Dear Friends

We have promised to periodically update our regular subscribers.

A Spiritual Stocktake

This is a longer update than usual so as to explain future directions.

Just as a business does a stocktake towards the end of the financial year to ascertain their position we have been doing the same.

Except our stock is not physical product and assets; it’s the spiritual riches that God has entrusted to us.

At this stage of our lives we are revisiting our commitment as faithful stewards, to sow into the ensuing generations and thus the ‘ongoings’ of God and his purposes—to leave a legacy.

After more than 45 years of Christian experience and service we find ourselves reviewing and evaluating, not only our personal journey but also, the condition of the larger church and Christian movement of the West in these early stages of the 21st century.

And so, in this process our two-fold question has been: What has God deposited in us through the journey and how might it be relevant to the condition of the contemporary Western church and culture?

To address the questions. Over the journey we have had the amazing privilege of being grounded in and influenced by some key movements and servants of God that have been formative for our development and highly influential in the larger Christian movement of this generation.

I will first give an overview of those men and movements and then assess their contribution to us and their relevance to the current crisis of the Western church and culture.

Overview of our formative influences

Mid-twentieth century saw several movements of God’s Spirit break upon the church. We came to the Lord in 1970 riding on the crest of that wave, thinking that the momentum was normal. Early post-war there were two movements in particular – what became known as the Latter Rain Revival and the Healing Revival – that proved to be the precursor to the far larger outpouring across the global church in the Charismatic Renewal. The men and ministries that were formative for us were touched by the first two movements and their core emphasises and then emerged as some of the leading international teachers of the latter—the Charismatic Renewal across the mainline denominations.

As new Christians we were immediately, not only sitting under the apostolic ministries of our first pastors and mentors, New Zealanders Paul and Bunty Collins who were catalytic for the Renewal in Sydney, but through them, also under the ministries of W. J. Ern Baxter, Bob Mumford, Loren Cunningham, Judson Cornwall – all from the USA – and Australians, Peter Morrow and Kevin Conner, among others.

All of these men were luminaries in the global outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the Charismatic Renewal. They were, on the whole, prophetic preachers and teachers of the Word and of God’s kingdom purpose on earth. They carried an unusual measure of grace and spiritual gravitas that left its indelible mark on who we are to this day.

Through the chaos of the renewal – thousands of house meetings spontaneously springing up, new ministries, itinerants and independent Charismatic centres also springing up accompanied by many ministerial failures and doctrinal latitude – Bob Mumford, Ern Baxter, Derek Prince, Charles Simpson, and Don Basham were exercised to speak into it, emphasising the need for relational accountability and a restoration of authentic spiritual authority to the Body of Christ, including the function of apostles as spiritual fathers. It was also an attempt to reform church life through covenant relationships and the raising up of lay-leaders as shepherds of the flock. This developed into what became known as the Shepherding-Discipleship Movement.

Contemporaneous with and parallel to the Charismatic Renewal, several other voices and ministries weighed in upon us—Francis Schaeffer and Rousas Rushdoony, in particular. Rushdoony is recognised as the father of the Christian Reconstruction Movement, which became highly influential in American culture and politics, particularly during the Reagan era, providing biblical answers for economics and civil government. Ern Baxter and Rousas Rushdoony became good friends, facilitating a measure of cross-pollination between the Reconstruction and Shepherding movements during the 1980s.

Assessment of those influences

Now to assess the message of these men and movements and relevance to the contemporary crisis of church and culture in the West and thus the stewardship of our own ministry.

Each of these movements has had their share of critics and naysayers. The internet is replete with armchair theorists and their opinions.

While not excusing excesses and aberrations, history teaches us that all reforming and revival movements have had their share of problems. Nonetheless, it does not annul the validity of the movement nor the truth being re-emphasised. As the wisdom writer so aptly penned:

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Proverbs 14:4

In other words, whenever you have oxen in the stall, you’ll have muck on the floor; nonetheless, there is increase because of them in the field. It is better to have reformers and their movements despite the problems; they bring needed changes and the kingdom harvest is thereby increased.

First, taking these movements chronologically, the Latter Rain outpouring of 1948 in Canada had international impact on the Pentecostal movement.

It brought a restoration of spiritual worship and the manifest presence of God. This was accompanied by a fresh experience of prophecy and the laying on of hands for the confirmation of ministry calling and impartation of spiritual gifts. The restoration of the ascension-gift ministries of apostles and prophets was also quickened. Additionally, a fresh insight into the prophetic significance of the Feast of Tabernacles was emphasised: the victorious future of the church, its ultimate unity and maturity as the Body of Christ, and a final worldwide ingathering. God’s progressive restoration of his church and of truth from the Reformation to the present day, revival by revival, was also taught prophetically through the three feasts of the Lord: Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles. Contemporaneous with the Latter Rain was the Healing Revival, evidencing a fresh outbreak of God’s power in dramatic healings and the emergence of many new healing evangelists (e.g. TL Osborn, AA Allen, Oral Roberts et al). The spearhead of this was William Branham who moved in a unique sign-gift ministry with unfailingly accurate words of knowledge and miraculous healings.

