty average until the very end. As I was about to leave, I talked with Richard Crisco, the youth pastor, and he questioned me about a particular worship chorus we had sung toward the end of the service. It was an ad lib thing that just came out of the air. He wanted to know how I was able to cue the sound track tape to come in as precisely as it did. I told him there was no tape, it was just me and the keyboard ‑ there weren’t even any singers, but he didn’t believe me. He said that he had heard at least three voices and several instruments.
As Richard spoke, I remembered that I too had heard a third voice singing a beautiful counter melody, but was so caught up in the presence of the Lord that I didn’t see who was singing, or who it might be. I knew I was singing, and I assumed it was Jeff Oettle [one of the worship singers at the time] or someone who had felt inspired and grabbed the mike to join in.
As Richard talked, I remembered two things: First, the third voice was exceptionally clear, and the counter melody sounded rehearsed. Second, when we had finished singing, I went to sit by Pastor John who was a little lost in the Spirit (in other words, he was out like he always is), and he told me in slurred speech, “That new chorus you just did was wonderful. Could you do it again tomorrow night?”
Later on, Benny Johnson (the sound guy) and Van Lane (the children’s pastor) told me that they had heard it too. They were at the sound board, and were trying to find out what channel the third voice was on. [It wasn’t going through the sound board at all!]
My conclusion, that the third voice was definitely not of this world, wow.
Later that week I asked Jeff Oettle, “Were you singing with me?”
“No, but I was standing on stage.”
Then I asked him, “Did anybody else sing with me?”
I already knew the answer ‑ no.
All this happened during a Thursday night service, and I remember that the entire worship team was exhausted because early in the revival we used to sing for hours at the end. Somewhere close to midnight the band started to really sound bad and the singers were nearly out of it, so I dismissed them so they could get some rest. I punched in a piano program with a breathy sound on my electronic keyboard, and I just started playing a chord with a monastic Gregorian chant style.
I clearly remember hearing a backup voice and a third voice come in that was singing a perfect counter melody to my song, except that it wasn’t repeating what I was saying ‑ that would have been impossible anyway. I was making it up as I went. Yet this voice was singing at the same time I was singing in perfect counter melody with an incredibly clear voice.
I was making up the melody and words as I went and the other voices were singing right along with me while putting in these little moves in their melodies. I was kind of thinking, “That’s cool, whoever that is.”
Two girls from Puerto Rico who had backgrounds in witchcraft came to the revival that night. When I started singing this song, hundreds of people were still being prayed for at the altars, and it is normally pretty loud. When I started to sing, “Ha‑ha‑hallelujah…” accompanied only by the keyboard, everything became totally quiet. The song (with the heavenly voices) was so impressive that everyone stopped to listen. This went on for probably two or three minutes. (Everybody I questioned that night heard it.)
When I stopped singing, one of the Puerto Rican girls sitting to my far right released a blood‑curdling scream and I thought, How rude of you to interrupt. But it was almost as though a demon had left. The girl told one of the intercessors who was working with her that she had tried to get deliverance from the witchcraft that she had practiced for years, and she’d never been really free of it. Once the angels started singing, that demon left her, and that was that.
It Comes Full Circle
Once I allowed my insecurities and religious pride to be broken, God began to speak into my life again through prophecy. A prophet named Michael Ratcliff prophesied in the revival in 1995 that the Lord was giving me an anointing of “imperialism”. At the beginning of the prophecy he said that I had laid down the anointing to speak the Word because I felt it was inappropriate, but that God was commanding me to open my mouth, and that I would be used as a spearhead to pierce the darkness.
He said that when I or my music went to Taiwan or mainland China, God would give me eight different currencies to work with, and that He would begin to bless me financially. I was to give and be free with it, and the people would be touched, as well as the officials.
He also said God would give me a song that would be sung around the world, and that the Lord was giving me a ministry to heal marriages. The song would be about the Lord and His love for the union of marriage. Some of the marriages healed through the song would be the marriages of heads of state in many countries and I would sing and speak the Word of the Lord to them.
Ruth Heflin prophesied early in 1966 that because I had embraced the harvest, the Lord would make my path flat. I should take no thought, and I should not worry about the things that others do, because God would provide all that I needed ‑ houses, food, and clothing. She also said that the Lord would move me from harvest to harvest. Anywhere in the world that there is a harvest, I would have a portion of it. The Lord said that there was a generation that would follow me, though they’re incomplete, but the Lord would raise them up, and they would follow.
These prophecies closed a prophetic circle in my life by fully confirming the prophecies spoken over me long ago. Some of them have come to pass already and others are in process. Since they were in full agreement with what God had already put on my heart, I embraced them with joy. From time to time I remind the Lord about His promises to me and stand on His faithfulness. As a young man not yet in his 40’s, I am hardly old enough to publish an autobiography of my life, but I am obligated of the Lord to share some of the lessons I’ve learned along the path of obedience.
For reasons known only to God, I have catapulted to a place of national and international exposure, and I am well aware that thousands of leaders and would‑be leaders are watching me. I am writing this book from the things that I know and have experienced, and I will leave other subjects to those better qualified than I. …
The glory of God has fallen on Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, and it has also fallen in significant measure in Toronto, Ontario and at Holy Trinity Brompton Anglican Church in London, England. At this writing literally thousands of reports are flooding the offices of Brownsville Assembly testifying that God’s glory is falling all across the globe. …
If you have abandoned the old landmarks that God established in your life years ago, then it is time for you to hurry back to those landmarks. Clear away the brush and debris that hide them and once again cherish the word of the Lord over your life. Protect those things that are holy and cleanse those things that are unclean.
Used with permission from A Touch of Glory by Lindell Cooley (Revival Press, Destiny Image, 1997), Chapter 8, pages 119‑132.
(c) 2011, 2nd edition. Reproduction allowed with copyright included in text.
