(Note: this post was written several months ago after the release of the Rolling Stone article "Love and Death in the House of Prayer." I hesitated to publish it then but am publishing it now that time is passed and I feel good about it. Understand it is coming from a place of love for both IHOP and the Church, desiring "to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son.")
I have spent a lot of time at the House of Prayer lately. Not the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, which has been doing 24/7 prayer and worship since 1999, but the local off shoot here in Des Moines. IHOP Iowa (IHOPIA, which is almost just as long as far as abbreviations go) is open 4 hours a day during the week and features live musicians occasionally, but mostly plays a live feed of the IHOPKC worship room. Lately, I have been spending 1-2 hours there a day and playing guitar once a week.
There a lot of things I really like about IHOP. I attended One Thing, their big conference every year, this past December and had some profound encounters with Jesus. Since then, I've really been learning a lot. The greatest thing I enjoy is the chance to break out of the usual routine of 15 minute spiritual disciplines and instead take the time to spend an hour or two in the presence of God. It forces you to actually engage with a God usually relegated to the margins of our schedules. In a time when I am beginning to raise support for my new job with InterVarsity, this time has deepened my intimacy with Jesus and trust in Him in profound ways.
Our Rejection of the Five-Fold Gifts of Ephesians 4 Has Created A Crisis in Church Leadership
When it comes to the Ephesians 4 model of church leadership I have laid out in previous posts, my understanding is relatively impercise. I am not going so far as to argue for the exact details and systematic structure of a local church, or greater church denomination, ought to implement. In fact, that is actually more of what the spiritual gift of managing described in 1 Corinthians 12 is for. I am arguing that whatever structure is built, it must have different people in high ranking leadership with all of these gifts or else the leadership will suffer tremendously, as history bears out.
Why do we only focus on pastor and teacher? The answer is found in church history, bad theology, and fear.
In my last post, I introduced the Ephesians 4 model for church leadership and the 5 spiritual gifts: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, and Teacher. Clearly these are all Biblical terms and gifts that compliment each other well in church leadership. Clearly, we can see many of these gifts and characteristics in ourselves and others around us. So why is the apostle, prophet, and evangelist so uncommon in the local church? Why do we drive by churches that advertise their "Head Pastor" but not their "Head Evangelist?" I would love to see an ad in the church bulletin looking for a "Youth Prophet." The answer is found in the history and development of the church.
How Ephesians 4 Changes How We See The Church
Several weeks ago, I went on all-too-common twitter rant, lamenting the pain and suffering in the world and wondering if I'm not wasting my time leading worship or working on a college campus. A mentor saw the rant and pointed me in the direction of a sermon series over the Ephesians 4 model for church leadership and, in particular, the role of the prophet. I am not much of one for "personality tests" and whatnot, but I was floored by how well this biblical model described me and, as I have researched and thought about it more, how our ignorance of this model has led so many problems the church is experiencing today. My research inspired me to write a lot over this topic. I argue that the church's historical disregard for the Ephesians 4 model of leadership has led to a crisis in Church leadership, a systematic injustice which amputates the Body of Christ and handicaps the Church's ability to fully and properly function as the Hands and Feet of Jesus.