In assessing the Latter Rain, yes it was beset by some opportunists and sensationalists, making merchandise of the miraculous. And yes, there was an over-realised eschatology, leading many into fanciful claims of perfection and manifested sonship; an inaugurated eschatology would have been preferable. And in some cases an overly zealous use of typology bordering on allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures, opening the movement to a measure of Gnosticism. But these weaknesses are not sufficient, in my estimation, to invalidate the pure stream that flowed from the throne and benefited many around the world, restoring the biblical truths and emphases already enumerated.

I for one was a beneficiary through the ministries listed above. My own call to ministry was powerfully confirmed by the prophetic presbytery through the laying on of hands publically before our congregation. The laying on of hands was an annual highpoint of our church life with the groundwork laid through fasting and prayer. There was no sensationalising or merchandising of personal prophecy. It was always in the context of committed pastoral relationships and congregational life. The teaching on Restoration gave me an appreciation of God’s sovereignty in history, a love for history itself, an appreciation of the larger Body of Christ, and a vision of the church’s destiny and worldwide revival and harvest. Additionally, the vision of a mature church approximating the “full stature of Christ” as God’s “Plan A” not only gave hope and purpose for the future, but also, gave biblical accuracy as to the relationship of the old and new covenants and thus of Israel, the church, and the kingdom; areas of massive confusion across the Body of Christ with implications for the church’s mandate and mission in the world.

Second, the Charismatic Renewal was effectively a continuation of the 1948 outpouring beyond the confines of the Pentecostal movement, but now across the historic mainline denominations, including the Catholics, emphasising the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The significance and extent of this is now recorded history. The emphases of the Latter Rain movement were carried through into the Charismatic Renewal through the key teachers mentioned above and many others. One of the dominant features of the Charismatic Renewal was the overwhelming sense of spiritual unity and spontaneous camaraderie among both Catholics and Protestants as they worshipped together in large conferences around the world. This climaxed in 1977 at Arrowhead stadium, Kansas City, with 50,000 Catholics and Protestants gathering for teaching and worship. Media coverage of the event included Time Magazine. Bob Mumford and Ern Baxter were among the keynote speakers and convenors.

Both Bob and Ern were key influences in our development. While Bob’s impact on us was immeasurable through his teachings on the dealings of God, and while both of them were Reformed theologically (despite their Pentecostal backgrounds), Ern provided for us a strategic theological foundation. As an 18 year old student he first taught us in our fledgling Bible School in Sydney and then in numerous conferences over the years, both in Australia and America. Having pastored the largest evangelical church in Vancouver, Canada, for 25 years, and serving as a key leader in the Healing Revival through what were known as the Baxter-Branham campaigns, filling auditoriums around the world and then as a catalyst in the Charismatic Renewal, Ern brought a unique blend of Reformed theology and charismatic experience. With a personal library of over 9,000 volumes he was an avid student of the Scriptures, theology, and church history, often referring to his commentaries as his close friends and confidantes. His public ministry brought together an unequalled eloquence with solid theology and a powerful prophetic grasp of the majesty of God and his world purpose.

As for the Charismatic Renewal, nothing now needs to be said; history records its universal impact and acceptance. Nonetheless, the emphasis of the Shepherding Movement became highly controversial. Having stepped out of the movement in 1990 I have had over 25 years to evaluate. There is no question that there was authoritarianism and abuse of God’s people. I know, I was on the receiving end in significant proportions! Nonetheless, I remain grateful for the journey, the relationships, and the exposure to truth and revelation, but also for the lessons of negative preparation and deferred gratification. From a human perspective my ministry was curtailed for 10 years; but from God’s perspective it was meant for good; for greater fruitfulness, not only ministerially but more importantly, as a man of God in purity of motive and in character.

So, where did the Shepherding Movement go wrong?

In my judgement it was solid theologically and well served by its founders as genuine men of God, some of who were highly astute theologically. It was a sincere attempt to address an individualistic and consumerist church culture that had been moulded by worldly values and institutional systems, not to mention denominational sectarianism. While highly Reformed theologically it was Anabaptist ecclesiologically, identifying with the radical arm of the Reformation in its redefinition of the church as a separated believing community and thus espousing believer’s baptism and separation of church and state. As with many reforming movements it was thus more an error of emphasis rather than of theology. With independence and unaccountability manifestly a problem in the renewal a correction was needed. So far so good. But there was an over correction with the pendulum swinging toward control; but how did this happen?

While, in my experience, all the teaching on authority and accountability was qualified as relational and functional, to my knowledge the notion of ministerial “office” was never intentionally targeted and didactically dismantled—it is no where to be found in the New Testament; rather it was an intentional transfer of the notion of priestly office by several early church Fathers onto new covenant ministry to address the 2nd century crisis of authority. In my view, after 1,800 years of entrenched tradition is this regard, the teaching of relational authority only builds on inherited mentalities and structures of authority based on official position. The mind of the larger church needed – and still needs – renewing on this issue. I unpack this in some measure in my book, http://a.smartmailpro.com/link/x84doud67/rv0qrxq9do" name="destiny snakes - “
Sincerely