GETTING THE GOSPEL RIGHT AND GETTING THE GOSPEL OUT
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Modern Reformation May/June 2024 Vol. 33, No. 3
REFORMATION OUTTAKES | Floating Church, Free Church: Naval Policies in the Long Reformation | by Zachary Purvis
ESSAY | The New Prophecy: Echoes of Montanism in the New Apostolic Reformation
by Aaron Philip
| The Novel Apostolic Reformation: An Interview with Holly Pivec and R. Douglas
| by Brannon Ellis
| The Framing of a Movement: Defining the New Apostolic Reformation
by Evan P. Pietsch and R. Vivian Pietsch
ESSAY | A Movement’s Music: Should We Invite NAR Worship into Our Churches?
by Ray Burns
The New Apostolic Reformation: A Brief Bibliography| by Evan P. and R. Vivian Pietsch
illustration by Raxenne Maniquiz
No other magazine brings together confessional Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, and Baptist representatives to discuss the significant biblical and cultural issues of our day. We’re committed to helping you hone your theological thinking and share your insights effectively with others. Your support allows Modern Reformation to keep this conversation going strong.
WE SIMPLY CANNOT
know which direction we should go unless we have some idea of where we’re going. For more than thirty years, by the grace of God, this magazine has been charting our course toward one destination summed up in our oft-used motto: For a modern reformation
One way to keep focused on our destination is by asking: What would a modern reformation look like? Here are five ingredients we believe are essential to any faithful answer.
1. A return to God’s word as the only sufficient and unfailing rule of faith and life . A modern reformation must be characterized by an intelligent, believing, prayerful return to the wisdom and power of God’s Spirit speaking in the Scriptures.
2. A recovery of the doctrines of grace, especially justification through faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone. The doctrines of grace not only exalt the good news of Jesus Christ to its proper place of prominence, but they also drive us back to him as the only foundation of our assurance, holiness, maturity, and fruitfulness—to the glory of God alone.
3. A commitment to catholicity and confessionalism . The Protestant Reformers didn’t abandon the catholic (“universal”) faith or the church; they called both Rome and the radicals to true catholicity. This doesn’t mean that we who are committed to reformation will all agree, but it does mean that our unity isn’t found in personalities, causes, or cultures but in communities of shared confession: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5).
4. A renewal of biblical worship and discipleship. Worship that is truly reformed emphasizes
the centrality of word and sacraments as God’s ordinary means to enliven and equip disciples of Jesus. This leads to mature disciples who know what they believe and why they believe it. And reformation leads to a renewal of the doctrine of vocation, in which not just church ministry but every legitimate kind of work or social function is a distinct calling from God through which he both provides for us and blesses our neighbor.
5. An embrace of the church’s global character and mission . The Reformers weren’t pursuing worldly success or narrow personal, ethnic, or national interests. They were pursuing Christ’s mission of building his church, a heavenly temple lovingly crafted of living stones gathered from every language and tribe (1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 7:9).
This is a beautiful and exciting vision of reformation, and Lord, may it be so!
Another way to keep focused on our destination is to ask the opposite question: What wouldn’t a modern reformation look like? Sadly, the subject of our current issue—the New Apostolic Reformation movement—is a fitting example of what a modern reformation is not. Yet it has been, by any human measure, deeply successful. This should move us to grieve and pray for a true modern reformation. But it should also remind us that we can’t focus so much on the need of reform in Christ’s church that we lose sight of the Christ who promises to uphold his church. “He who calls you is faithful,” and in his way and according to his timing, “he will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:24).
Brannon Ellis Executive Editor
Learning from the wisdom of the past
This particular anchor dates from the middle of the nineteenth century and belonged to, of all things, a Protestant church. In the Disruption of 1843, one-third of the ministers in the Church of Scotland left their denomination because of state interference in ecclesiastical matters and formed the Free Church of Scotland—a confessional Presbyterian body committed to the spiritual independence of the church, a doctrine with deep roots in the Reformation. The fledgling Free Church immediately faced a serious problem: the hostile attitude of landed proprietors. Congregations had to gain approval, if not goodwill, from landowners on whom they largely depended to grant them new sites for worship. Yet, many landowners initially remained sympathetic to the mainline Church of Scotland or even belonged to the Episcopal Church. When the appeals of Free Church communities met with refusal, they carried on by worshiping on public roads in the Highlands, in gravel pits on the Isle of Mull, in distilleries near Campbeltown. All along the north, east, and west coasts, they gathered on intertidal zones—wet patches of sand, exposed only when the tides were out, that belonged to everyone and no one because they were legally considered part of the sea. Because their true-covenant Lord had summoned them to worship, congregations assembled wherever they could, whatever the cost.3 These displaced Scots might have recalled fondly the old saying “Presbyterianism is no religion for a gentleman” and worn it gladly. REFORMATION OUTTAKES
I’M TELLING YOU: Everything on Ardnamurchan Peninsula is dramatic and remote. The most westerly point of mainland Britain, perched on Scotland’s coast, has seemingly eluded time. Vast moorlands, deserted beaches, fjord-like lochs compete only with otters, whales, and white-tailed sea eagles for the attention of guests at romantic isolated inns such as Kilcamb Lodge Hotel. Some years ago, during an extremely low tide, the hotelier spotted a gigantic mushroom-shaped anchor along the shore. Divers retrieved it; experts investigated it.1 In the end, the artifact was not a medieval relic of daring Norse travelers, as some might have thought, but instead important material evidence for what insiders to historical shoptalk now call the “Long Reformation”: a physical record that directly ties the work and worlds of Luther and Calvin, Knox and Zwingli, Bucer and Tyndale to much later periods—even beyond the Enlightenment. 2
In 1845, the Free Church General Assembly set up a committee to tackle the problem of site refusal. “It happens that in almost all places where sites are urgently required, churches may be built in a fashion differently from that we have been accustomed to,” Robert Candlish, a leading Free Church minister, told fellow ministers. On Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the obstacles seemed insuperable, for on it sat the estate of Sir James Riddell, proprietor of over 100,000 acres. Sir James was a well-traveled man, a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He had little in common with his tenantry. They were mostly Gaelic-speaking Presbyterians; he was an Episcopalian who wanted no Free Church near his mansion house at Strontian on the eastern end of Loch Sunart. A tentative compromise was reached to permit the church at Strontian use of a tent in winter. When Riddell hedged with even more conditions, the agreement foundered.4 In response, the General Assembly authorized a unique “naval policy.” It would build a floating church that could be moored offshore in areas where sites were refused. The Sites Committee contracted with the Port Glasgow shipyard of John Reid & Company for a large iron church, a kind of corrugated shed on a barge. The committee chairman observed,
We have only ordered one, because it is an experiment. I sincerely trust, and I am sure the Commission will unite with me in prayer to God, that this vessel, to be launched to preserve His testimony, may be preserved, that this ark, for the preservation of His own Word among our distant congregations, may be kept safe on the bosom of the deep, until the waters of bitterness have subsided, and peace be restored, when the congregations, returning each to his own sequestered vale or hillside, may then be permitted to erect their own tabernacle, and to send forth their praises to Him who, through much suffering and tribulation, has brought them to see His great salvation.5
In July 1846, the steamer Conqueror towed the floating church up the River Clyde to Loch Sunart. Enthralled villagers gawked from housetops and waved handkerchiefs as though celebrating a victory in war.6 The obvious place to deploy this new dreadnought was underneath the windows of Sir James’s coastal mansion—but they decided not to risk provoking Sir James more than necessary. Instead, the floating church was moored about a mile from Strontian, a hundred and fifty yards offshore. At the first Sunday morning service, between the hours of ten and twelve, the congregation was ferried out for public worship. A visitor described the church as
“Towing the Iron Church into Loch Sunart,” from the 1893 edition of Thomas Brown’s Annals of the Disruption
not only commodious, but in every respect comfortable; and one could almost imagine himself, when seated therein, as listening to the ministrations of the
The church was indeed strange.
. . . Yet for all its strangeness, the floating worship space was also extraordinary.
gospel in one of the neater churches of the metropolis. The peculiarity, however, of the mode of ingress and egress brought vividly but sadly before my mind the melancholy fact, that an otherwise humane Scottish proprietor should so little sympathise with the religious feeling of his tenantry, as to compel them, after worshipping for three years on the shelterless hillside, to seek at last, for conscience’s sake, a place of refuge on the sea. 7
The church was indeed strange. With a low freeboard and high superstructure, it looked like what it was designed to be: a building that could float. The congregation entered from the stern of the vessel, and a pulpit and vestry were at the bow. Benches could seat seven hundred. There was a gauge fixed to the bow that measured church attendance by how much the church sank in the water. Three skylights provided the only source of illumination.8
Yet for all its strangeness, the floating worship space was also extraordinary. One contemporaneous minister, Rev. Finlay Macpherson, recalled the experience:
No one can scarcely enter it without feeling a peculiar solemnity remembering the cause for which this devoted and interesting congregation have been compelled thus to assemble there and to worship their God on the bosom of the deep. In stormy weather it is rather inconvenient and it is always tedious for such a large congregation to get on board and afterwards to get ashore. When I preached there the day was very short so that the darkness of night was coming on before we could leave the Floating Church and notwithstanding the provision made by having good boats in attendance and strong cables fixed to the shore the passage tho’ short
1. “Reminder of famous Floating Church surfaces,” The Herald, May 21, 2000, https://www.heraldscotland.com/ news/12241022.remainder-of-famous-floating-churchsurfaces; “Bid to raise last relic of Strontian’s floating kirk,” BBC News, November 1, 2016, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ uk-scotland-highlands-islands-37825362.
2. See, e.g., Nicholas Tyacke, ed., England’s Long Reformation 1500–1800 (London: UCL Press, 1998); Peter G. Wallace, The Long European Reformation: Religion, Political Conflict,
and the Search for Conformity, 1350–1750 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004); John McCallum, ed., Scotland’s Long Reformation: New Perspectives on Scottish Religion, c.1500–c.1660 (Leiden: Brill, 2016); Sari Katajala-Peltomaa, ed., Lived Religion and the Long Reformation in Northern Europe, c.1300–1700 (Leiden: Brill, 2016).
3. Thomas Brown, Annals of the Disruption; with Extracts from the Narratives of Ministers who Left the Scottish Establishment in 1843 (Edinburgh: MacNiven & Wallace, 1893), 420–45; N. L.
was rather unpleasant, the boats being much crowded and the shore so rocky and rough and slippery as a landing place.9
On several occasions, the Iron Church at Strontian nearly broke free from its tethers. Extra anchors arrived from Glasgow to secure the vessel—in fact, it is likely one of these supplementary supports that the Kilcamb Lodge hotelier eventually discovered. When the church finally crashed ashore in a heavy gale after more than a year in service, Sir James agreed to let it remain there on dry land: Ardnamurchan became Ararat. For almost thirty years, the congregation continued to worship in the church-boat, no longer floating but embedded in the beach, until a new building was constructed in 1873 and the old ship went to the scrapyard. 10
As the flagship of the Free Church “navy” served a particular purpose, there would be no large fleet. Floating iron churches did not come cheap. Any church with its hull in the water was liable, moreover, to incur high maintenance costs. But the achievement of the Floating Church has endured far beyond its actual lifespan. It testifies to basic Reformation principles in nineteenth-century Highlands garb: the necessity of the church gathering to worship, the freedom and spiritual independence of the church, and the collective determination to make provision for distant congregations in need. For good reason, it is remembered as a fitting “house of God,” an “extraordinary Bethel.” 11
Zachary Purvis (MAHT, Westminster Seminary California; DPhil, University of Oxford) teaches church history and theology at Edinburgh Theological Seminary.
For almost thirty years, the congregation continued to worship in the church-boat, no longer floating but embedded in the beach, until a new building was constructed in 1873 and the old ship went to the scrapyard.
Walker, Chapters from the History of the Free Church of Scotland (Edinburgh: Oliphant, 1895), 41–47. For one broad contemporary perspective, see Allan W. MacColl, Land, Faith and the Crofting Community (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006).
