In the America Church going world, there seems to be an unspoken agreement with most pastors. Here’s how it works. If you take it easy on us, we’ll take it easy on you. Therefore, if you take the edge off the bold righteous word of God, we will continue to support you. However, this keeps pastors from becoming prophetic pastors.
Prophetic pastors preach the power of the bold biblical truth without compromise. Their speaking encourages the Holy Spirit to convict the darkness in every single church attendee. This enables the soul of the hearer to perceive the truth of God through the Holy Spirit that exposes the moral, religious, and cultural decadence present inside of every church attendee. Prophetic Shepherds are filled with divine audacity and not swayed by internal church politics nor detoured by people who only want to hear unconvicting bible stories. These pastors challenge the body of Christ to work and stive to destroy the devils work (1 John 3:8). Their ministry places a strong emphasis on scripture, hearing from God, discerning what God presently wants, and calling the body of Christ to repent and respond faithfully. These shepherds focus on taking the church outside, teaching and courageously pushing them to fulfill the great commission. (Matthew 28:19-20). They do this because they know Jesus called His church an Ekklesia, which in Greek and Roman times was a public civic assembly where citizens gathered to discuss urgent matters, and exercise certain governmental authority. Prophetic pastors know Christ’s church must be involved outside the church to have an authoritative dimension in the public square of opinion.
This knowledge enables prophetic pastors to apply the wisdom of scripture that will impact the present day. Empowering their congregations to confront their sins, and that of the cultural darkness in which they live. They implore the body to never compromise nor silence God’s truth because this causes spiritual blindness. They lead from the front, directing the congregation towards active spiritual growth through faith in action, in and outside the church. They stand and emphasize discernment, repentance, holiness, and obedience in action, while warning the flock of spiritual and cultural dangers. Their prophetic ministry reveals, where the body must go to destroy the devils work, and how they must speak Christ’s truth into the public realm. These Shepherds cannot be silent because they are called to open their mouths boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel of Christ (Ephesian 6:11-20). All the above is in addition to the pastoral work to be done in their churches.
However, the truth for too long is the America church has gone into a slumber. They mistook comfortable for strength, substituted attendance for steadfastness and speaking the unoffensive word of God as a measure of righteousness. They told themselves, so long as people were coming to church and being saved, it did not matter whether disciples were being made. They assumed that when the Church was functioning smoothly, the adversaries outside would always behave irresponsibly and the invisible hand of God would correct their vulnerabilities. This enacted the churches gradual fall to insignificance, while they reassured themselves with assumptions, they had accumulated that they were somehow more important than what their culture saw them to be. Somewhere along the way their clergy lost sight of the foundational principles of Christ that the previous generations understood instinctively.
Sadly, the church’s gradual insignificance was contributed to by most pastors in America who abided by the unspoken agreement. They stopped preaching the whole bold biblical truth that defines what God stands against because most attendees do not want to hear this. They instead focused on pastoral work which was good but this wisdom and enabled them to dilute the significance of public biblical evils with platitudes and justifications. Then they created never speaks, which are public and political evils that justified not exposing the undeniable events of darkness all Christian churches must stand against. Now they stand against little or nothing publicly and only dabble in explaining what God calls an abomination by silently passing over the most egregious elements, and then apologizing for having to bring up the subject. “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic” (James 3:15).
Their justification is obvious. First boldly standing against evil takes courage but many are cowardly hirings who fear the truth of God will be offensive to those church goers who live in darkness. This silently destroys the reason for the Holy Spirit to pierce even to the division of soul and spirit of the person, and turn people’s darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Christ. Second, this is caused by the American church attendees having an unspoken, unwritten agreement with most pastors. These pastors have agreed not to have the divine audacity of one of the most effective Evangelist, George Whitefield who said, “It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher.”
Many of today’s church goers require sermons about love, peace, piety, and fellowship, so their attendance can fulfill their own good purpose. These require a comfort enterprise, offering feelings of love, fellowship, inspirational speaking, great music, children’s programs, and preaching on all of what Christ can do for them. They unknowingly become a quasi-dead sea as they “…will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3). Many in the body today are requiring pastors to teach them what Bonhoeffer called ‘Cheap Grace.’ This is salvation without cost, forgiveness without transformation and discipleship without suffering which prevents the body from becoming doers of the word and being transformed into the image of Christ (James 1:22 – 2 Corinthians 3:18).
The words of Jesus defined costly grace, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus wasn’t being poetic when he said these words. In the first century the cross was an instrument of torture, of execution. His disciples would have pictured the crucified bodies as they walked on Roman roadways. Jesus was telling them, to follow Him would take courage, steadfastness, and denying themselves for His purpose.
Compare what today’s church attendees want with what the Apostle Paul taught in Philippians 2:12-16. “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them (reflect the light of Christ) like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”
Bold truth, as we know, is controversial in today’s church because Christ’s truth condemns evil and the Holy Spirit will expose what every Christian is to personally and publicly stand against. Most church goers and pastors do not want to actively stand against anything controversial. They want to be invisible, appreciated and seen as righteous. However, Jesus said; “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so, you will be My disciples” (John 15:7-8). Bearing much fruit comes from denying ourselves and carrying our own cross, not from seeking love, peace, piety, and fellowship for our own benefit. When love, peace, piety, and fellowship is the by-product that is earned, when standing and denying ourselves by carrying our own cross for Jesus the Christ.
This is a warning and prophecy for pastors: The minute pastors decide to repent and break this unspoken agreement, all of hell will break loose against them. However, this day will be the beginning of the greatest season of their ministry. This will be the moment all heaven breaks loose in their churches, and the spirit of God will move mountains and absolutely astound them.
Why will this happen? All Disciples of Christ are called to abide in Christ while they speak the power of God’s truth into darkness so the Holy Spirit can turn darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Christ, (Acts 1:8 & 26:18). Faith in Christ compels us to speak, (2 Cor 4:12-14), because without speaking the minds who are blinded will not see the light, (2 Cor 4:4). For the Word of God causes the Spirit Himself to make intercession for us, (Romans 8:26). For the Spirit without the Word is mute! The Word without the Spirit is powerless. For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, …and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, we are God’s mouthpiece and use great boldness of speech, (2 Cor 3:12). For we war against evil by the power of God’s Word, for pulling down arguments against the knowledge of God! (2 Cor 10:4-6). Knowing, we will be hated by all for Christ’s name’s sake (Luke 21:17), and if persecuted for righteousness’s sake, Christ will bless us, for great is our reward in heaven, (Matthew 5:12).
May God bless prophetic bold pastors who emulate Jesus, Peter, Paul, James, John, and the rest of the righteous Prophets and Disciples in the Old and New Testaments.
David Howard, Foxhole Ministry, Park City, Montana