Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy - Prophetic Gifts Today In The New Testament Church

Christ's Continuing Voice in the Church

figure 2

4. A Spiritless Monument (

1. An Aggressive Sect ) 2. An Evangelistic

3. A Recognized Denomination

Movement

� destiny in the world. Persecution rolls off the fledgling church members like water off a duck's back-in fact, it adds fuel to their fiery zeal. "The white heat of passion in the members' hearts drives these churches. As a result these churches [grow] in attendance, offering and membership." 14 The creative juices are flowing as everyone pitches in to launch the new congregation. It is a joyful experience and people aggressively invite their friends. Small wonder church growth experts say that church planting is one of the best ways to win souls! 2. An evangelistic movement. As time passes and the church grows, it continues in missionary zeal, maintains much vitality and retains doctri nal distinctives. It is a time of consolidation. But as the congregation becomes more structured, organized and acceptable in the community, the religious experience tends to become more rational, with less empha sis on spiritual gifts and the spontaneity of prophetic direction. "The orig inal purpose of the church is retained," Towns says, "but an efficient administration keeps the church in motion." 15 Prophetic activity is a pos sibility but not a probability. During the first and second generations, the freshness and flexibility of new spiritual experience begin to settle and harden into the set form of religious tradition. 3. A recognized denomination. Usually at the beginning of this stage, numbers continue to grow because of organizational efficiency. The lack of spiritual dynamic, however, soon slows natural and spiritual growth. The church loses its drive and enthusiasm and there is an increased secu lar pull on its membership. The adherents settle into the comfortable, pre dictable structures of formalized religion and neglect the vitality of pres ent religious experience. Originally the group reached out to the responsive poor and gained fol lowers, but now "redemption lift" settles in and the members (under the • 248