4. Lionel A. Ritchie, “The Floating Church of Loch Sunart,” Records of the Scottish Church History Society 22 (1985): 159–73.
5. Witness (November 22, 1854).
6. Scottish Guardian (July 24, 1846).
7. Witness (July 22, 1846).
8. Brown, Annals of the Disruption, 655–57.
9. Quoted in Ritchie, “The Floating Church of Loch Sunart,” 170.
10. Alastair Cameron, The Floating Church of Strontian (Oban, UK: The Oban Times, 1953).
11. See, e.g., Acts of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, 1889–1893 (Edinburgh, 1893), 422 (June 2, 1891).
IN 1994, A FULLER SEMINARY PROFESSOR studying church growth coined a term for a movement he believed encapsulated the most radical development in church history since the Reformation. 1 In his telling, this movement reached further back than the Reformation. Its roots lay in the age of the New Testament apostles, and its goal would be to recover the Great Commission by restoring something crucial that had been lost for nearly two millennia: the church offices of apostle and prophet. The professor was C. Peter Wagner (1930–2016), and the name he coined was the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR). Wagner not only named the NAR, but became its unofficial spokesman, helping it to grow into a movement that today boasts some of the fastest-growing churches in the world. 2 How new, though, is the New Apostolic Reformation?
Eighteen hundred years ago, another movement entered the stage of church history. This movement would become known as Montanism, named after its founder, Montanus. He first rose to prominence around AD 172, claiming that he and others of his followers were prophets bringing a fresh outpouring of inspired revelation to the church.3 The early church was not convinced. Mainstream orthodox Christians ardently opposed Montanism, such that by the third century, the church had firmly placed Montanism in the category of heresy.4
While the NAR displays a number of distinctive (and troubling) similarities to such aberrant movements in church history, in this essay I will focus on just one: the continuing prophetic office. Both groups share a belief in progressive, authoritative revelation mediated through prophets, and both officially hold that this new revelation illuminates and supplements Scripture without superseding it. In doing so, however, Montanism and the NAR functionally elevate prophecy to the same level as Scripture. Because Montanism and the NAR share a commitment to an ongoing, revelatory prophetic office, the classic Christian opposition to Montanism based on the church’s rejection of new authoritative prophecy also applies to the New Apostolic Reformation.
The distinctive Montanist emphasis on continuing prophecy is evident from the name the movement preferred for itself: the New Prophecy.5 This name highlights two dimensions of Montanism. First, the movement was innovative; Montanus and his followers believed there was a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their day. 6 Montanists viewed the Holy Spirit’s new operation as akin to the first outpouring during the apostolic age yet distinct from it. Second, Montanists
Montanus and other adherents of the New Prophecy . . . intended the church to receive their oracles as fresh utterances of the voice of
believed the Holy Spirit communicated additional, authoritative revelation through the New Prophecy.7
Indeed, the surviving oracles of Montanus demonstrate that he believed he spoke the very words of God. The fourth-century church father Epiphanius transmitted the following two oracles of Montanus: (1) “‘I am the Lord God, the Almighty, dwelling in a man’” and (2) “Neither angel nor messenger, but I the Lord, God the Father, have come.” 8 These proclamations indicate that Montanus and other adherents of the New Prophecy saw their oracles as more than mere biblical interpretations or applications—more than premonitions or even summaries of previous visions. Instead, they intended the church to receive their oracles as fresh utterances of the voice of God with binding authority.
The role of a Montanist prophet was to mediate new revelation as God’s mouthpiece, after the model of the Old and New Testament prophets. As one writer from the early church asserted, “They called us slayers of the prophets because we did not receive their loquacious prophets, who, they say, are those that the Lord promised to send to the people.”9 The promise referenced here is in Matthew 23:24 where Jesus said he would send prophets who would be persecuted and killed. Montanists saw themselves as the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. Like the prophets who also endured persecution before them, Christ had commissioned them to deliver new revelation to the church.10 The key point here is that Montanists did not merely believe in ongoing prophecy but in a continuing prophetic office commissioned by Christ to bring ongoing revelation to the church. Today’s proponents of the NAR, too, believe their prophets receive direct new revelation. Montanists preferred to designate themselves as the New Prophecy because they represented a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit who inspires prophetic ministry. The NAR also sees itself as a new outpouring of the Spirit’s work. Wagner claimed that in 2001, the reestablished offices of apostle and prophet had reached sufficient recognition in the church to inaugurate what he termed the Second Apostolic Age.11 The Second Apostolic Age parallels the First Apostolic Age, lasting for the first two hundred years of the church because the Holy Spirit was once again inspiring the work of prophets and apostles. 12 Regarding prophets in particular, Wagner held that while the gift of prophecy had existed throughout church history, properly speaking, “during the 1980s, the gift and office of prophet began to surface in churches” (emphasis added).13 Wagner believed that the prophets of the NAR not only shared the gift of prophecy that the Old and New Testament prophets had but also filled the ordained ecclesiastical office of prophet.14 Fundamental to this understanding is his interpretation of 1 Corinthians 12:28 (NIV), where Paul states that “God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets,” and of Ephesians 4:11, where he similarly says that “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets” to the church. According to Wagner, these passages indicate that of “those who have the gift of prophecy, a certain few come to be recognized by the body of Christ as having the office of prophet.” 15 NAR prophets are not simply everyday Christians or church leaders who receive supernatural insights from God; rather, reminiscent of Montanist prophets, they
are unique, divinely ordained officers in the church delivering the very utterances of God afresh. In other words, Wagner’s claim that the prophetic office has reemerged in the NAR aligns the movement with the Montanist understanding of the re-establishment of the prophetic office. Both represent new prophetic movements distinct from the original apostolic age yet parallel to it; both claim authority that elevates their prophets to the level of those who delivered inspired revelation in the biblical past; and both movements assert that any opposition to their prophets constitutes opposition to God’s promises in Scripture.
One may object that while NAR prophets claim to receive direct revelation from God, they do not believe that this revelation supersedes the Scriptures. For example, Bill Hamon, a prominent prophet in the NAR, holds this view. In their book A New Apostolic Reformation?, R. Douglas Geivett and Holly Pivec explain that Hamon believes NAR prophecies are merely a recovery of apostolic truths lost in the Middle Ages.16 For Hamon, the NAR is not discarding the Scriptures in favor of new revelation. Instead, the new revelation is a fulfillment of what has gone before. Rick Joyner, another NAR prophet, maintains the same position as Hamon, asserting that one cannot establish any new doctrine from a prophecy or vision since only Scripture has that authority.17 Similar convictions feature in statements of faith from NAR-aligned organizations.18 It seems, then, that NAR proponents maintain the historic Christian view that the Scriptures are the inerrant, infallible word of God and the ultimate authority on matters of doctrine. Does this admittedly high view of Scripture sufficiently distinguish the NAR from the Montanist movement? In reality, Montanists maintained a similar stance toward their prophecies in relation to Scripture.
Like the NAR, the Montanist movement viewed new revelation as a supplement to the Scriptures, not a replacement. This was the view that the church father Tertullian held after he came under Montanist influence later in life.19 Tertullian emphasized the Holy Spirit’s (or Paraclete’s) use of prophecy in guarding the church against error.
It was fit and proper, therefore, that the Holy Ghost should no longer withhold the effusions of His gracious light upon these inspired writings in order that they might be able to disseminate the seeds of truth with no admixture of heretical subtleties and pluck out from it their tares. He has accordingly now dispersed all the perplexities of the past, and their self-chosen allegories and parables, by the open and perspicuous explanation of the entire mystery, through the new prophecy, which descends in copious streams from the Paraclete.20
Tertullian’s point here is that the New Prophecy illuminated past revelation, giving the church an authoritative interpretation of Scripture’s meaning. Tertullian
No matter how much defenders of the movement may have wanted to distance themselves from the charge of introducing novelties to Christian faith and worship, the New Prophecy functionally operated as new Scripture.
maintained a high regard for the “inspired writings” of the apostolic age while believing that the New Prophecy provided a divinely communicated “perspicuous explanation” of those writings.21 This understanding of prophecy parallels that of Bill Hamon, who believes that NAR revelation illuminates Scripture without laying any new doctrine. Proponents of Montanism recognized the New Prophecy in much the same way that proponents of the NAR describe the pronouncements of their own prophets. For both groups, new prophetic revelation does not technically provide new doctrine, nor does it put aside any previous revelation. Instead, new revelation should be interpretive, providing a divine hermeneutic to understand the meaning and application of Scripture. Like the ancient church, however, we must recognize that functionally neither group limits the authority of prophecy in the way they claim.
While prophecy was supposed to be merely interpretive for Montanists, it operated in the teaching and life of their communities in a way that was as authoritative as the Law, Prophets, Gospels, and Epistles. According to Tabbernee, even Tertullian conceded that Montanist prophecy constituted new Scripture in some sense and that Montanists viewed their prophets’ revelations as the final complete revelation for the church.22 Tertullian claimed that the righteousness of God progressed from natural law to the Law and Prophets, to the Gospels, and then finally to a mature state in the age of the Paraclete. 23 By speaking of the New Prophecy as revelation’s maturity, Tertullian placed it at the same level of authority as previous Scripture. For Montanists, how can one’s understanding of Scripture be complete without interpreting it through the mature lens of the New Prophecy?
Other proponents of Montanism, such as Proculus, formally sought to establish written works of the New Prophecy as “new Scriptures.” 24 Although the evidence is ambiguous, some Montanists may even have gone so far as to say that the New Prophecy superseded the apostolic writings. 25 In any case, the Montanist movement held up the teachings of Montanus and other prophets as the supreme, mature revelation of the Spirit. No matter how much defenders of the movement may have wanted to distance themselves from the charge of introducing novelties to Christian faith and worship, the New Prophecy functionally operated as new Scripture.
Similarly, the NAR elevates its prophetic words to be functionally as authoritative as Scripture. For example, in Ephesians 3:4–5, Paul says to his audience, “In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.” Bill Hamon,
despite his admission of the Scripture’s superiority we saw earlier, interprets this passage as teaching that Paul “reveals that this anointing for divine revelation was not just given to the prophets of old but has now been equally given to Christ’s holy apostles and prophets in His church.” The logical conclusion is that if modern prophets have the “anointing for divine revelation . . . equally” (emphasis added) with previous prophets, then their words are as authoritative as those of the former prophets. 26 Wagner taught this explicitly, claiming that the Holy Spirit did not stop giving inspired revelation as written in the Old and New Testaments but continues to do so today.27 Others, like the prominent NAR apostle Ché Ahn, claim that NAR prophecies are not of the same authority as Scripture, while at the same time interpreting them in the same authoritative way one would Scripture.28
Geivett and Pivec have pointed out the difficulty in reconciling statements about the supreme authority of Scripture by NAR advocates with the way they treat ongoing revelatory prophecy. If members of the NAR handle prophecy in the same way as Scripture, then this suggests that NAR proponents believe that their prophets’ revelations are of the same nature as Scripture. 29 Just as in the Montanist movement, the NAR’s pronouncements on the formal limits of prophetic authority do not align with the functional authority they give to their prophecies alongside Scripture.
Given these substantial overlaps in doctrine and practice regarding the renewal of the prophetic office and ongoing revelation, it naturally follows that many of the same arguments that the ancient church leveled against Montanists are now once again applicable to the New Apostolic Reformation.
One of those arguments is that the apostolic age marked the end of new revelation and, therefore, the prophetic office. 30 According to the third-century presbyter Hippolytus, Montanists acted as if their new revelation was “something more” than that given in the Law, Prophets, Gospels, and Letters. But what other word from God should a Christian seek? For Hippolytus, there could not be a fuller or greater revelation following the apostolic age and the fullness of biblical revelation. 31 Epiphanius related that the Montanists accused their opponents of not receiving the “gifts of grace,” including the gift of prophetic revelation. He responded by stating that the church had already received the “real gifts’’ of prophecy, which were “tried in God’s holy church through the Holy Spirit, and by prophets and apostles, and the Lord himself.” 32 Epiphanus believed prophetic revelation had already come to the church and been proven valid: prophetic revelation received its completion during the apostolic age. Similarly, the fourth- to fifth-century church father Jerome believed that Jesus’ promise to send prophets was fulfilled in the time of the twelve apostles. Jerome appealed to Peter’s
Given these substantial overlaps in doctrine and practice regarding the renewal of the prophetic office and ongoing revelation, it naturally follows that many of the same arguments that the ancient church leveled against Montanists are now once again applicable to the New Apostolic Reformation.
