WesleyGospel Ministries

Based on Ephesians 4:17-5:21 and William Law’s The Absolute Unlawfulness of the Stage Entertainment.

In my mind, there are three aspects in the evaluation of a church model that are critical for my stamp of approval for an “ideal church”; not a “perfect church” as the so often cop-out cliché is used, but an ideal one.

1. The Pastor.

2. The Good Works.

3. The Koinonia.

These three aspects are what I will use to evaluate my vision of what an ideal Pentecostal church would look like.

1. The Pastor. Without the pastor having a holy life, in pursuit of God, and living in separation from the world, with its sexual and profane movies and TV programs, with its endless intellectual excuses for carnal behavior, and countless diversions; without a pastor that studies the Bible, teaches and preaches the Bible and the New Testament gospel, there can be no church. It starts with the pastor. He determines the spiritual climate of his church–and him alone! Church members might cause trouble at times, but the pastor is the spiritual thermostat. He is the one at fault if lukewarmness enters the church. It is all his fault if this happens. The pastor must constantly have a steady stream of Puritan, Reformed, and Wesleyan books in the pipeline. He should be ever increasing in his understanding and personal application of New Testament sanctification; and preach what he practices, with heart searching and heart rending precision. He should avoid preaching against no sin; and avoid no subject that would contribute to the deliverance of his hearers. First and foremost, he must be a Gospel preacher; he should know the book of Romans inside and out; Justification and Sanctification should be his theological strong suites, and soteriology; he should always be pointing many to righteousness! Read Richard Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor, Charles Finney’s Lectures on Revivals of Religion, John MacArthur’s Pastoral Ministry, Iain Murray’s John MacArthur, Thomas Oden’s Pastoral Theology, Carol Wimber’s John Wimber, and Gary Wilkerson’s David Wilkerson.

Now for the Pentecostal aspect. Sure the praise and worship would be heartfelt, sincere, in Spirit and in truth, concentrated, often with closed eyes, and raised hands, and loud cymbals (Ps. 150). But read Frank Bartleman’s Azusa Street. The Pentecostal pastor would imitate William J. Seymour. He would facilitate “Holy Ghost meetings” where spiritually hungry people could seek and pray for the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Also, there would be times of prayer for healing and deliverance (see John Wimber’s Power Healing, aka “ministry time”). It wouldn’t just be the pastor either (1 Cor. 14:26). He would see himself like Elijah, raising up a school or church of prophets, seers, and prophetesses. He wouldn’t just be a preacher, he’d also be a facilitator for the miraculous gifts among others present. He would, like Wesley, give opportunities for training lay preachers, in the pulpit and in the streets. In a word, he would be a revivalist, a prophet, a man of God, and live above approach inasmuch as it is possible, God helping him. Read Donald Gee’s Concerning Spiritual Gifts, Stanley Frodsham’s Smith Wigglesworth, and Larry Martin’s “The Azusa Street Library.”

2. The Good Works. Matthew 25:31-46 on the judgment of the sheep and the goats, would play a big role in the church’s sense of mission and good works. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, quenching the thirsty, visiting those who are sick or in prison, and harboring the homeless:–these would occupy the church’s calendar of events; and most definitely not those popular “bless me club” events which have no support in the Bible. The Great Commission would be fulfilled by street meetings, small and large; and also, through other innovative evangelistic ideas, so long as there is no conflict with Scripture; and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly being preached. Praying for the sick would be implemented in public. Read George Railton’s The Authoritative Life of William Booth and Thomas Oden’s The Good Works Reader.

3. The Koinonia. Genuine, authentic, godly, holy Christian friendships cannot grow if the pastor is authoritarian (Acts 2:42). The pastor must embody a loving, godly friendliness (koinonia) in order for the gift to spread to others in the church. Koinonia is contagious, but again, this rests on the pastor’s attitude towards others in the church. If he just preaches against their sins on Sunday, rather than targeting society’s sins (out there), then its going to hurt them, and they will feel more and more distant from him. Secondly, if the pastor has a “pastor’s mystique” idea that he’s operating with–that’s not good. He must be more friendly than everyone else (but not in a fake way); he has to be himself, and just not put on a front. He must be the same person on Sunday that he is on Tuesday evening with his family. Read David Johnson’s The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.

