The Future of Public Ministry

Posted by Daniel on Oct 25, 2011 in Prophetic Topics | 3 comments

Earlier today, Rick Joyner’s people posted this quote:

The Lord has prepared a ministry for the last days that will be the marvel of men and angels. These will not be self-seeking or self-promoting, and most of them will remain unknown to the world—even to much of the church. Their works and preaching will stir nations, but many will fade into the crowds and disappear before anyone even knows who they are.

This speaks to me and the direction the church is heading. Too many of us have grown up thinking that ministry means being on the church staff.

Lance Wallnau, Mark Chironna, and others are leading a movement that draws prophetic, innovative believers out of the church and thrusts them into the public spheres of culture: politics, media, arts/entertainment, education, family, business, and religion.

By eliminating the isolationism of old church culture, the everyday believer becomes a powerful-though-sometimes-unknown agent of change in the world.

Now let me transition. What I’m about to say is my own opinion.

I don’t feel compelled to contend for revival. I feel compelled to follow the example of men like Bill Johnson, who prayed a thousand times for people to be healed before he saw a single healing.

During that time, he could have sat in a prayer room somewhere begging for God to move. Or through tenacity he could demonstrate his commitment and begin to see people’s lives transformed. That’s my preference.

I’m not opposed to the night and day intercession / worship model I see growing around the world. It may very well open the portals we’ve been longing for. But at this time, I do not personally feel called to gather in a room with other believers and beg God to pour out His spirit. I believe He’s already promised to do that.

Many people do not see the strategy behind what God has me doing right now, so I must leave room for the possibility that I do not see the strategy behind what others are doing as well.

It’s possible that the one opens spiritual doors for the other.

It’s my concern that you and I don’t spend too much of our lives waiting and begging when we could be out doing. Unlike 15 years ago, I’ll be okay if we don’t have a city-wide outpouring of the Spirit that keeps people from working or that leads to 12 hour worship services if instead we have 20,000 believers actively engaging people at their jobs and coffee shops with prayer, prophecy, healing, acts of love, raising the dead, etc.

What About the Upper Room Model?

I’m still meditating on this, because of course we see the Upper Room is where the apostles waited and were imbued with power. Some will argue that we need to gather, pray, and wait for the outpouring.

Others would argue that we have that same power already and that they had an Upper Room experience because they had not had a salvation experience per se after the death and resurrection of the Savior.

They were living witnesses. They knew and loved Jesus BEFORE He died for their sins and was raised to new life. Their unique position in human history may have called for a unique salvation/spirit-filling experience different than the rest of us who had no relationship with a physical Jesus prior to salvation.

Let’s Not Forget Mary and Martha

And to be fair, Martha was bustling about, doing the work of preparation and service, while her sister sat at Jesus’ feet. Martha is frustrated and asks Jesus to rebuke her sister for not helping with the work. Jesus instead praises Mary for choosing the better part, which is relationship and intimacy.

While it would seem easy to point to this story as an argument for the night and day prayer movement, I would argue that Mary was not caught up in intercession, but rather relationship. When it comes to time with God, both relationship and intercession involve prayer, but they’re very different.

Intercession is its own labor, like hitting the streets and praying for the sick. Relationship is enjoyment. It’s listening, it’s loving, it’s absorbing the essence of the other person.

I think  a person can intercede or physically engage culture and still be in relationship. Either person can take alone time with God.

A Disclaimer:

These are my thoughts as they develop, and are by no means my final say on the matter. It’s very possible that I am reacting to that decade-long period wherein I waited for the Lord to do something instead of actively preparing myself and practicing my abilities. Looking back, I consider myself to have been a confused yet still responsible poor steward of my time.

Just because I wasted time waiting rather than doing doesn’t mean that I think intercessors are wasting their time. I merely mean to say that I am positioning myself more towards doing rather than a lifestyle of night and day intercession because I want to see that lost time redeemed. The eye should never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.”

And that is why I am reserving judgment on things that do not currently appear to pertain to me.

I DO in fact intercede for specific people and groups of people as I feel burdened. I love intercession and the power that is released. I don’t, however, feel personally called to a lifestyle of intercession that focuses on inward collaborating to the detriment of public demonstration.

* photo by cararr

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