Undergirding the ancient church’s claim that progressive revelation ceased in the apostolic age was an appeal to the authority of the apostles who were directly, originally, and exclusively commissioned by Jesus.
declaration in Acts 2:14–18 that the outpouring of the prophetic gift had arrived at Pentecost. “If, then, the apostle Peter . . . has expressly said that the prophecy and promise of the Lord were then and there fulfilled, how can we claim another fulfillment for ourselves?” 33 Thus, the prophets Jesus promised to send came with the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, brought divine revelation and interpretation, and then ceased their work at the close of the apostolic age.
If revelation ceased with the apostles, as the early church contended, then the NAR likewise cannot legitimately claim new revelation two millennia later. Wagner’s view that the prophetic office returned to the church in the 1980s does not agree with Hippolytus, Epiphanus, Jerome, and the rest of the fathers who contended that the New Prophecy must be a false prophecy because the final prophetic revelation for the church came in the time of the apostles. However, proponents of the NAR may respond by claiming that they have not only new prophets but also new apostles. How, then, did the early church understand revelation in relation to apostolic authority?
Undergirding the ancient church’s claim that progressive revelation ceased in the apostolic age was an appeal to the authority of the apostles who were directly, originally, and exclusively commissioned by Jesus. In disputes with Montanists, the early church increasingly turned to the apostles’ authority against that of Montanist revelations.34 For the early church fathers, the apostolic age marked the end of new revelation because the apostles were the final authority to legitimate new Scripture. Thus the ancient church saw Montanism and its advocacy of new revelation as an affront to the established and secure authority of the apostolic tradition, “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Wagner’s claim that the offices of apostle and prophet reemerged in the last fifty years similarly stands against the early church, which upheld the New Testament apostles as the final authority to deliver new revelation.
Furthermore, opponents of Montanism regularly appealed to the canonically established Scriptures against the New Prophecy.35 The Muratorian Fragment, written around AD 170, famously provides our earliest-known list of writings recognized by the church as canonical Scripture. The document asserts that nothing after the prophets and apostles is to be considered Scripture, while making allowance for books that Christians may privately read for edification. However, it does not include Montanist writings as part of the canonical or edifying books. Rather, the Muratorian Fragment asserts that the church is to “accept nothing whatever of . . . the Asian founder of the Cataphrygians” (Cataphrygians being another label for the Montanists).36 This warning against Montanism in the Muratorian Fragment demonstrates that the church equated any acceptance of Montanist prophecy with undermining the inspired and authoritative canon of Scripture. It is true that none of the church fathers accused Montanists of trying to add Scriptures to the canon outright.
37 However, their regular appeal to the canonical Scriptures against Montanism indicates that classic Christian orthodoxy has always believed that any claim to new revelation after the original apostles subverts the established canonical Scriptures of the church.
The New Apostolic Reformation is not all that new. Concerning its teaching of new prophetic revelation from a reestablished prophetic office, the NAR reflects much of what was already practiced by Montanism and rejected by the early church. Authority for the early church was not found in an ongoing prophetic office and most certainly not in an ongoing apostolic office. Revelatory authority rested in the apostles of the New Testament. They delivered the final words of inspired revelation in the documents that make up the canon of the New Testament. Thus contrary to the protestations of many proponents of the NAR, the NAR stands outside the orthodox stream of the church just like the New Prophecy before it. We do not need a fresh revelation from God, because he has already spoken and continues to speak through his living and active word (Heb. 4:12). May we be on guard against any wind of doctrine, old or new, that attempts to build on a foundation other than the one God has already provided (Eph. 2:20).
Aaron Philip is an MDiv student at Westminster Seminary California.
1. C. Peter Wagner, “The New Apostolic Reformation Is Not a Cult,” Charisma News, August 24, 2011.
2. R. Douglas Geivett and Holly Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement (Wooster, OH: Weaver, 2014), 9.
3. Johannes van Oort, “The Holy Spirit and the Early Church: The Experience of the Spirit,” Hervormde Teologiese Studies 68, no. 1 (2012): 3.
4. Christine Trevett, Montanism: Gender, Authority, and the New Prophecy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 215.
5. Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius, in Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, 2/1:237 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 5.19.2; hereafter (NPNF).
6. Trevett, Montanism, 3.
7. Trevett, Montanism, 3.
8. Epiphanius, The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. Books II and III, De Fide, Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, v. 79 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 16–17; Trevett, Montanism, 80–82.
9. Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius, 5.16.12 (NPNF 2/1:232).
10. William Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments: Ecclesiastical and Imperial Reactions to Montanism, Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, 0920–623X, v. 84 (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 126.
11. C. Peter Wagner, Wrestling with Alligators, Prophets, and Theologians (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2010).
12. C. Peter Wagner, Apostles Today (Bloomington, MN: Chosen Books, 2014), 6.
13. Wagner, Apostles Today, 15.
14. Geivett and Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation?, 2.
15. C. Peter Wagner, Apostles and Prophets: The Foundation of the Church (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2000), 97.
16. Geivett and Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation?, 115.
17. Rick Joyner, The Final Quest Trilogy (Fort Mill, SC: MorningStar, 2016), 26.
18. See, for example, “Statement of Faith,” Generals International, https://www.generals.org/statement-of-faith.
19. While the commonly held belief that Tertullian broke from
the church to become a Montanist is debated, it is true that the New Prophecy influenced him. Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments, 268.
20. Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, in Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325, 4:594 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 63; hereafter (ANF).
21. Christine Trevett, “Apocalypse, Ignatius, Montanism: Seeking the Seeds,” Vigiliae Christianae 43, no. 4 (December 1989): 323.
22. Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments, 145.
23. Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins, 1 (ANF 4:27–28).
24. Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius, 6.20.3 (NPNF 2/1:268).
25. Pseudo-Tertullian, Against All Heresies, 7 (ANF 3:654).
26. Bill Hamon, Apostles, Prophets, and the Coming Moves of God: God’s End-Time Plans for His Church and Planet Earth (Santa Rosa Beach, FL: Christian International; Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 1997), 140.
27. C. Peter Wagner, foreword in Harold R. Eberle, Systematic Theology for the New Apostolic Reformation: An Exposition in Father-Son Theology (Yakima, WA: Worldcast, 2015), 1.
28. Richard P. Moore, “The New Apostolic Reformation and Its Threat to Evangelicalism,” Evangelical Review of Theology 47, no. 2 (May 2023): 141.
29. Geivett and Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation?, 116.
30. Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments, 110.
31. Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies, 8.12 (ANF 5:123).
32. Epiphanius, The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis: Books II and III, De Fide, 7.
33. Jerome, The Letters of St. Jerome, 41.1-2 (NPNF 2/6:55).
34. Trevett, Montanism, 136.
35. Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies, 8.12 (ANF 5:123); Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius, 5.16.12 (NPNF 2/1:232); Trevett, Montanism, 134.
36. Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance (Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), 205–7.
37. Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments, 343.
Oft in vain the voice of truth, Solemnly and loudly warns; Thoughtless, unexperienced youth, Though it hears, the warning scorns: Youth in fancy’s glass surveys Life prolonged to distant years, While the vast, imagined space Filled with sweets and joys appears.
Grace alone can cure our ills, Sweeten life, with all its cares; Regulate our stubborn wills, Save us from surrounding snares: Though you oft have heard in vain, Former years in folly spent; Grace invites you yet again, Once more calls you to repent.
Called again, at length, beware, Hear the Saviour’s voice and live; Lest he in his wrath should swear, He no more will warning give: Pray that you may hear and feel, Ere the day of grace be past; Lest your hearts grow hard as steel, Or this year should prove your last.
Exploring perspectives from the present
Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett are apologists and recognized experts on the New Apostolic Reformation movement. I first met Holly and Doug in 2018 when I was publisher for Lexham Press. We had recently acquired the rights to their first two books on the dangers of this movement. Over the last decade, they have coauthored no fewer than four books on this theme, which are great resources both for learning more about the dangers of the NAR and for passing along to others who may be attracted to or influenced by its teachings: Reckless Christianity, Counterfeit Kingdom, A New Apostolic Reformation?, and God’s Super-Apostles.
Doug and Holly, I remember being completely unaware of the New Apostolic Reformation until I heard about it from you a few years ago. What is this movement, and why should we be concerned?
HP: The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a global movement led by so-called apostles and prophets, who according to NAR beliefs must hold the highest governing offices in the church. The movement’s overall goal is to bring God’s physical kingdom to earth; the reason it hasn’t been able to do this for the past nearly two thousand years is because apostles and prophets have been absent. They alone are authorized by God to give essential new revelation that the church needs to accomplish its mission, including working miraculous powers and raising up an end-time church army to usher in the kingdom.
Of course, classical Pentecostals, charismatics, and all continuationists believe in ongoing miraculous gifts of prophesying, healing, and miracles. But NAR teachings are a radical departure from historical Pentecostal teachings because the movement’s leaders teach that not only the gifts but also the offices and their authority have been restored to the church in our time. Alongside these formal governing offices, NAR proponents have brought in other distinctive teachings that depart from historic precedent. A lot of damage has resulted from these teachings. We receive letters and emails regularly from people around the world who share about the ways that NAR teachings and practices have come into their communities and caused damage in their churches and personal lives. We hear stories all the time of churches that have split because of apostles and prophets who come in with divisive teachings. Many others have become disillusioned with Christianity altogether because they’ve received promises from apostles or INTERVIEW
prophets that, for example, a loved one who was sick would not die and would receive healing. When that loved one dies or isn’t healed, or other prophecies don’t pan out, people grow disillusioned with their faith and walk away from church altogether.
DG: That’s a pretty disturbing list, and it’s not all. For example, the NAR has substituted a new conception of what worship is and how we find intimacy with God in our lives and how we receive divine guidance. The New Apostolic Reformation has a very different idea from the traditional Christian church of what it means for God to be present in our lives, either individually or when we’re gathered as part of the fellowship of the body on a Sunday morning or any other time during the week.
The way in which the church’s witness is undermined goes beyond just the confusion it causes about what Christianity really teaches and the nature of the gospel. In many cases, there’s also a kind of a Christian nationalist element built in. There are varieties of Christian nationalism within the church today that need to be distinguished; but for this movement, prophetic and apostolic leadership play a key role in their conception of how even secular governance ought to be brought back to a divine pattern.
It was C. Peter Wagner who invented the label “New Apostolic Reformation.” That language isn’t used by everyone who fits the profile. Some will deny that they are New Apostolic Reformers or that they’re part of the movement. Sometimes they’ll even plead ignorance and say they don’t know what the NAR is, though it’s clear they speak the same language and share the same beliefs and practices.
HP: Bill Johnson is the senior leader and head apostle of Bethel Church in Redding, California. Bethel Church is the most influential NAR church in the world, especially through Bethel Music. Johnson teaches that with our spoken words we can create reality much like God spoke and created in Genesis 1. This is Word of Faith teaching for those familiar with that movement. They say we can claim prosperity and health for ourselves by making prayer declarations, which is a more powerful form of prayer than simple petitions to God for our needs and desires. In the NAR, they teach that since the Protestant Reformation began, God has been progressively restoring truths to the church that were allegedly lost through the centuries. It started with salvation by faith, but then came this snowball of restoration. That’s why this movement can incorporate miraculous gifts and the prosperity gospel within its framework. These are all seen as lost truths that the new apostles and prophets have restored; these are the spiritual keys to bringing God’s kingdom to earth.
