For Pastors: Leadership of Public Vocal Gifts

This post is for those in Pastoral leadership or for those who lead a small group or Bible study. These are comments to get your thinking processes going about the administration of public Spiritual gifts.
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As in every aspect of spiritual leadership, the leader sets the tone for those they lead. The administration of supernatural vocal gifts is no different; the leader sets both the spiritual and communal climates in which the gifts will (or will not) flow, steering the direction of the group they oversee. Over the years I have witnessed leaders over-correct and create a climate of fear or under-correct and create a three-ring circus. Once again, balance and Spirit dependence are the critical issues.

As a general rule, it is more common to be in an environment where more gifts need to be manifested than less. This single fact should change our approach from one of pre-correction to one of cultivating an openness to the gifts. Perhaps our teaching shouldn’t begin with all of the corrective measures of 1 Corinthians 14, but instead with the enabling tone of chapter 12 first, “let’s learn about how these gifts can build us up.” Why vaccinate the whole group for a disease that only a few unteachable ones will ever catch? After the climate of openness is set, then progress to teach about divine order.

SETTING THE CLIMATE FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO THE GIFTS
A practical starting point is to be more entry-level in our approach. Many are afraid that a public utterance in tongues will freak out the visitors. An easy solution is to simply commentate and explain what is happening. "The Bible tells us that God sometimes speaks to us through prophetic gifts; what we just heard is a public gift of tongues. You can read more about it in 1 Cor 12. The Bible instructs us that we are to now wait for someone to tell us the meaning through another gift, interpretation." Seizing corporate teachable moments can do more than preaching a 10 week series; but don’t neglect to offer biblical teaching from an enabling perspective as well.

SETTING A CLIMATE FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE THE GIFTS
Seizing the moments can also facilitate helping our people enter into a new realm spiritually. "While we wait for the interpretation, God may desire to use someone who has never been used this way before. If you have ever desired God to use you in this way, why not invite Him to do it now? If you sense the Holy Spirit moving on you, ask Him if He wants you to speak out and give the interpretation today."

A simple welcoming of the gifts to flow in your pastoral prayer each service opens people’s hearts to being used. “Holy Spirit, we welcome your supernatural gifts to flow in this service. As you desire, would you enable some who have not yet experienced your gifts to beautifully experience them today?”

SETTING THE CLIMATE FOR THOSE WHO ARE ABUSIVE OR NEED CORRECTION
As leaders, we define the culture for the expression of spiritual gifts; fear or openness. Avoid public correction unless you know from the Spirit that it is absolutely necessary, because harsh public correction will create a corporate fear of humiliation.

If you do sense that correction is necessary, ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom, he’ll give it to you. I have a pastor-friend who was having some challenges with uncorrectable, unsubmitted people arrogantly abusing the vocal gifts. Though he was tempted to call down fire from heaven upon them, he prayed earnestly for a peaceable answer. A short while later, he was visiting a shut-in who had been a spiritual pillar of the church, delivering the previous week’s recording of the church service for her to listen to. As they visited, this saint asked a beautiful question, “Pastor, when I listen to the church service tapes, I can surmise that some utterance gifts are happening at times—but I can’t hear what is being said. I love the moving of the Holy Spirit and wish there was some way that I could hear these gifts on the tapes.” God had sent the answer! The next Sunday morning, the pastor told his congregation about his conversation with the saintly shut-in, asking if those who were sensing a gift bubbling up would move to a microphone near the front. The people understood his rationale and it immediately put an end to those unaccountable manifestations. He also remarked that many people in the sanctuary later positively comment that they could now hear the utterance gifts clearly over the PA system—for the first time.

Have your leadership create a biblical policy to help those who are abusive in the gifts. Perhaps first a gentle visit after a service with a few elders. Second, if things don’t change, a visit with the pastor and the first group of elders followed up with a nice but firm letter recalling the conversation. If that doesn’t work, an official discipline and forbiddance of the offender to use vocal gifts for a set time. If the person arrogantly disregards the discipline and blurts out again, the only option is public correction—but with an adequate explanation telling of your church’s procedure. “We never correct this way publicly unless the person has disregarded our set disciplinary process.” While severe, this should stem off a culture of fear for those who humbly desire God to use them while, at the same time, reinforce the shepherd’s nature of the pastor—protecting the flock from harm.

"Helping Others" book is now available

The new compilation book, "Helping Others Receive the Gift" is now available.

This unprecedented resource features insights about ministering the Spirit Baptism in a variety of contexts and age groups.

You can click here for more details and for ordering information.

Heritage Magazine Article on Dr. Price

Don't miss the new annual edition of Heritage magazine.

It was a distinct honor to be asked to write a biographical article about one of my personal "Heroes of the Faith," the late Dr. Charles S. Price. Thanks to Darrin Rodgers, director of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, for the opportunity to contribute to this excellent publication.

Dr. Price's story is inspirational and challenging--and I hope it will stir you to believe God for greater demonstrations of His Spirit's power in your life.