In 2013, John MacArthur published a book and conference on the theme of Strange Fire, a designation he applies to the charismatic movement. I am a Wesleyan Pentecostal; and this is my response to his Reformed cessationist conference.

Introduction
Response to Session 1 (Worship) – 24:40
Response to Session 2 (Healing) – 1:09:00
Response to Session 3 (Calvin) – 1:14:40
Response to Session 4 (Africa) – 1:20:38
Response to Session 5 (Discernment) – 1:21:26
Response to Session 6 (Cessationism) – 1:33:35
Response to Session 7 (Scripture) – 1:45:55
Response to Session 8 (Africa) – 1:50:56
Response to Session 9 (Conclusion) – 1:52:04

Originally from here.

Now that the video of the Q&A at Advance 09 is available, I can look at it and feel bad all over again. Here’s what I regret, indeed what I have apologized for to the person who asked the question.

The first question to me and Mark Driscoll was, “Piper says get rid of my TV, and Driscoll says buy extra DVRs. How do you reconcile this difference?”

I responded, “Get your sources right. . . . I never said that in my life.”

Almost as soon as it was out of my mouth, I felt: “What a jerk, Piper!” A jerk is a person who nitpicks about the way a question is worded rather than taking the opportunity to address the issue in a serious way. I blew it at multiple levels.

So I was very glad when the person who asked the question wrote to me. I wrote back,

Be totally relieved that YOU did not ask a bad question. I gave a useless and unhelpful, and I think snide, answer and missed a GOLDEN opportunity to make plain the dangers of the triviality you referred to. . . . I don’t know why I snapped about the wording of the question instead of using it for what it was intended for. It was foolish and I think sinful.

So let me see if I can do better now. I can’t give an answer for what Mark means by “buy extra DVRs,” but I can tell you why my advice sounds different. I suspect that Mark and I would not agree on the degree to which the average pastor needs to be movie-savvy in order to be relevant, and the degree to which we should expose ourselves to the world’s entertainment.

I think relevance in preaching hangs very little on watching movies, and I think that much exposure to sensuality, banality, and God-absent entertainment does more to deaden our capacities for joy in Jesus than it does to make us spiritually powerful in the lives of the living dead. Sources of spiritual power—which are what we desperately need—are not in the cinema. You will not want your biographer to write: Prick him and he bleeds movies.

If you want to be relevant, say, for prostitutes, don’t watch a movie with a lot of tumbles in a brothel. Immerse yourself in the gospel, which is tailor-made for prostitutes; then watch Jesus deal with them in the Bible; then go find a prostitute and talk to her. Listen to her, not the movie. Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners.

There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them.

I have a high tolerance for violence, high tolerance for bad language [edit:–why? as entertainment? Col. 3:8?], and zero tolerance for nudity. There is a reason for these differences. The violence is make-believe. They don’t really mean those bad words. But that lady is really naked, and I am really watching. And somewhere she has a brokenhearted father.

I’ll put it bluntly. The only nude female body a guy should ever lay his eyes on is his wife’s. The few exceptions include doctors, morticians, and fathers changing diapers. “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1). What the eyes see really matters. “Everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Better to gouge your eye than go to hell (verse 29).

Brothers, that is serious. Really serious. Jesus is violent about this. What we do with our eyes can damn us. One reason is that it is virtually impossible to transition from being entertained by nudity to an act of “beholding the glory of the Lord.” But this means the entire Christian life is threatened by the deadening effects of sexual titillation.

All Christ-exalting transformation comes from “beholding the glory of Christ.” “Beholding the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Whatever dulls the eyes of our mind from seeing Christ powerfully and purely is destroying us. There is not one man in a thousand whose spiritual eyes are more readily moved by the beauty of Christ because he has just seen a bare breast with his buddies.