I’ll admit my ignorance here. Until recently, I thought this movement was just a wing of Pentecostalism. I was surprised to learn that the Assemblies of God rejected these teachings about newly restored offices of apostle and prophet as far back as the late 1940s, when early versions of these teachings began springing up. Where did the NAR come from?
In the NAR, they teach that since the Protestant Reformation began, God has been progressively restoring truths to the church that were allegedly lost through the centuries. It started with salvation by faith, but then came this snowball of restoration.
When Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others sought to reform the church, they believed the church in their time had departed from the apostolic teaching found in the New Testament. It was a Reformation that used the Scriptures—though no extra revelation apart from Scripture—to bring the church back to its roots.
HP: The Latter Rain movement of the post-World War II era is what you’re alluding to, which the Assemblies of God condemned in 1949. The Latter Rain movement took off quickly, and then fizzled out because of the Assemblies of God condemnation. The teachings kind of went underground until the 1980s when prophets started resurfacing in independent charismatic churches. Then in the 1990s, apostles started resurfacing as well—so much so that by 2001, C. Peter Wagner declared that 2001 marked the beginning of the Second Apostolic Age. He believed that at this point a critical mass of churches had embraced governance by the offices of apostle and prophet. Wagner himself acknowledged that NAR teachings are basically rehashed Latter Rain teachings, and other leaders in this movement admit those similarities as well.
DG: Peter Wagner and others in his circle of influence in the 1980s and ’90s believed that this critical mass grew through the increase of charismatic and Pentecostal churches, especially in the Global South. He was moved by what he saw as a special new work of the Spirit in this magnificent growth. He was ready, I think, to offer an additional nudge in a more dramatic direction out of the charismatic and Pentecostal mainstream. Although the movement has gone beyond what Wagner envisioned, he was the first to use the language of reformation.
The NAR is apostolic for the reasons Holly described, yet there’s something essentially new about it. This is a departure from the way things had been in the church for centuries. It’s reformational in the sense that it has this same dramatic impact in redirecting the church, just like what happened during the Protestant Reformation. While many of us agree that the church does need to be reactivated, restored, and reformed periodically when it strays, there are some significant disanalogies and differences between the Protestant Reformation and the New Apostolic Reformation. For example, when Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others sought to reform the church, they believed the church in their time had departed from the apostolic teaching found in the New Testament. It was a Reformation that used the Scriptures—though no extra revelation apart from Scripture—to bring the church back to its roots. But with the New Apostolic Reformation, the “apostolic” aspect inherently involves new revelation and new manifestations of the Spirit. So, rather than call the church back to biblical faithfulness, the NAR introduces novelty in the church’s systematic theology and its practical theology. Of course, some teachers try to present these new revelations as latent in the Scriptures. But in many cases, they’re not that concerned to find biblical roots for their new claims and new truths—nor do they really need to, since they purport to possess authoritative revelations for our generation.
When Calvin argued with Cardinal Sadoleto in defense of the Reformation, he criticized both the Roman Church and the radical reformers for falling into the same trap of separating the work of the Spirit from the authoritative word of God. We’re always tempted to find something else to base Christian faith and practice on, or some way to supplement God’s word and
sacraments to get closer to Jesus and enjoy the forgiveness of sins. The NAR is also in the crosshairs of Calvin’s criticism here.
DG: That’s a good point. One of the basic commitments of the Reformers was to sola scriptura. Scripture alone is our fundamental point of reference, our source of reliable knowledge about God’s intentions, purposes, and plan for the world and how he will direct his church. “The traditions of men” is the language the New Testament uses for any departures from or embellishments of what is explicitly taught in Scripture, which is nevertheless imposed upon believers. Sola scriptura teaches that if and when those departures or additions happen, then the church’s teaching and practice must be brought back under the authority of the original biblical prophets and apostles. They are the foundation of the church. If the teachings cropping up today among claimed apostles and prophets don’t align with Scripture, then we know there’s something wrong with the movement. In that case, a true reformation would be a movement away from the NAR, not in the direction of it.
HP: One thing that makes the NAR so deceptive is that the leaders insist that their teachings are supported by Scripture and they tell their followers that they test all things by Scripture. But through a doctrine they call “prophetic illumination,” the prophets and apostles receive their new understandings of Scripture directly from God. It’s impossible to test all things by Scripture if you’re receiving new revelation about how to interpret passages of Scripture that nobody else has ever had before—revelation accountable to no one else.
Why do you think this movement is becoming more influential? Why was Latter Rain a flash in the pan, while the NAR seems to be exploding in certain sectors of the church globally?
DG: The timing is ripe, partly because we live at a moment when people are more likely to rely on instinct and desire than on evidence and argument in their effort to discern what’s true. Reasons to believe now come in the form of how they feel or what they’re hearing.
HP: Another major reason for their growth is music. Some of the most popular worship music used in evangelical churches today is being produced by NAR churches. Bethel Church is a great example. A lot of music coming out of Hillsong is heavily NAR influenced, as are Elevation Church and Gateway Church. It’s important for people to realize that when we talk to people who’ve been in the NAR, we discover that what drew many of them in at first was their music. They liked the music and started researching the church where it came from, and then they attended a conference or enrolled in the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. This music really is a gateway into the NAR.
It seems that part of its increasing influence is due to a lack of discipleship in the broader church to help people recognize these things. I think a single word for why the NAR is attractive is “assurance.” People are so hungry for assurance, and these folks promise a certain type of it. If you have this kind
If the teachings cropping up today among claimed apostles and prophets don’t align with Scripture, then we know there’s something wrong with the movement. In that case, a true reformation would be a movement away from the NAR, not in the direction of it.
It’s important for people to realize that when we talk to people who’ve been in the NAR, we discover that what drew many of them in at first was their music. . . . This music really is a gateway into the NAR.
of spiritual experience, if you can perform these signs and wonders, or if you listen to someone who claims he can perform them, then you’ll have an inside track with God. You can be sure you’re on God’s good side and you’re blessed. This breaks my heart. When people don’t feel those emotions or have those experiences, then they fall into despair because they’re looking for assurance somewhere other than the good news of Jesus Christ. Although the NAR holds out the prospect of spiritual power, the dark underside is a total lack of assurance of where you are with God.
HP: I’ve talked to people who admitted that if they went a day or a few days without receiving a dream from God, a prophetic word, or some other kind of special experience, they started worrying: “God, are you mad at me? Do you still love me?” For them, the Christian life is this constant need for continual experiences so they can feel they’re on good terms with God.
DG: They also have a fear of leaving. There are people who participate in the movement and are heavily committed to this way of thinking about the Christian life, but when they start to have doubts, they’re reluctant to leave because it’s their family now. There’s a great effort made to affirm people and give them great promises about what kind of life God has in store for them if they stay the course. If you’re struggling, there’s always an explanation for why you’re not experiencing what you assume everybody else is experiencing. If you’re part of an NAR church and you feel like God’s special blessings aren’t manifest in your life, then they may tell you that you’re under demonic attack. Or maybe you’ve been listening to critics too much and fallen in with “the spirit of religion.” But the point is, it’s never a problem with the movement—it’s always a problem with your personal spiritual condition.
Holly Pivec is a blogger, author, and speaker. She has a master’s degree in Christian apologetics from Biola University, where she also served as university editor for nearly a decade. Follow her work at www.hollypivec.com.
R. Douglas Geivett is a professor, an author, and a speaker. He has a PhD in philosophy from USC and is professor emeritus at Biola University and Talbot School of Theology. He has written or edited several books in addition to the four he has coauthored with Holly.
Brannon Ellis is executive editor of Modern Reformation magazine.
With tea and toast, set in a well-conditioned room, We talk about His torments: those betrayals, nails, Endurance of ignominy, the wounds and wails, The sponge and vinegar, the linen cloth and tomb. We’re well-conversant with the scriptures verbatim, And, hence, believe we are the knowers of His life, Seldom perceiving: Comfort cannot fathom Strife. We then conclude our congregation with a hymn.
But when I am absorbed in chores, say, to replace The fence, and if the hammer hits my fingertips, Then fury-impregnated words acquire my lips, Which otherwise don’t even cross my mental space. It’s when I get a faint sense of The King of Kings, Whom man himself (and not an object) made his prey But who still uttered, “Father, forgive them; for they......”. It’s when I learn I know naught of His sufferings.
Thinking theologically about all things
IMAGINE A RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT that has no formal organization, no official leaders, and no confessional statement, yet its churches are among the most influential and fastest growing in the world. Now imagine that some of this movement’s most prominent representatives—perhaps because of its unorthodox beliefs and controversial practices—deny its very existence. How do you identify such a movement? How do you warn orthodox churches of its influence among their own members or leaders? Welcome to the New Apostolic Reformation.
As we seek in this essay to define the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and the extent of its influence, we must first emphasize that the movement isn’t a denomination or federation or even a parachurch organization. You will never drive by a sign that reads, New Apostolic Reformational Church of Snoqualmie Falls. This invisibility is a large part of its threat. But in this essay, we will not focus on critique but definition. It is vital to define this movement because it is a theologically troubling system of functional norms, beliefs, and leadership networks that over the past few decades has made significant inroads into many evangelical churches in the United States and abroad. We hope that defining the movement’s characteristic features will help both church leaders and members to recognize the threat and guard against it.
When searching for dark matter in the universe, scientists must observe its effects on regular matter; dark matter cannot be observed directly. Similarly, to define a movement as informal and flexible as the NAR, we need to observe it from different perspectives, which we will call “frames.” Think of these frames like the basic character traits that make up a person’s core identity. A teacher or congregation may display one or another of these traits without necessarily being associated with the NAR, but displaying all these traits together identifies one as NAR whether the label is ever used.
After extensive research and personal experiences, we identified four overarching frames that best define the NAR movement: these frames are theological, sociological, historical, and organizational. The NAR displays a unique character within each of these frames, which together provide clear definition and substance to an elusive movement. After we identify the movement by viewing it through each of these frames, we will consider a few of the implications of NAR beliefs and practices for those of us committed to the health and the growth of orthodox Christianity.
Theological
A theological system can be self-consistent, and even appeal to the Bible, without being true.
New Apostolic Reformation Distinctives
Coherent theological systems are like the vintage video game Tetris. Convictions and concepts interlock with one another like uniquely shaped blocks to form an internally consistent theological account of who God is and how we make sense of his purposes in the world. A theological system can be self-consistent, and even appeal to the Bible, without being true. The belief system of the NAR is indeed internally consistent. Perhaps the hardest part of understanding the NAR’s theology is that it devalues theology and theological thinking. According to C. Peter Wagner, who was in many ways the godfather of the NAR, the leaders within the movement “have little or no desire to traverse many of the traditional pathways laid down by professional academic theologians.” 1 Wagner continues, “I have never offered a course in systematic theology simply because there would be virtually no demand for it among our in-service, apostolically oriented student body.” But despite such claims to not enjoy video games, Wagner and other NAR adherents are playing Tetris all the same. Like everyone else, they are trying to make the pieces fit.
To begin comprehending the movement’s core beliefs, we must familiarize ourselves with its overarching biblical story, as it might be strange for many Christians. The story has the same characters and general plot yet differs in very important ways from confessional orthodoxy. Lights, please!
The NAR holds that before creating the world and forming Adam, God determined that to create truly free and self-determining creatures, he would not be able to fully know the future for himself. Though God would remain in a sense sovereign over his creation, he would have to choose to limit his ability to know the decisions and actions of human beings. When God created Adam and Eve in his image, he gave them authority to take dominion and reign over his creation (Gen. 1:28). But unforeseen to God, Adam and Eve fell into sin. Because of their disobedience, the gift of earthly dominion given to Adam and Eve was surrendered entirely to Satan. Satan became the ruler of this world, along with all the evil powers aligned with him, while God continued to reign in heaven.
