Signs in the End Times Church (Part 4)
Part 4 – Marriage of the Administrative and Prophetic
Continued from Parts 1, 2, and 3 http://mitchellmalloy.blogspot.com/2012/06/signs-in-end-times-church.html
So looking back at the preceding sections, the church represented by Ephesus has a strong administrative gifting yet suffers with a love problem. Meanwhile the sister church in Thyatira tolerates misleading doctrine as a result of its desire for greater prophetic understanding. (Revelation 2)
Continued from Parts 1, 2, and 3 http://mitchellmalloy.blogspot.com/2012/06/signs-in-end-times-church.html
So looking back at the preceding sections, the church represented by Ephesus has a strong administrative gifting yet suffers with a love problem. Meanwhile the sister church in Thyatira tolerates misleading doctrine as a result of its desire for greater prophetic understanding. (Revelation 2)
The prophetic and administrative gifts of the Spirit… passion and wisdom… find their union under Christ with difficulty. Yet somehow, these need to be woven together in love (see http://mitchellmalloy.blogspot.com/2011/01/extraordinary-gifts.html). I’ve seen this play out as a struggle for dominance within church bodies, where some administrative authorities earnestly squash the practice of any extraordinary spiritual gift. At the other extreme, the prophetic rebels against the ordinary gifts (e.g. – leadership, wisdom and knowledge) as oppressive, but without the loving and empowering leadership of the administrative gifts, the prophetic tends to tolerate teachings and pleasure-seeking of Christian Witchcraft, prone to every deception and doctrinal error Satan wants to throw their way. And without the supernatural, on-going experience of God, the purely administrative church is in danger of losing its First Love, having its lampstand removed.
I don’t think either option is acceptable. And just as I believe that “Divorce” and “Unhappily Married” aren’t the only options in marriage, so I believe there is a “Happily Married” option for the administrative and prophetic gifts that’s worth pursuing in every church. Just as God has provided headship within a marriage relationship, I believe He has a headship model for the Church (Eph 5:21-33). Christ is undoubtedly the Head of the Church, and I believe He exercises that authority through the administrative gifts. (1 Cor 14:29-40) The Bereans were applauded for their due diligence in researching Scripture when presented with a new revelation. (Acts 17:11)
I believe that the marriage of the administrative and prophetic occurs when both camps understand how they were meant to interact within the church: the administrative gifts empower the right use of the prophetic and the prophetic submits to the headship of the administrative. There is no “either / or” competition between the ordinary and the extraordinary; rather, they complete each other. And like a marriage relationship, they dialogue in mutual submission to Christ, respecting the structure He has given them in which to mature.
For an administrative head, the tough job of leadership is making the hard decisions, carrying the responsibility to direct Christian Education in a way that promotes a growing knowledge and application of the Bible. Church leadership is called to employ Scripture for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training the church in the right way to go. (2 Timothy 3:16) Sometimes, that requires taking a hard stance against prophetic activities that distract from the gospel message, even if they seem otherwise true. (Acts 16:16-18) Misleading teachings, intimidations and pleasure-ploys of Jezebel need to be unequivocally confronted, rebuked and cast out of church. In a healthy church, the prophetic willfully and humbly submits to the administrative headship: encouraging the leadership in the headship role, offering revelation for review and acknowledgement, assisting in the discernment process, and promoting true intimacy with God.
Continued... Part 5 - Closing Thoughts
http://mitchellmalloy.blogspot.com/2012/07/signs-in-end-times-church-part-5.html
I don’t think either option is acceptable. And just as I believe that “Divorce” and “Unhappily Married” aren’t the only options in marriage, so I believe there is a “Happily Married” option for the administrative and prophetic gifts that’s worth pursuing in every church. Just as God has provided headship within a marriage relationship, I believe He has a headship model for the Church (Eph 5:21-33). Christ is undoubtedly the Head of the Church, and I believe He exercises that authority through the administrative gifts. (1 Cor 14:29-40) The Bereans were applauded for their due diligence in researching Scripture when presented with a new revelation. (Acts 17:11)
I believe that the marriage of the administrative and prophetic occurs when both camps understand how they were meant to interact within the church: the administrative gifts empower the right use of the prophetic and the prophetic submits to the headship of the administrative. There is no “either / or” competition between the ordinary and the extraordinary; rather, they complete each other. And like a marriage relationship, they dialogue in mutual submission to Christ, respecting the structure He has given them in which to mature.
For an administrative head, the tough job of leadership is making the hard decisions, carrying the responsibility to direct Christian Education in a way that promotes a growing knowledge and application of the Bible. Church leadership is called to employ Scripture for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training the church in the right way to go. (2 Timothy 3:16) Sometimes, that requires taking a hard stance against prophetic activities that distract from the gospel message, even if they seem otherwise true. (Acts 16:16-18) Misleading teachings, intimidations and pleasure-ploys of Jezebel need to be unequivocally confronted, rebuked and cast out of church. In a healthy church, the prophetic willfully and humbly submits to the administrative headship: encouraging the leadership in the headship role, offering revelation for review and acknowledgement, assisting in the discernment process, and promoting true intimacy with God.
Continued... Part 5 - Closing Thoughts
http://mitchellmalloy.blogspot.com/2012/07/signs-in-end-times-church-part-5.html