But leave sex aside (as if that were possible for fifteen minutes on TV). It’s the unremitting triviality that makes television so deadly. What we desperately need is help to enlarge our capacities to be moved by the immeasurable glories of Christ. Television takes us almost constantly in the opposite direction, lowering, shrinking, and deadening our capacities for worshiping Christ.

One more smaller concern with TV (besides its addictive tendencies, trivialization of life, and deadening effects): It takes time. I have so many things I want to accomplish in this one short life. Don’t waste your life is not a catchphrase for me; it’s a cliff I walk beside every day with trembling.

TV consumes more and more time for those who get used to watching it. You start to feel like it belongs. You wonder how you could get along without it. I am jealous for my evenings. There are so many things in life I want to accomplish. I simply could not do what I do if I watched television. So we have never had a TV in 40 years of marriage (except in Germany, to help learn the language). I don’t regret it.

Sorry again, for the bad answer. I hope this helps.

And when the Son of Man comes, and all the holy angels with Him,
Then shall He sit on His glorious throne,
And He will divide the nations before Him,
As a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

And He shall put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left,
And He shall say to the sheep come ye, blessed of My father,
Inherit the kingdom I have prepared for you from the foundation of the world,
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink,
I was naked, and you clothed Me,
I was a stranger, and you invited Me in,
I was sick, and I was in prison, and you came to Me.
Thank you! enter into your rest.

And they shall answer Him, yes, they shall answer Him,
And they’ll say, Lord, when?
When were you hungry Lord, and we gave you something to eat?
Lord, when were you thirsty? I can’t remember.
And we gave you drink?

Huh, when were you naked Lord, and we clothed you?
And Lord, when were you a stranger and we invited you in?
I mean, we invited lots of people in Lord. I could never forget that face.

And Lord, when were you sick and we visited you?
Or in prison, and we came to you? Lord, tell us?
In as much as you did it to the least of My brethren, you’ve done it unto Me.

Oh yes, as much as you’ve done it to the very least of My brethren, you’ve done it,
You’ve done it unto me. Enter into your rest.

Then He shall turn to those on his left, the goats.
Depart from Me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire,
Prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink,
I was naked, out in the cold, in exposure, and you sent Me away,
I was a stranger, and I knocked at your door,
But you didn’t open, you told Me to go away,
I was sick, racked in pain upon my bed,
And I begged, and prayed, and pleaded that you’d come, but you didn’t,
I was in prison, and I rotted there,
I’d prayed that you’d come.

I heard your programs on the radio, I read your magazines, but you never came.
Depart from Me!

Lord, there must be some mistake, when?
Lord, I mean, when were you hungry Lord and we didn’t give you something to eat?
And Lord, when were you thirsty, and we didn’t give you drink?
I mean, that’s not fair, well, would you like something now?
Would one of the angels like to go out and get the Lord a hamburger and a Coke?
Oh, you’re not hungry, yeah, I lost my appetite too.

Uh Lord uh, Lord, when were you naked,
I mean Lord, that’s not fair either Lord,
We didn’t know what size you wear.
Oh Lord, when were you a stranger Lord,
You weren’t one of those creepy people who used to come to the door, were you?
Oh Lord, that wasn’t our ministry Lord. We just didn’t feel led, you know?
Lord, when were you sick? what did you have, anyway?
Well, at least it wasn’t fatal, oh, it was?
I’m sorry Lord, I would have sent you a card.
Lord, just one last thing we want to know,
When were you in prison Lord? what were you in for anyway?
I had a friend in Levenworth…
Enough!

In as much as you’ve not done it unto the least of My brethren,
You’ve not done it unto Me.
In as much as you’ve not done it unto the least of My brethren,
You’ve not done it unto Me. Depart from Me.
And these shall go away into everlasting fire.
But the righteous into eternal life!

And my friends, the only difference between the sheep and the goats,
According to this Scripture (Matthew 25:31-46),
Is what they did, and didn’t do!

The below can be overwhelming. I suggest two books as a starting point for a Biblical, traditional, rational, and intensely experiential study of spiritual gifts: Wayne Grudem’s The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today and John Wimber’s Power Healing.