GOD’S DETOUR, PLAN B
They believe that God now needed a new plan to restore creation to his original purpose and to reclaim for humanity the authority and dominion lost to Satan. God determined to partner with humanity to implement his new will for the earth. He listened to the pleas of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Israel, changing his mind and relenting. Wagner appeals to Exodus 32, stating,
As we know, Moses then interceded on behalf of his people and said, “Don’t be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people” (verse 12, GOD’S WORD). The outcome? “So the Lord reconsidered his threat to destroy his people” (verse 14, GOD’S WORD). It would be difficult to understand this dialogue and the emotions involved if God already knew exactly what He would do ahead of time. It would seem as if God was playing games with Moses. But it makes perfect sense if we assume that God had an open mind.2
Ultimately, God decided to send his Son to reclaim the authority lost to Satan and invade his earthly kingdom. (When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he showed Jesus all the earthly authority previously taken from Adam and Eve.) After his resurrection, Jesus broke Satan’s power and reclaimed God’s authority to restore humanity’s calling to dominion, opening the free possibility for human beings, if willing, to reclaim our lost dominion from the powers of darkness.
JESUS AND THE GREAT COMMISSION
When Jesus walked on the earth, he did so as a man who in some sense set aside his divinity to model to humanity how to engage in spiritual warfare through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, for example, he taught them to bring God’s will to the earth to fulfill the Great Commission. Evangelism is the means to remove the hindrances dissuading people from believing in the power of Jesus—power that is also available to his disciples. Christians are to make other disciples by preaching this gospel of the kingdom and to seek the full restoration of God’s dominion on the earth through the display of signs and wonders and the establishment and exercise of apostolic authority over all of life.
C. Peter Wagner (1930–2016), the “godfather” of the New Apostolic Reformation
The church was established at Pentecost, fully empowered through the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ breaking into Satan’s kingdom. The Lord instituted in the church the fivefold ministry of evangelist, pastor, teacher, prophet, and apostle to fulfill the Great Commission. Once Christians have reclaimed for Christ all the authority given to Satan by bringing all things under his rule—including taking dominion over society—Christ will finally return.
Among proponents of the movement, there is a general acknowledgment that the church has failed to fulfill the Great Commission and reclaim dominion from Satan for the past two thousand years.
In describing the overarching challenge facing the church, NAR proponent Bill Hamon states,
Jesus took away all the power of the devil and delivered it to the Church. But the devil refuses to acknowledge that he is defeated or to relinquish his dominion of this world to the Church. He has maintained his position and restrained the Church by keeping it blinded to its rightful position. He continually seeks to convince the Church that God’s Word doesn’t really mean what it says, that the Church cannot do all that Christ Jesus says we can do, and that we don’t really have what God’s Word declares we have.3
Among proponents of the movement, there is a general acknowledgment that the church has failed to fulfill the Great Commission and reclaim dominion from Satan for the past two thousand years. Why has the church failed in reclaiming dominion of the earth? Largely because the church stopped believing in miracles and in the roles of prophets and apostles. In this way, Satan has successfully kept the “church bound and restricted by doctrines of devils and man-made creeds.” 4 For Jesus to finally and fully reign, the church must reclaim the lost authority given to it after the resurrection of Jesus. The twenty-first-century church must be restored to its first-century state. For this to happen, God had to inspire a restoration movement: a New Apostolic Reformation.
Open theism is a theology that teaches that the future is “open” in the sense that God does not know exactly what will happen because he has not decided it. He is not omniscient, omnipotent, or unchangeable in any traditional sense. Rather, he is working alongside his free creatures through history to try to influence his intended outcomes. Much good work has been done to challenge open theism’s radical reinterpretation of classical theism (the traditional Christian doctrine of God). The importance of open theism for this essay is simply that it is a defining theological conviction of the NAR. We noted earlier that the movement affirms a drastic limitation of God’s foreknowledge or determination of the future because of the freewill decisions of moral creatures. This assumption that God’s sovereignty and human freedom are in fundamental opposition is a key underlying presupposition of open theism.
Recent research has only begun to demonstrate the extensive impact of openness theology on C. Peter Wagner and evangelicalism. Openness theology gained traction after the 1994 publication of Clark Pinnock’s The Openness of God . Wagner first published his support of openness theology in 2001 and continued to affirm it in his writings until his passing in 2016. According to Wagner, openness theology is one of the “most important theological insight[s]
this side of the Reformation.” In a letter to open theist John Sanders, Wagner states, “I wanted to let you know that you have strong support among the crowd that I run with.” 5
Wagner states that “open[ness] theology has come just at the beginning of the Second Apostolic Age, and apostolic people, particularly prophets and intercessors, for the most part welcome it with open arms.” He then states, “They have been assuming and acting upon the principles of open theology, though many have not yet verbalized those theological assumptions.” 6
Proponents of the NAR such as Harold Eberly, Dutch Sheets, and many others publicly or functionally embrace open theism. This deep commitment to open theism, and the account of the Bible’s story and the church’s mission it enables, provides the theological frame for the NAR movement.
The next frame will define the movement from a historical perspective. More specifically, we will observe the distinctive way the NAR perceives church history— or perhaps better, the way it revises church history especially since the Protestant Reformation. Remember how we said that from the NAR’s point of view, one of the main issues faced by the church is that it has lost its belief in miraculous signs and wonders as well as the fivefold ministry of the church? Church history is best understood in two phases. The first phase, beginning with the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, signifies God’s restoration of the lost doctrines (the laying of hands, healing, tongues, and prophecy), in which, at each dispensation, Christ restored a teaching and its practice back to the church.
The sixteenth century Reformers had reestablished God as a Father whom we all could approach directly without the aid of a priest. The Wesleyans had refocused attention on the Son in highlighting our need to be more Christlike in our daily living. The Pentecostals recovered the immediate presence and availability of the Holy Spirit in the lives and ministries of all believers. So with a more complete understanding of the practical outworking of the Trinity in place, God was then poised to move the Body of Christ to new levels.7
Once these were restored, the second phase of church history began, in which God restored to the church the fivefold ministry (the offices of evangelist, pastor, teacher, prophet, and apostle, discussed below).
This second and final phase was inaugurated between the 1950s and the 1990s. For proponents of this movement, the overarching historical narrative of the church reached its climax in the 1990s when the prophetic-apostolic movement (that is, the New Apostolic Reformation) reached maturity. According to Hamon,
According to Wagner, openness theology is one of the “most important theological insight[s] this side of the Reformation.”
Like Luther, Hamon was the visionary behind the restoration of apostles. . . . Like Calvin, Wagner popularized the movement’s theology into the broader church
Apostles and prophets needed to be restored so that all five of the ministries that Christ said would operate in the Church could fulfill the purpose for which they were originally given and commissioned (see Eph. 4:11–16). Their main purpose is to equip the saints for their day of manifestation. All saints, believers in Jesus Christ, are called to do His works and to demonstrate the gospel of the Kingdom of God.8
Let’s zoom in on this key period of recent church history to explain how God restored these lost doctrines to the church, as told through the historical account of Bill Hamon. Hamon and Wagner “worked together in propagating the Apostolic Movement like Martin Luther and John Calvin worked together in propagating the Protestant Movement.” 9 Like Luther, Hamon was the visionary behind the restoration of apostles that began what he called the “Prophetic-Apostolic Movement.” Like Calvin, Wagner popularized the movement’s theology into the broader church by writing the theological designations for the different types of apostles and their various functions in what he termed the “New Apostolic Reformation.”
THE GREAT RESTORATION: FROM THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION TO THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY
The apostle Paul and other first-century apostles and prophets taught the early church how to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission mandate and reclaim the authority lost by Adam and Eve by using supernatural signs and wonders through the fivefold ministry of the church. As time passed, the essential teachings of the first-century apostles and prophets were forgotten, and the church saw its darkest days during the Middle Ages. To return to his original purpose for humanity, God began to work to renew the church’s memory of its power and use of gifts, restore lost biblical truth, and overturn long accepted false beliefs to enable Christians to fulfill the Great Commission once again. Through the faithful actions of Christians, God began his “Great Restoration” movement in Europe with the Protestant Reformation, in which he restored to the church the doctrine of repentance from dead works, and Martin Luther awakened the church from its “lethargy.” God made his final move in Europe when he restored the lost doctrine of faith toward God and the proper understanding of sanctification with John Wesley’s Holiness movement in the 1700s that renewed revivalist missions and divine healing. God released the church’s full restoration in the 1900s in America with a rapid acceleration of the final restoration phase through the American Pentecostal movement with William J. Seymour’s Azusa Street Revival in 1906. There, God restored to the church the doctrine of baptism of the Spirit and the proper understanding of the manifested gifts in a direct, personal experience of God through speaking in tongues, divine healing, and prophecy. The Pentecostal revivalism of Charles Finney, the Holiness movement, and Azusa Street signified the “early rain” or the “beginning of the end of the ‘age of the mortal Church.’” 10 God restored to the church the doctrine of laying on of hands along with healing
and prophecy through the “Latter rain” movement of the 1940s, during which the Pentecostal movement gained considerable popularity in evangelical churches. In the centuries between the Reformation and the mid-twentieth century, the church recovered these central biblical teachings and practices. But the second half of the twentieth century was necessary for the recovery of the essential fivefold biblical ministry.
When Christ commissioned his first disciples, he gave to them the office of apostle. Following his resurrection, he “divided” his ministry by giving to the church additional offices: evangelist, pastor, teacher, and prophet—thus creating the fivefold ministry of Christ. As the years passed, the foundation of the church, having been built on apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20), was lost. According to Hamon, restoring Christ’s fivefold ministry is necessary “to perfect and equip the saints until they are conformed to the image of Christ (see Rom. 8:29) and activated into their Christ-given ministry and doing the works that Jesus did.” 11 For the last five hundred years, the church has been rediscovering the lost teachings of the apostles and prophets. By the 1950s, these doctrines, the power gifts of the Spirit, had been restored. “The Holy Spirit was commissioned to clarify, amplify, manifest, restore, and reposition one of the fivefold ascension gift ministries during each of the last five decades of the 20th century.” 12
During the 1950s, the office of evangelist was restored, evidenced by renewed emphasis on crusades and evangelistic ministries. During the 1960s, the office of pastor was emphasized, followed by the office of teacher during the 1970s. Throughout the 1950s to the ’70s, Christianity saw an abundance of ministries being created to teach the restored doctrines through radio, television, and revival ministries. Among these offices, two were destined to rise above the rest and claim dominion over the others: the age of the apostles and prophets had come. In 1988, the prophets were restored to the church, and in 1998 apostles were restored; the Second Apostolic Age had begun. According to Hamon, all the “previous movements” of reformation throughout church history “prepared the way for the full restoration” to the fivefold ministry led by prophets and apostles. Now that the Second Apostolic Age has come, Christ calls his restored end-times church to prepare for his coming.13
Those within the NAR often refer to the movement as sociological rather than theological. This distinction emphasizes the culture of the movement through describing its manifestations of the Holy Spirit and revivalism and, at the same time, diminishes theology in its descriptions. Such a claim is not unfounded as C. Peter Wagner, who was a PhD-trained anthropologist, understood and
Throughout the 1950s to the ’70s, Christianity saw an abundance of ministries being created to teach the restored doctrines through radio, television, and revival ministries. Among these offices, two were destined to rise above the rest and claim dominion over the others: the age of the apostles and prophets had come.
The NAR emphasizes that fulfilling the Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all nations” is accomplished by using whatever means necessary and available to the greatest fruitfulness.
documented the movement’s impact from a sociological and cultural perspective. For the sociological frame, we will emphasize a few elements in which the movement can be understood within the context of culture and will primarily use Wagner as a source.
