Rob Rufus on Leadership that is Word AND Power

I do believe that even though great leaps have been taken in seeing Reformed doctrine and Charismatic Experience come together, recent events have demonstrated that the link is tenous and may easily drift apart. For example Terry Virgo bemoaned having to choose between "Word" and "Spirit" at various conferences when writing in the Newfrontiers magazine. But then he wrote in his blog when announcing Mark Driscoll was coming that we have had two years of "Spirit" ministry and hinted it's time for a re-balance with a "Word" speaker. That dissatisfies me!

I don't want and don't think the ideal is to seek out "Word" speakers and "Spirit" speakers. The ideal surely is for leaders to seek to be men of both Word and Spirit - of both doctrine and power - of fire and light.

I was hugely encouraged to find Rob Rufus clearly believes the same. I have been listening to the wonderful series he preached when he was visiting Los Angeles last year and he said this;

"We really do need in these days to substaniate the supernatural with theology and with Scripture. I dont know what I am ministry-wise and maybe there is an element of the evangelist in me. But I get so discouraged when I hear people say of evangelists that they are so shallow in theology but move in the power. We cannot afford that. Evangelists cannot use lack of theology as an excuse anymore because to just move in power without theology is a dangerous thing to do. But neither can the teachers and the theologians hide behind theology anymore as an excuse to not move in the power. Jesus was the Theologian of theologians and yet He raised the dead and He said we can do likewise.

Paul the apostle was the theologian of theologians after Jesus and he raised the dead and moved in dramatic miracle power. Teachers need to in the same ministry of power that Jesus moved in. We cannot say that those who had the greatest miracles in the New Testament were evangelists. No - no - no. Those in the Bible in the Book of Acts some of the greatest spear-head ministries were the apostles and they moved in signs and wonders and miracles.

The whole five-fold ministry cannot hide behind theology of lack of theology. Everyone needs to have theology and the demonstration of God's power so that the priesthood can come to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

We can't have teachers teach great things and close their Bibles and say "Let's go home". We have to demonstrate what we are teaching in manifestations. We cannot wait for evangelists or prophets or apostles to come to our churches before we have a demonstration of power. Otherwise what we are doing is side-lining those ministries as fringe fanatics and saying "That's what they do - that's their anointing". I dont have any special anointing for that. I could not move in the power of God for the first few years even though I was baptised in the Holy Spirit because my theology was wrong. It was good Pauline theology that activated the dormant power of God in me.

It's not some people who have special gifting. If it is activated without good theology, then it will go wrong. We do not worship the manifestations - we worship the Manifestor - but we are not ashamed of the manifestations!".

Let us take Rob's wise counsel and seek - whether we are leaders or not - to marry the "Word" and the "Spirit" in our church life and in our personal life. The two do not have to be seperated! They were designed to stand together as one!