The following sources could be resorted to in order to build a solid continuationist worldview, increase your faith for healing, and pray for healing effectively.

Starting with John Wimber and the Association of Vineyard Churches, as a modern ministry platform and church environment, and working our way back in charismatic church history, we can find (provided, with a Reformation view of soteriology):

1. Catholic saints – particularly those called “mystics,” “visionaries,” “miracle-workers.”
2. Eastern Orthodox saints – the same.
3. St. Benedict of Nursia
4. St. Columba
5. Hildegard of Bingen
6. St. Francis of Assisi
7. St. Teresa of Avila
8. John Knox
9. George Fox
10. John Wesley
11. Charles Finney
12. William J. Seymour
13. Smith Wigglesworth
14. John Wimber

The above 14 categories – biographies, journals, books, etc, and pro-charismatic arguments could definitely be solidly maintained on a study of these persons and subjects. The same could be said of the theology of John Fletcher, the commentaries of Adam Clarke and John Wesley, and other early Quaker writings, such as The Journal of George Fox (8 vols.) and Fox’s Book of Miracles.

Books.

Life and Miracles of St Benedict.
Life of St. Columba.
Life of the Holy Hildegard.
Bonaventure’s Life of St. Francis.
Teresa of Avila’s Autobiography, etc.
John Howie’s The Scots’ Worthies (by The Banner of Truth Trust, interestingly enough)
The Works of George Fox (8 vols) – I dreamed about Fox as a true prophet
EFCI’s Barclay Press
Robert Barclay’s An Apology for the True Christian Divinity
Hugh Barbour’s Early Quaker Writings
The Works of John Wesley
Daniel Jennings’ The Supernatural Occurrences of John Wesley – I dreamed it
—–. The Supernatural Occurrences of Charles G. Finney. – I dreamed it
Smith Wigglesworth: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings.
Stanley Frodsham’s Smith Wigglesworth: Apostle of Faith
Francis MacNutt’s Healing. – I dreamed it
—–. The Power to Heal.
—–. The Prayer That Heals.
—–. Deliverance from Evil Spirits.
—–. Overcome by the Spirit.
—–. The Healing Reawakening. (history of healing prayer)
Carol Wimber’s John Wimber: The Way It Was – I dreamed about Wimber
Bill Jackson’s The Quest for the Radical Middle
John Wimber’s Power Evangelism
—–. Power Healing
—–. Power Encounters
—–. Power Points
—–. “Signs & Wonders” DVD set
Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline
—–. Prayer.
Adam Clarke’s Clarke’s Christian Theology
Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology
—–. The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today
Sam Storms’ The Beginners’ Guide to Spiritual Gifts
—–. “A Third Wave View” in Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?
Don Williams’ Signs, Wonders, and the Kingdom of God
Rich Nathan and Ken Wilson’s Empowered Evangelicals
Donald Gee’s Concerning Spiritual Gifts
Harold Horton’s The Gifts of the Spirit
Howard Carter’s Spiritual Gifts and Their Operation
Jack Deere’s Surprised by the Power of the Spirit
—–. Surprised by the Voice of God
—–. The Beginner’s Guide to the Gift of Prophecy
Mike Bickle’s Growing in the Prophetic – I dreamed about Bickle
Gary Greig and Kevin Springer’s The Kingdom and the Power
Jeff Doles’ Miracles and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the History of the Church
John Piper’s Keep in Step with the Spirit
Randy Clark‘s The Essential Guide to the Power of the Holy Spirit
—–. Words of Knowledge
—–. The Essential Guide to Healing
—–. Power to Heal
—–. The Biblical Guidebook to Deliverance
—–. There Is More!
—–. Healing Unplugged
—–. Finding Victory When Healing Doesn’t Happen
—–. Biblical Basis for Healing
—–. Power, Holiness, and Evangelism
—–. Learning to Minister Under the Anointing
—–. Ministry Team Training Manual – I dreamed about it in 2010

Veho Muvi mini camera. Six Day Creation, Justification, and Sanctification. 11/14/15