Like Hamon, Wagner understood the 1900s as God’s restoration movement. As a trained anthropologist, Wagner observed the broader evangelical acceptance of restored doctrines like the spiritual gifts and later the fivefold offices. In his work, Wagner divided the century into his own distinct eras or “waves,” each signifying a perceived movement of God within evangelicalism, culminating with a demonstratable general acceptance of the restoration of the apostolic office and signs and wonders. We should understand Wagner’s waves as significant periods of receptivity to the beliefs and practices of the NAR within the broader evangelical world rather than an era of doctrinal rediscovery like Hamon. Wagner’s waves emphasize the encompassing of the restored doctrines in the Pentecostal and charismatic movements as they lead to the culmination of evangelical acceptance and usher in the Second Apostolic Age of the NAR. While the charismatic movement was distinct from the Pentecostal movement in disagreeing with the second blessing, or baptism of the Holy Spirit, the NAR should be understood as incorporating elements from both movements.14
Wagner taught that the first wave began in the early American Pentecostal movement in the Azusa Street revival of 1906, when God restored the manifested gifts of the Holy Spirit. The American evangelical church did not widely embrace the movement then, and it mostly went silent for the next fifty years. The second wave of much broader receptivity came more than a half-century later, in the 1960s and 1970s, with the charismatic renewal of miraculous gifts with the Jesus Revolution or Jesus People. The movement’s teaching and practices began to take root within many established denominations. Wagner’s third wave came in the 1980s as a direct development out of the Jesus Movement. Many mainstream evangelical churches began to embrace “the power of the Holy Spirit in healing the sick, casting out demons, receiving prophecies, and participating in other charismatic-type manifestations” within the NAR without identifying as part of the Pentecostal movement.
THE GREAT COMMISSION
The NAR emphasizes that fulfilling the Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all nations” is accomplished by using whatever means necessary and available to the greatest fruitfulness. Christ’s command in the Great Commission is founded on his example of obedience to the Father in conquering Satan through the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus the Christian’s ultimate goal is to go to the ends of the earth to retake the dominion that Adam surrendered to
Satan in the garden by the same power of the Holy Spirit. The ultimate task of making disciples by whatever means necessary is accomplished by enacting the will of God through retaking dominion in every sphere of influence (discussed below) so that all things can be restored to Christ and usher in his second advent.
The movement’s theological commitment to open theism leads to a dualism in which God’s sovereignty over human affairs (and Satan’s schemes) is limited. The fulfillment of the Great Commission depends partly on God and partly on us—and victory is not guaranteed. The fivefold ministry of intercessors, prophets, and apostles, therefore, are the way in which the contingency of Christ’s redemptive work is accomplished. The restoration of a fivefold ministry transformed churches that were a part of the movement in the early 2000s. Worship began to emphasize “becom[ing] intimate with the Father” and the Holy Spirit “drawing us as participants into an experience with God.” 15 The experience of worship and warfare were seen as intertwined; the intimacy enjoyed through worship prepares the heart for warfare.
Apart from the fundamental means of exercising the fivefold ministry, the NAR’s methods for fulfilling the Great Commission are purposefully pragmatic (or consequentialist).
Proponents of the NAR take spiritual warfare very seriously—and very literally. To bring about God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, God’s people must upset the present evil spiritual ecosystem and wage strategic warfare to retake authority from Satan. The church must be “kingdom-minded” and “kingdom-motivated” to reform society by taking dominion in seven spheres of cultural influence: religion, family, government, business, education, media, and arts and entertainment.16 In NAR circles, this dominionism is often called the “seven-mountain mandate.” 17 Each mountain is overseen by NAR-aligned apostles who lead the charge of the strategic march upon the towering proverbial peaks. These apostles are not on any official NAR committee or board, but they have sat on governing bodies of apostolic coalitions, charismatic associations of churches, and even US presidential advisory councils.18
No longer were evangelism and church planting the ultimate goal in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The clarion call now blasted the urgency of preaching the gospel to spread the “colonization” of God’s kingdom to make Earth “a colony of heaven.” 19 Like climbing Denali, spiritual warriors gather, train, and march into Satan’s territory armed for battle. Warriors with the spiritual gift of intercessory prayer are the key to successful mountain warfare, since intercessory prayer is the ministry that unlocks the power of partnering with God in bringing his will to pass.
The movement’s theological commitment to open theism leads to a dualism in which God’s sovereignty over human affairs (and Satan’s schemes) is limited. The fulfillment of the Great Commission depends partly on God and partly on us—and victory is not guaranteed.
Discipleship is not a regular growth in holiness that is never complete in this life, but a process of “perfecting” in “holy living” and “an ethical change” in behavior.
For the NAR, a Christian disciple can be broadly defined as one who claims to have a personal relationship with Jesus and becomes a member of a church that is faithful to preach the gospel of the kingdom. A responsible disciple learns what particular spiritual gifts they possess and uses them to build God’s kingdom. Discipleship within the movement contains two separate parts: church membership and evangelism. Discipleship is not a regular growth in holiness that is never complete in this life, but a process of “perfecting” in “holy living” and “an ethical change” in behavior.20 The movement tends to equate Christian maturity with the knowledge and use of spiritual gifts to create more disciples, thus fulfilling the Great Commission. The number of spiritual gifts is debated among NAR leaders, but a typical spiritual gifts test offers a list of fifteen to thirty to help identify one’s top gifts. These range widely: from healing, teaching, prophecy, tongues, and apostleship, to discernment, administration, missions, and hospitality, to intercession, deliverance, leading worship—even martyrdom.
The last frame will describe the movement organizationally. The structure of the movement largely builds upon the sociological frame, showing how the restoration of the offices of apostle and prophet led to what Wagner noted as the Second Apostolic Age and Hamon called the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement. The NAR does not have a formal organizational structure but is made of independent coalitions or apostolic networks. We must think of the NAR’s organization as the way the churches “do ministry” based on their beliefs.
We’ve seen how God’s limited sovereignty over creation and loss of dominion of this world to Satan led to God enlisting humanity to participate in spiritual warfare against Satan and his allies who are frustrating God’s original plan. This partnership of God and humanity in dominionism is accomplished through the full outworking of the fivefold ministry of the church, which must be thought of as practical theology. Appealing to Ephesians 2:20, apostles and pastors are the focus of the fivefold ministry because they are the “new custodians of a dynamic theology” as the foundation of the church.21 The five gifts or offices are tightly interconnected, and though they draw on biblical language, they differ substantially from the way these gifts and roles are taught in Christian orthodoxy. Intercessors are specially gifted people who have the power and authority to influence bringing God’s will to pass through prayer. The principle of intercessory prayer is that “much of what finally happens will depend upon the intercessory prayers of the saints.” 22 Strategic-level spiritual warfare is a call of intercessors,
the generals of God’s army who are essential for advancing the kingdom of God and overcoming the kingdom of darkness. Spiritual warfare requires that intercessors bind the god of this age to temporarily dispel or break through the ranks of the forces of darkness and open a kind of spiritual connection—often called a “portal”—between heaven and earth, through which God can get past Satan’s defenses to reveal his will to humanity. Along with Cindy Jacobs and Lance Wallnau, Wagner called for churches to institute prayer movements, ministries, and conferences, and raise up prayer leaders to pray for cities and nations.23
Intercessors and intercessory prayer for the NAR differs from orthodoxy, so pastors and teachers must be aware of the subtle differences. While Wagner affirmed that the priesthood of believers includes all who call on the name of Jesus Christ, the Bible’s call of every Christian to intercede is supplanted by the restoration of an office of one who can intercede by divine appointment. Intercession comes from the believer’s union with Christ and forms the heart to Christlikeness. The believer’s responses are reshaped, internalizing what has been heard and received through the means of grace.
The church is to be guided and governed by prophets and apostles (Eph. 4:12–15). Prophets are people with the anointing of God to hear his voice and guide the church. God has empowered those with the gift of prophecy (that is, those who hold the office of prophet) to hear his revealed will “more accurately” once the intercessors have opened heavenly portals by binding demonic powers.24 The (in)accuracy of fallible prophets is protected by safeguards that enable to church to “know” if the prophetic word was from God: (1) the gift of prophecy must be recognized, (2) the prophecy cannot contradict Scripture, and (3) the prophecy must be confirmed by agreement from others.25
NAR prophets function in an exclusive role, regardless of whether the office is recognized as being used or providing prophecy in a manner that displaces the teaching of Scripture. Moreover, the harm in prophecy in the NAR is the consequence of binding the conscience of the hearer to the extrabiblical knowledge spoken rather than to the word of God, where Scripture can be gravely misinterpreted and misapplied. The prophetic gift of the New Testament church was temporary, serving as the foundation of the church. This gift was not a new revelation, but it served to authenticate the authority of Scripture. Rather than rely on fresh revelations, orthodox churches rely on the Holy Spirit to illuminate the exposited word of God. God’s words rightly applied to hearers’ lives provide true hope and build up strong faith.
God has endowed apostles with strategic thinking and leadership to implement God’s will for the local and global church, a will that was revealed to the prophets. Apostolic leadership “spheres of authority” in churches include “vertical apostles,” who serve as leaders within their apostolic network, and “horizontal apostles,” who work with apostles from other apostolic networks.26 Pastors and teachers are often joined in role and differentiated from the office of prophet in the way God’s word is validated. Pastors and teachers “research and expound the logos,” the written word of God, and prophets “bring the rhema,” the extrabibli-
The harm in prophecy in the NAR is the consequence of binding the conscience of the hearer to the extrabiblical knowledge spoken rather than to the word of God, where Scripture can be gravely misinterpreted and misapplied.
Apart from the theological framework of the movement, the most significant demonstrable aspect of the
cal voice of God. The office of apostle is further distinguished as synthesizing the written and direct personal revelations into casting a vision of a prophetic direction for the church.27 The office of apostle is not exclusive, with apostles having additional gifts or offices within the fivefold ministry. Wagner called these “hyphenated apostles” such as “apostolic-apostles,” “prophetic-apostles,” “evangelistic-apostles,” “pastoral-apostles,” and “teacher-apostles.” 28 The office of apostle is central to dominion theology and the organizational character of the NAR, which needs deeper discussion.
Apart from the theological framework of the movement, the most significant demonstrable aspect of the movement is the apostolic leadership of its churches. Concerning the new apostolic structure of the church, Wagner states,
In traditional denominations, the locus of authority is ordinarily found in groups, not in individuals. That is why we are accustomed to hearing about deacon boards, boards of trustees, presbyteries, general assemblies, and so on. In the New Apostolic Reformation, however, trust has shifted from groups to individuals. On the local church level, the pastor now functions as the leader of the church instead of as an employee of the church.29
Though much has been written on the new apostolic structure of churches, for this frame, we will focus on why the offices of apostles and prophets are necessary for the church structure. As a reminder, according to the movement’s biblical narrative, God has limited his knowledge of the future and requires the cooperation of humanity to enact his will on the earth; however, God cannot send his will to the earth unless the church provides an atmosphere for this to occur.
How does God deliver his will to the church? It goes like this: Intercessors pray that the forces and powers of Satan are bound. In so doing, Satan’s power of darkness is broken through and a portal of heaven is opened for the potentiality of sending God’s will. Next, God delivers his desires through prophecies and words of knowledge to the prophets. Prophets do not have the authority to implement God’s will, so then the word is given to the apostles. Apostles then cast the vision and set the direction of the church so that it stays in alignment with God. It is their responsibility to ensure the church creates an atmosphere so that it stays within God’s will. Because the primary emphasis of its theology is to ensure that believers have been equipped to demonstrate the powers of the kingdom as Jesus did, teachers equip the church through expounding the movement’s teachings. The evangelists grow the church by any means necessary so that more dominion can be reclaimed for the kingdom of God and church members can, in turn, create more disciples.
In this article, we have provided four frames to help fellow Christians and church leaders contextualize and define a movement that has shaped American evangelicalism for many decades and yet has no formal confession or structure. Our desire is not to call out specific churches but rather to provide a means to identify and evaluate the New Apostolic Reformation’s origins, its teachings, and its ongoing influence. For the NAR, until the church has reclaimed the dominion of God’s creation, it will continue to equip its members to do the works that Jesus did so that God will be able to reclaim the dominion of creation and Christ can come again. Orthodox Christians use many of the same words, but we often mean something very different by them. Rather than adopting practices without discernment, we must engage in wise examination that asks questions aimed at discerning what notion of flourishing is implicit in the practices and beliefs of teachings we sit under.
May we seek to faithfully rehearse the gospel drama to have it form and inform our beliefs and practices. Let us pray for those caught in the NAR and ask that God would open their hearts and eyes to his truth to recognize and turn away from these wayward teachings.
