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Prophecy...

Dear pastor, co-laborer, friend,

Where would you be personally in the continuum between “eagerly desiring” prophecy and being “open but cautious?” I can understand any hesitation you may have, even angst, when it comes to discerning how the more public or vocal gifts of the Spirit “fit in” to the “normal” day-to-day life of the local church.

Honestly, it‘s messy.

We see evidence of that in the church at Corinth and we’ve seen it in our own church for the last thirty years!

When we began in 1984, our idealistic and passionate pursuit of all God had for us in the church today drove us to ask of the Lord a daring question: What would be His pleasure regarding prophecy for our mission as a church? We were asking the same thing for every other aspect of our life together so we couldn’t, in good conscience, ignore this one part of what we see so clearly in Scripture.

Not to say that the other areas of our mission were easy, but this one seemed to stir up a wide variety of problems that, at times, seemed insurmountable.

It was certainly frustrating for me as a senior pastor, but I can only imagine how difficult it was for those in the church gifted in prophecy! We would challenge our church members to serve with the gifts God had given them, but when our folks who had the gift of prophecy tried to serve, it proved...troublesome.

As a pastor, trying to lead well, many times I felt like I was “in the way” much more than I was a part of the answer.

All that is in hindsight now, and for that I am thankful! After three decades, and the patience that only the Holy Spirit can provide, we have come to a place in our church where these gifts are flourishing like never before. We haven’t arrived and figured it all out by any means. Over these years together, there have been many wonderful seasons of blessing, and much fruit has been born as a result. But the love, faithfulness, endurance, long-suffering, and passion for all God has for us has sustained the pastoral leadership of the church, as well as those who have been given this wonderful gift.

What Darin has prepared for you here is a feast! It’s all your favorite foods, even things you wouldn’t have thought to ask for. He is sharing honestly our successes and failures. He is taking you down the path we traveled.

And why? Oh how we would have loved to have had a resource like this on our journey! At least we could have gleaned from others and learned from their experience. During our quest, we found very little that was published to help us. Darin earnestly desires to change that and make available to you all that we’ve learned so that you can get from where you are now to where you want to be.

This book is an answer to innumerable prayers. It is a dream come true for me and for Darin. It is our sincere prayer that you will benefit and grow in this spiritual gift and the wonderful expression of the Holy Spirit’s activity it is in the life of the local church.

Danny Jones

Pastor, Metro Life Church

Orlando, Florida

March 11, 2015