My Vision for a Word and Power Church Plant, Part 2

In my last post I went into some detail concerning the vision that I have for planting a church that is committed to both Word and Power.  While I have mentioned the wedding of Word and Power and what that might look like in the ministry I envision, I wanted to use this post to go into a little more detail about what I hope one aspect of the ministry of power will look like.

If I could be blunt, and I hope I do not sound unkind, my experience with what is broadly considered "Reformed Charismatics" are too light on the charismatic side.  In fact, I think it would be better to classify them as "Reformed Continuationists".  There are some notable exceptions of course, but in general, and I speak with very broad strokes, there seems to be a real hesitancy to fully embrace the dynamic and empowering ministries of the Holy Spirit that are available to us in the "now" of the Kingdom of God. 

I refer primarily right now to really pursuing the prophetic ministry and the role of the prophet.  While  Reformed Continuationists believe in the continuing gift of prophecy; there is in my opinion, a fear of expanding our experience and embracing a robust prophetic ministry in the church.  There are reasons I know.  Possibly there is a fear of going too far and being labeled a "charismaniac".  Perhaps it is the fear compromising the Reformed conviction regarding the sufficiency of the Bible and Sola Scriptura. 

I certainly understand these fears and have actually seen the abuses mentioned above in practice.  It's not pretty.  But the reason I bring it up is because I really believe that the New Testament provides us with both example and precept regarding this vital function in the church (Acts 11:27-30; 13:1; 15:32; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 14:1; Ephesians 2:20; 4:11-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22).  If indeed the New Testament does indicate that the prophetic is a valuable and vital tool for building up the body, then perhaps it we should be willing to broaden our horizons a bit; going to prophetic conferences and opening ourselves up to ministries and individuals with whom we don't agree on other things. 

All that just to say that if I could make this vision a reality, the prophetic ministry would receive the attention that I believe it deserves.  I myself do not believe I possess a strong prophetic gifting or anointing, but that's part of the point of spiritual gifts in the church.  Christians with different gifts and strengths coming together in one body to see Jesus glorified.  I understand that we are all doing the best we can with what we've been given and some people are in different places, but I hope this small blog post gives my readers an idea as to where I am at this time on this particular subject.