Evan and Vivian Pietsch both hold doctorates from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and both were long-time members of the NAR. They are enterprise business leaders and Garrett Fellows at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Evan is also an adjunct instructor of business at Boyce College.
Orthodox Christians use many of the same words, but we often mean something very different by them.
1. C. Peter Wagner, Changing Church (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2004), 145.
2. C. Peter Wagner, Dominion!: How Kingdom Action Can Change the World (Grand Rapids: Chosen, 2008), 89.
3. Bill Hamon, The Eternal Church: A Prophetic Look at the Church—Her History, Restoration, and Destiny (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2003), 142.
4. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 142.
5. C. Peter Wagner, “Clark Pinnock,” September 4, 2001, Collection 0181: C. Peter Wagner Collection, 1930–2016, Box 16, Folder 13, Fuller Theological Seminary.
6. Wagner, Dominion!, 7.
7. C. Peter Wagner, Apostles and Prophets: The Foundation of the Church (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2000), 15.
8. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 264.
9. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 280.
10. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 239.
11. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 299.
12. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 264.
13. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 265.
14. C. Peter Wagner, “Third Wave,” in The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, ed. Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. van der Maas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 1141; Wagner, Apostles and Prophets, 15; C. Peter Wagner, The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering the Power of Signs and Wonders Today (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant, 1988), 16.
15. C. Peter Wagner, Seven Power Principles I Learned after Seminary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 29 (italics added); C. Peter Wagner, Churchquake: How the New Apostolic Reformation Is Shaking up the Church as We Know It (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), 164–65.
16. C. Peter Wagner, Wrestling with Alligators, Prophets, and Theologians: Lessons from a Lifetime in the Church: A Memoir (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2010), 266.
17. C. Peter Wagner, On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Answer God’s Call to Transform the World (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2013), 183; C. Peter Wagner, This Changes Everything: How God Can Transform Your Life and Change Your Life (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2013), 185.
18. C. Peter Wagner, ed., Destiny of a Nation: How Prophets and Intercessors Can Mold History (Colorado Springs: Wagner, 2001), chap. “History Belongs to the Intercessors”; C. Peter Wagner, “Wagner Prayer Partners,” 2, Global Harvest Ministries, March 23, 2001, Collection 0180: C. Peter Wagner Collection 1930–2016, Box 31, Folder 5, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA.
19. Wagner, Dominion!, 70.
20. Wagner, “Glossary of Church Growth Terms,” 288.
21. Wagner, On Earth as It Is in Heaven, 63.
22. Hamon, The Eternal Church, 282.
23. C. Peter Wagner, foreword to Cindy Jacobs, Possessing the Gates of the Enemy: A Training Manual for Militant Intercession (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), 11–12.
24. Wagner, On Earth as It Is in Heaven, 29.
25. Wagner, The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, 107.
26. Wagner, On Earth as It Is in Heaven, 63.
27. Wagner, On Earth as It Is in Heaven, 63.
28. Wagner, Apostles and Prophets, 52; Bill Hamon, Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 1997), 227.
29. C. Peter Wagner, Apostles Today: Biblical Government for Biblical Power (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2006), 23 (italics original).
for Christ Church Bellingham, an English sonnet
by Alex BrouwerBeneath the shifting skies where I once walked, bloodwine and burning light bring sober sight. If you go, maybe you’ll leave, and you’ll talk like me, with holy limp and heart alight. Those early endless days will mend your bones just in time to see pressure’s promise kept: big yellow tears landing on leprous road, like my own sore path, softer now to tread. Face the ceaseless dark like oaks by the pond –learn to long for light. And when breaking clouds turn berries red with martyr’s blood, press on to the hearth where all the saints sing out, “Come warm your heart, and when your clothing dries, we’ll walk again beneath the shifting skies.”
Connecting with our time and place
THIS ISSUE OF Modern Reformation exposes some of the doctrinal and practical dangers of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement. I trust that the great majority of MR readers are already convinced not to attend an NAR church or follow their teachings. But another question likely looms in the minds of many of us: What about their music? Bethel Church is openly aligned with the NAR, and their music label is one of the largest producers of contemporary worship music around the globe. Other churches like Hillsong or Elevation may not be as clearly aligned with the NAR, yet the movement’s influence on these churches is impossible to ignore—and their artists likewise top many worship music charts.
Theology matters, and so does music. In a situation like this, how do the two intersect? Even if your church doesn’t sing music from Bethel or the others, you are almost guaranteed to have family or friends whose churches do. If you are a pastor or elder, a member may question why your church chooses not to use music from these labels or artists. So, how do we think through this issue faithfully?
To that end, in this essay I want to answer three questions that show why it’s unwise to promote or use music from groups associated with the New Apostolic Reformation in our churches. My goal in raising these questions isn’t to bind your conscience, but to help you and those around you think through how music must reflect our theology—the truth about God and his word.
Not every song from Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation is biblically unsound. Most well-informed Christians could listen to a biblically sound song from an NARaligned group without being swept up in these churches’ other unbiblical doctrines and practices. Many falsehoods taught or practiced in these churches and their associated ministries—such as Bethel School of Ministry students performing “grave soaking” and attempting to raise the dead, or Elevation Church’s carefully orchestrated “spontaneous baptisms”—are so clearly against God’s word that there’s little danger of our adopting them.1 By the grace of God, spiritually mature and discerning believers have little fear of being deceived by such false teachings.
While that may be true of most readers of Modern Reformation, that’s not true of all Christians. The reality is that many of us live in cultures where biblically illiterate and doctrinally immature Christianity is common. Many Christians struggle to identify whether teaching is weak, let alone erroneous or even heretical. When something sounds good and somewhat biblical, many quickly accept it.
The poetry of music is a double-edged sword. In a moment, a single word can beautifully express several pages of a systematic theology book. However, that simplicity also allows people to approach a single word or phrase with different definitions.
Using music from these churches in our worship may tell weaker Christians that their spiritual leaders and other mature Christians have vetted these ministries and approve them. The immature look to the mature for guidance and are likely to become less guarded against other teachings and practices attached to these ministries. When we integrate music from an NAR church into our own worship, the congregation will assume that a particular song, and its source, are trustworthy.
We must be wise when we promote one area of a church’s ministry, because that ministry is always attached to something greater. Churches create music as an outreach that ultimately connects people to the church’s roots: its teachings about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the church’s mission in the world. If we wouldn’t be comfortable telling people to attend an NAR-aligned church, then is it wise to direct them to the tools of these churches to reach the world with their ministry and mission?
The poetry of music is a double-edged sword. In a moment, a single word can beautifully express several pages of a systematic theology book. However, that simplicity also allows people to approach a single word or phrase with different definitions. This means that not only does our theology shape the words we say, but the definition of our words will also shape our theology. We may not realize that the NAR and ministries deeply influenced by it use familiar words like worship and God’s presence in ways that diverge widely from how we use them in traditional Protestant circles. Through using NAR-influenced music, we may let it redefine these beliefs and experiences for Christ’s followers without realizing it’s happening. Bethel’s “Beliefs on Worship” web page defines worship in terms of experiencing God’s presence: “It’s all about His presence.” Each of these ministries designs worship music to bring on this presence, but what is God’s presence? I’ll quote Darlene Zschech, a former Hillsong music leader:
Our praise is irresistible to God. As soon as He hears us call His name, He is ready to answer us. That is the God we serve. Every time the praise and worship team with our musicians, singers, production teams, dancers, and actors begin to praise God, His presence comes in like a flood. Even though we live in His presence, His love is lavished on us in a miraculous way when we praise Him. 2
Bill Johnson, the pastor at Bethel, often equates God’s presence with God’s voice.3 When you don’t hear God audibly but feel him, that’s his voice and presence. An emotional response during worship is clear evidence of God’s immediate presence. Thus an intense inner experience becomes the substance, purpose, and goal of worship.
Listen to many popular songs created by these artists or take time to watch an NAR church’s worship service, and you’ll see this in action. During one worship service posted to Bethel’s YouTube page on October 4, 2017, the music leader tells the audience: “Your mind doesn’t even have to understand what’s happening; it doesn’t matter. Just let your spirit receive, fully, what God’s doing through the sound in this moment.” 4
Songs during this worship are simple, lyrics are repeated many times to the accompaniment of swelling instrumentals, and the congregation’s emotions are continually stoked by the music and prayers for God’s presence. By intensifying this experience, people can encounter God even more closely. This desire for God is honest, but how do we know we’re not confusing God’s voice or presence with something else?
Let’s not villainize the presence of emotion in worship. God calls us to worship him with our whole being; the Psalms clearly show the God-honoring role of emotion. We should expect to feel something as unworthy sinners singing together, celebrating wonderful truths about our good and gracious God. He fills and seals us with the Holy Spirit at conversion, the Spirit leads us to rejoice over truth, and it’s only natural to respond with appropriate joy or sorrow as our Spirit-transformed minds dwell on the truth that we speak and receive. The critical difference is that, biblically speaking, our experience is a byproduct of worship rather than its source or substance.
Compare this biblical and traditional theology of worship with a weekly experience that leaves people feeling emotionally high—and then drained. This may be the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s activity, or it may instead be the result of a spirituality practiced in many religions throughout history. These practices utilize repetitive chanting and stimulating music to bypass the mind and achieve the desired emotional or physiological effects. 5 In biblical worship, hearing from God is the basis of truth, which may then create a strong emotional response. In the NAR, experience is truth, leading to a human-first emphasis that succeeds or fails on someone’s volatile emotional state, not on God’s constant character.
This brings us back to our question: Are we letting the NAR shape our personal and corporate worship? Most of us would agree that an intense experience doesn’t prove we’ve encountered the true God, at least not in a way that is healthy for us or pleasing to him. The lyrics and worship services from NAR-aligned ministries match their theology; we in Reformation traditions must be careful to ensure these practices don’t reshape our theology into something else.
Confessional churches would find it unthinkable to write a monthly check to an obviously false teacher like Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland. Most of us would consider it a serious red flag to write a check directly to Bethel Church itself,
The lyrics and worship services from NAR-aligned ministries match their theology; we in Reformation traditions must be careful to ensure these practices don’t reshape our theology into something else.
In many theologically sound churches, NAR-influenced music is popular with congregants. . . . But if we allow such considerations to dictate our decisions about our worship, then this may indicate that we have, indeed, allowed movements like the NAR to shape our theology of worship.
knowing that many of their teachings are dangerously unbiblical. Like individuals, congregations must be good stewards of the resources God gives them. Using these resources to support ministries that clearly and boldly advocate error would not only compromise a congregation’s witness to the faith but also make them unwise stewards of their money.
However, churches inadvertently do just this when using music from ministries like Bethel. To use copyrighted music legally, as any church should, a church must directly or indirectly pay royalties to the rights holders. Most churches pay for licensing through CCLI. This service turns subscriptions into royalties by requiring churches to report which songs they’ve used in worship. This data, in turn, is used to pay the labels and artists who own rights to those songs.
Beyond direct financial support through licensing, featuring worship music in church makes the Christians who attend that church more likely to stream it on their own devices or buy it directly. A well-attended church that features a Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation song even one time should expect to contribute to that song being consumed hundreds, even thousands, of times over the next few months by its congregants. So, even if a church’s leaders or worship director aren’t paying for the song directly, they are still contributing to these churches receiving royalties indirectly through exposing the music to the people under their care. For example, in 2020, Bethel Music reported over $11 million in revenue; $6 million of that came from royalties. 6 Whether they mean to or not, theologically sound churches contribute to the wild success of churches that are directly or indirectly connected to the false teachings and practices of the New Apostolic Reformation.
From the “new measures” of Charles Finney to the passionate Billy Graham altar calls that still impact the weekly services of churches today, revivalist pragmatism has long haunted the bride of Christ. Many Christian circles still justify emotional manipulation or “pray this prayer” evangelism because it yields a more impressive response than intentional discipleship or adhering to the ordained methods of God’s word. As long as they reach a specific end, nearly any means of getting there is valid.
