In honor of Reformation Day, here are some complaints I’m nailing on the
Wittenberg door.
Long before there was an Occupy Wall Street, Martin Luther staged the most
important protest in history. He was upset because Roman Catholic officials
were promising people forgiveness or early escape from purgatory in exchange
for money.
So on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed a long list of complaints on the door
of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Luther’s famous 95 theses were translated from Latin into German and spread
abroad. Like a medieval Jeremiah, Luther dared to ask questions that had
never been asked, and he challenged a pope who was supposedly infallible.
Through this brave monk, the Holy Spirit sparked the Protestant Reformation
and restored the doctrine of grace to a church that had become corrupt,
religious, dysfunctional, political and spiritually dead.
I am no Luther, but I’ve grown increasingly aware that the so-called
“Spirit-filled” church of today struggles with many of the same things the
Catholic church faced in the 1500s. We don’t have “indulgences”—we have
telethons. We don’t have popes—we have super-apostles. We don’t support an
untouchable priesthood—we throw our money at celebrity evangelists who own
fleets of private jets.
In honor of Reformation Day, I’m offering my own list of needed reforms in
our movement. And since I can’t hammer these on the Wittenberg door, I’ll
post them online. Feel free to nail them everywhere.
1. Let’s reform our theology. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the
Trinity. He is God and He is holy. He is not an “it.” He is not a blob, a
force, or an innate power. We must stop manipulating Him, commanding Him and
throwing Him around.
2. Let’s return to the Bible. The Word of God is the foundation for the
Christian experience. Any dramatic experience, no matter how spiritual it
seems, must be tested by the Word and the Holy Spirit’s discernment.
Visions, dreams, prophecies and encounters with angels must be in line with
Scripture. If we don’t test them we could end up spreading deception.
3. It’s time for personal responsibility. We charismatics must stop blaming
everything on demons. People are usually the problem.
4. Stop playing games. Spiritual warfare is a reality, but we are not going
to win the world to Jesus just by shouting at demonic principalities. We
must pray, preach and persevere to see ultimate victory.
5. Stop the foolishness. People who hit, slap or push others during prayer
should be asked to sit down until they learn gentleness is a fruit of the
Holy Spirit.
6. End all spiritual extortion now. Christian television ministries must
cease and desist from all manipulative fundraising tactics.
We must stop giving platforms to ministers who make outlandish claims of
supernatural financial returns, especially when Scripture is twisted,
deadlines are imposed and the poor are exploited.
7. No more Lone Rangers. Those who claim to be ministers of God—whether
they are traveling evangelists, local pastors or heads of ministries—must be
accountable to other leaders. Any who refuse to submit their lives to godly
discipline should be corrected.
8. Expose the creeps. Churches should start doing background checks on
traveling ministers. Preachers who have been hiding criminal records, lying
about their past marriages, preying on women or refusing to pay child
support should be exposed as charlatans and shunned if they do not repent.
9. Stop faking the anointing. God is God, and He does not need our “help”
to manifest Himself. That means we don’t sprinkle glitter on ourselves to
suggest God’s glory is with us, hide fake jewels on the floor to prove we
are anointed or pull chicken feathers out of our sleeves to pretend angels
are in the room. This is lying to the Holy Spirit.
10. Let’s return to purity. We’ve had enough scandals. The charismatic
church must develop a system for the restoration of fallen ministers. Those
who fall morally can be restored, but they must be willing to submit to a
process of healing rather than rushing immediately back into the pulpit.
11. We need humility. Ministers who demand celebrity treatment, require
lavish salaries, insist on titles or exhibit aloofness from others are
guilty of spiritual pride.
12. No more big shots. Apostles are the bondslaves of Christ, and should be
the most impeccable models of humility. True apostles do not wield top-down,
hierarchical authority over the church. They serve the church from the
bottom up as true servants.
13. Never promote gifts at the expense of character. Those who operate in
prophecy, healing and miracles must also exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
And while we continue to encourage the gift of tongues, let’s make sure we
don’t treat it like some kind of badge of superiority. The world needs to
see our love, not our glossolalia.
14. Hold the prophets accountable. Those who refuse to take responsibility
for inaccurate statements should not be given platforms. And “prophets” who
live immoral lives don’t deserve a public voice.
15. Let’s make the main thing the main thing. The purpose of the Holy
Spirit’s anointing is to empower us to reach others. We are at a crossroads
today: Either we continue off-course, entertained by our charismatic
sideshows, or we throw ourselves into evangelism, church planting, missions,
discipleship, and compassionate ministry that helps the poor and fights
injustice. Churches that embrace this New Reformation will focus on God’s
priorities.
by J. Lee Grady
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