If you are not a subscriber, you can order the issue here for $8.

You can also read the article here.

Another New Book...

It is no secret that the late Dr. Charles S. Price has significantly influenced my life. He had one of the most renowned Pentecostal healing ministries of his day, and yet possessed a rock solid understanding of God's Word and dependence on the Holy Spirit.

His clear teaching on the subject of faith has opened new worlds to me. He gracefully and kindly taught against the faith formula of the Word of Faith Movement (such as "positive confession"), yet his message was anything but negative; in fact, his writing is some of the most faith inspiring material you will ever read.

Several years ago, my dear friend John Carver Jr. and I released two of Dr. Price's books in one volume, The Meaning of Faith & The Sick are Healed. Destiny Image published this collection for us and it is still available on our website or at your local Christian bookstore.

Now our ministry is re-releasing what I believe to be Dr. Price's greatest book, The Real Faith along with a mini-biography on his life (by yours truly). I honestly believe that this is the greatest book ever penned on the subject of faith and I know it will deeply affect your life.

Click here to find out more information or to order your copy.

New Book Available Soon!

"Helping Others Receive the Gift" is a book geared for ministers, small group leaders and ministry students.

It is a practical resource about ministering the Spirit Baptism in a variety of contexts.

I just got word that it is going to press in the next few days; I'll keep you posted when the actual release date is known.

See the September 22 post below for more details about the book.

Facilitating the Holy Spirit's Moving: Holy Bingo?

I used to think that great moves of the Holy Spirit were, while most desirable, rare and enigmatic. Perhaps God had a bingo cage in heaven where each numbered ball corresponded to a specific church; if you had any spiritual luck (that's a great term!) your church might be the big winner some Sunday.

While that illustration may seem a bit farcical, the implication is a common belief: God seems to only send great moves of His Spirit once in a century and you must be in the right spot at the right time--wearing a cotton-poly blend suit--to participate.

Once again my experience--or lack of it--had gotten in the way. Once again I trusted my own subjective judgments over biblical principles. Same song, different verse.

We learn from scripture that God has always desired to pour out His Spirit and that Pentecost was the fulfillment of His desire. Since that initial outpouring, the gate is open. In Acts 2, Peter explained that this promise is for us and for our children and all following generations, yet, we still live with a bingo mindset rather than an open catcher's mitt mentality.

If God really wants to send His Spirit's power to us, what must we do to facilitate it? Where can we find a spiritual catcher's mitt?

This past year, God has been dealing with me about time and schedule in our conferences. I have noticed that I frequently operate with an "I'll do what I think is best unless God interrupts me" premise. Perhaps this is the default setting for those in ministry who have grown tired of waiting for God to call his or her church's bingo number.

Through prayer, studying the scriptures and introspection, I have consistently heard God challenging my bingo mindset. I have become more convinced that He desires more, not less, than I could ask or imagine.

He has shown me that if I get rid of my bingo cage, I'd see that I already have the catcher's mitt. So do you. It's called TIME. Chronology. Just few moments of "Selah" in the middle of a church service or Bible study causes everyone's spiritual sensitivity to become more acute. Just a simple silent pause after some worship songs or prayer; a silent lifting of our catcher's mitt to heaven. Long enough to feel out of control, then He shows us what to do next. We can always trust Him.

Leaders are afraid of dead air because it appears unprofessional and silence is uncomfortable to us input-junkie Americans. We need flashing lights and subwoofers to enhance our Gen-X sacrament of baptism in vats of Red Bull--high energy thrill rides whose script disallows any time for failure.

We as leaders fear the unpredictable; but that is exactly the nature of the Holy Spirit. His wind blows unpredictably; Jesus said so.

I dare you as a pastor, Sunday school teacher or small group leader to give a few quiet, uncluttered corporate moments to try on the catcher's mitt again. After all, it's what the people we lead really want to experience anyway. Just a minute or so is all it takes before you hear the wind beginning to gently blow.

I guess it has always been blowing; we just couldn't hear it over the racket of our bingo cages.

How can Non-Pentecostals have supernatural results?

There is a seeming enigma of non-Pentecostals operating in the realm of spiritual power.

"How can they do that?"

There is a clear precedent in scripture for this: the Old Testament. Aside from specific leaders, the Holy Spirit did not generally empower the common man.

If you examine the ministry of Jesus, He commissioned the 12 with authority, then the 70 with authority--both groups of common men went out in supernatural power. Both of these instances were also pre-crucifixion/resurrection; they had power to DO because of specific delegated authority.

The difference is found in Acts 1:8 where ALL believers are told to wait until they RECEIVE power. It would change WHO they were. They truly recieved power when the Holy Spirit came upon them.

You can still DO under delegated authority and, since Pentecost, you can now DO even more out of what you receive with Spirit Baptism. This is the very reason we titled one of our books on receiving the Spirit Baptism, "Want More."

DOING flows best out of BEING.

Let's BE who God has empowered us to BE and DO the supernatural work of His kingdom!