I trust that MR readers lament the influence of revivalist pragmatism in the contemporary church. Yet many of us, I fear, are tempted to use this same pragmatism to justify inviting such influence into churches, homes, and cars. In many theologically sound churches, NAR-influenced music is popular with congregants; it receives a more enthusiastic response compared to more traditional music, and it aligns with the musical preferences of many people. But if we allow such considerations to dictate our decisions about our worship, then this may indicate that we have, indeed, allowed movements like the NAR to shape our theology of worship.
Second Peter 2:1–3 offers us wonderfully honest and wise guidance as we dwell on this essay’s three main questions:
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
If you’re a pastor or elder, allowing this music into your church or your family doesn’t make you a false teacher (though James 3:1 is worth careful reflection). If you’re not a pastor, don’t assume you must leave a church that sings music associated with the NAR. My goal is not to command you one way or another but to lovingly ask you to think about music beyond just the lyrics and melodies, or the emotions they evoke.
Submit your preferences and experiences to God’s word as you ponder these questions. Since worshiping God in song is an essential aspect of the Christian life and our corporate gathering, it deserves as much cautious discernment as anything else we do. Music is about more than just the words we sing. It’s about the God of whom and to whom we sing. May our practice align with our convictions.
Ray Burns serves Christ in Des Moines, Iowa, by equipping Christians to think biblically about every area of life. This essay was adapted from a series titled “Exploring the Worship Music Debate.” You can find the series, and many essays like this, at OnwardintheFaith.com.
Music is about more than just the words we sing. It’s about the God of whom and to whom we sing.
1. For more, see the following online articles: Stephen Tan, “At What Price Awakening?: Examining the Theology and Practice of the Bethel Movement,” The Gospel Coalition Australia Edition, September 20, 2018; and Sarah Pulliam Bailey, “Megachurch Pastor Steven Furtick’s ‘Spontaneous Baptisms’ Not So Spontaneous,” Religion News Service , February 24, 2014.
2. Darlene Zschech, Extravagant Worship: Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Lord God Almighty Who Was and Is, and Is to Come (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2002), 54–55, https://g3min. org/stop-singing-hillsong-bethel-jesus-culture-and-elevation/ (emphasis mine).
3. Bill Johnson, “God’s Presence Is His Voice,” Sermon, Bethel TV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp2CnYkOe50.
4. Robby Busick, Lindy Conant, and Kiley Goodpasture,
Worship, Bethel TV, https://youtu.be/nWasGfpZLpk?t=1045.
5. See observations from studies such as: Junling Gao et al., “The Neurophysiological Correlates of Religious Chanting,” Scientific Reports, March 12, 2019; Paul Battles, “Music as a Catalyst for Altered States of Consciousness and Peak Experiences in the Treatment of Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD,” Digital Commons@Lesley, May 19, 2018; Gemma Perry et al., “How Chanting Relates to Cognitive Function, Altered States and Quality of Life,” National Library of Medicine, October 27, 2022; or Bangalore G. Kalyani et al., “Neurohemodynamic Correlates of ‘OM’ Chanting: A Pilot Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study,” International Journal of Yoga, 4.1 (2011): 3–6.
6. Bethel Church, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474005681.
BOOKS
In our essay in this issue (see “The Framing of a Movement” on page 32), we provided a broad framework for identifying and evaluating the New Apostolic Reformation. The following resources will be helpful if you desire to learn more about how the movement understands itself and how to understand it from a truly biblical perspective.
Your Role in Bringing Heaven to
DESTINY IMAGE | 2022 | 232 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $19.990
WAGNER EXPLORES DOMINIONISM and open theism in the exercise of God’s authority and power in achieving his will through the church. Wagner argues that God has given the church a mandate to engage in dominion to extend his kingdom in all seven spheres of society (religion, family, education, government, media, arts, and business). The mandate to invade Babylon and bring heaven to earth is accomplished through prayer, prophecy, spiritual mapping, and social action. See also On Earth as It Is in Heaven.
NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION PROPONENTS
This Changes Everything: How God Can Transform Your Mind and Change Your Life
by C. Peter WagnerCHOSEN BOOKS | 2013 | 232 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $9.93
WAGNER DESCRIBES his personal journey of theological and ecclesiological transformation, from his interpretation of a Reformed perspective to a charismatic and open theist view. The main argument of the book is that the church needs to embrace the New Apostolic Reformation and its beliefs on apostolic leadership, spiritual gifts, signs and wonders, and church planting. The book “overlooks denominational barriers, asking one and all to join together for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s purposes!” See also Changing Church.
by
Ché AhnDESTINY IMAGE | 2019 | 208 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $18.55
AHN EXPRESSES THE NAR belief of the continuation of the apostolic office and urges readers to not only see their apostolic function but also fully embrace the apostolic anointing of all Christians. The book calls for all believers to adopt the apostolic role in bringing God’s kingdom to earth and establishing God’s church. The NAR belief that apostles must bring revival and reformation to society by the seven mountains is a departure from the historical understanding of the original apostles commissioned by Christ alone.
The Eternal Church: A Prophetic Look at the Church; Her History, Restoration, and Destiny
by Bill HamonDESTINY IMAGE | 2005 | 384 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $19.99
HAMON’S VISION OF the prophetic-apostolic movement forms the backdrop of the book as he shares the history of the church from the New Testament to the Middle Ages and from the Protestant Reformation to the time of writing in 2005. The book seeks to offer a framework for understanding the “experiential truths” restored to the twenty-first-century church, calling its readers to partake in the prophetic-apostolic restoration movement.
The Reformer’s Pledge compiled by Ché Ahn
DESTINY IMAGE | 2013 | 256 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $18.99
THE REFORMERS PLEDGE IS a collection of essays from authors within the NAR sharing how they pledge to be reformers to fulfill the Great Commission through the seven-mountain mandate, prayer, holiness, and spiritual warfare. The book is a look into the beliefs and paradigms of the NAR that deviate from historical and orthodox Christianity.
Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate by
Lance Wallnau and Bill JohnsonDESTINY IMAGE | 2013 | 164 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $14.99
WALLNAU AND JOHNSON PROVIDE a guide for those in the NAR who want to transform the culture around them, Babylon, which must be invaded. The book explains the concept of the seven mountains of influence and how to incorporate them into the kingdom of God. The book provides examples of how the NAR calls for advancing the gospel in every sphere of society.
NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION CRITICS
New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement
by R. Douglas Geivett and Holly PivecLEXHAM PRESS | 2018 | 272 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $19.99
PIVEC AND GEIVETT ARGUE THAT the theology of the NAR deviates from historical orthodox practices of the church revealed in Scripture. They contend that the NAR movement departs from classical Pentecostal and charismatic teachings. The book offers a critique of those who call themselves prophets and apostles and who lead the movement through signs and wonders. The authors affirm the proper place of divinely wrought signs and wonders in addition to the gift of prophecy in our day while exposing questionable practices and flawed theology found within the NAR.
God’s Super-Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement
by R. Douglas Geivett and Holly PivecLEXHAM PRESS | 2018 | 175 PAGES (SOFTCOVER) | $19.99
PIVEC AND GEIVETT OFFER a concise overview of key NAR teachings and practices, examining scriptural passages cited by NAR leaders. Biblical interpretation of the texts is presented to provide a helpful explanation of the misleading fallacies of the movement and sound Christian doctrine. This book is easy to read and benefits the church as a tool for understanding the dangers of the practices of the NAR.
C. Peter Wagner’s Philosophy of Discipleship
by Evan Phillip PietschSOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY | 2023 | HTTPS://HDL.HANDLE. NET/10392/7219
EVAN DEMONSTRATES THAT all of Wagner’s works and church growth practices must be evaluated through the theological system of open theism. Wagner’s theological beliefs and practices evolved into a pragmatic means of discipleship, affirming God’s dependency on the prayers of humanity to
fulfill the Great Commission. In 2001, Wagner formally adopted open theism and articulated a revised means of discipleship through dominion theology that interprets Scripture through experience and believes that implementing the will of God on earth is the ultimate end of humanity. Wagner affirms an openness paradigm of God throughout his entire career as a missionary, professor, and leader within the NAR.
SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY | 2023 | HTTPS://HDL.HANDLE.NET/10392/7226
VIVIAN DEMONSTRATES THAT Wagner’s philosophy of discipleship is incongruent with the orthodox doctrine of sanctification and paradigm of discipleship. The “Virtuous Christian Discipleship” (VCD) paradigm is introduced and employed to assess and evaluate Wagner’s doctrine of sanctification, offering a redemptive and confessional framework of discipleship for a biblical perspective on human learning, growth, and development in light of the imago Dei. VCD endeavors to strengthen the church’s commitment to the practice of a biblical model of discipleship.
Were the world of my own making, could my will enact its voice, I should surely sculpt a chaos, pain parading as a choice.
But like stone, the river shaping, shapes her flow by standing still, I may fill the form and placing given me and which I will.
THE LITERAL MEANING OF enthusiasmos in Greek is “god-within-ism.” According to the ancients, the highest state of the soul’s enlightenment lies beyond sense experience and even reason. This achievement of unspoken union with the divine within is called gnosis, unmediated knowledge. Such philosophical religion is at odds with biblical faith at nearly every turn. As the sovereign king who issues edicts, God’s activity in creation, providence, and redemption always comes as a word from outside us. In fact, ignoring God’s external word and turning within to find truth was the source of our first parents’ transgression.
In this way, Luther said, Adam and Eve were the first “enthusiasts.” Luther identified such god-within-ism with both religious extremes of his day: Anabaptism and Rome. Both corrupt the gospel by turning sinners from Christ outside of them to the self and its mystical experience and good works. Doesn’t the pope pretend to receive direct revelation like Thomas Müntzer and other so-called prophets? Don’t both sides deceive their followers with false miracles? Luther dubbed all enthusiasm a “theology of glory” or “seeking God outside the way”—that is, beyond the incarnate Word proclaimed in the gospel. 1 Calvin shared Luther’s disapproval when he replied to Cardinal Sadoleto, “We are assailed by two sects: the pope and the Anabaptists.” Both claim an ongoing apostolic office and boast about continuing revelations. “In this way,” Calvin says, “both separate the Word from the Spirit and bury the Word of God in order to make room for their falsehood.” 2
To be sure, God’s word comes to us and reaches the deepest recesses of our hearts, but it always comes as an “alien word.” The Spirit dwells in us and testifies to our spirits, but God’s Spirit isn’t our spirit. Our inner voice would never tell us that the Word became flesh, bore our sins in his body, and rose bodily as the beginning of the final resurrection. Our inmost soul resists with might and main the truth that it is the citadel of rebellion against God, the fountain of corruption, and that as sinners we are justified apart from works through faith alone in Christ alone.
Although the Anabaptist revolution of the sixteenth century was ultimately unsuccessful in its immediate aims, it inspired the revolutionary spirit of modernity. In later revolutions, the prophecies would often be secularized, but the ideal of an Age of Enlightenment beyond the church and state persisted. Marx and Engels made a virtual cult of Müntzer as the precursor of Communism, while postmillennialism contributed significantly to visions of the new American nation as “a shining city on a hill,” a new Israel uniquely called by God to establish its institutions abroad. And in movements like the New Apostolic Reformation, we hear the latest rousing chorus of the enthusiast’s anthem.
Michael Horton is editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation
1. Martin Luther, Luther’s Works 5:42. See Walther von Loewenich, Luther’s Theology of the Cross (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1976); cf. Steven D. Paulson, “Luther on the Hidden God,” Word and World, Vol. XIX, no. 4 (Fall 1999), 363.
2. “Reply by John Calvin to Cardinal Sadoleto,” in Selected Works of John Calvin: Tracts and Letters, ed. Henry Beveridge and Jules Bonnet, 7 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983), 1:36.
Designed to help people find answers to common questions and dig deeper into foundational truths, our Core booklets are ideal tools for discipleship. Typically fewer than a hundred pages and always written by trusted authors, these booklets provide rich, accessible content for personal reflection and group discussion.
