Summer 2005 Rapport: Thoughts from the Prez

Back to Table of Contents

Teachers and Prophets in the Church and University

I recently heard a challenging address by Dr. Doug Beacham¹, a leader in the Pentecostal Holiness Church. First, from the Acts 13 account of the leadership in the Antioch church, Beacham noted there were both teachers and prophets present (v.1). This signifies there was, in this powerful New Testament church, a deep commitment to what my predecessor, Dr. Del Tarr, called knowledge on fire.

Some 1500 years after Antioch, Martin Luther was used of God in a similar way. From 1514 to 1517, Luther won over the entire Wittenberg University faculty to his views of Scripture, the church and justification by faith. Between 1520 and 1560, nearly 16,000 students from all over Europe came to study at Wittenberg. The faculty there planted the seeds of reformation in the lives of thousands of students, radically rearranging the focus of the church. The knowledge on fire that occurred at both Antioch and Wittenberg significantly altered history for the glory of God. Teachers and prophets took their rightful place in church and in the university.

Today, churches and learning organizations seem to be at odds, but they need not be. Together they can make huge contributions to the future of the church.

In recent strategic planning, we committed ourselves to a revitalized preaching emphasis. The need for preachers who can communicate with anointing and solid biblical content has never been greater. Simultaneously, Pastor John Lindell and the leadership team at James River Assembly (JRA), in the Springfield area, had been praying about how their priority of expository preaching could be replicated in our fellowship. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, AGTS and JRA have worked together to form the James River Center for Expository Preaching at AGTS. We believe the impact of the church at Antioch and Luther’s Reformation need not be merely objects of historical study.

We believe “teachers and prophets” are among us here at AGTS and JRA. The priority of biblical expository preaching is not a passing fad; it is foundational to perpetuating the zeal of the Pentecostal movement into a second century of existence. We look forward to a future together that could very well mirror the revitalization of biblical preaching in the Pentecostal movement. I desire to see churches and learning organizations partner together for the glory of God and the future of our Fellowship. May it be said this was an era in which teachers and prophets, anointed by God’s Spirit, reaped a harvest unequalled in Pentecostal history.

 

 

To receive monthly commentary from President Klaus by email, visit www.agts.edu/prez_release. Each Prez Release contains thoughts on society, the Bible and the Church’s role in today’s world.

 

1. Dr. Doug Beacham's address at the Society for Pentecostal Studies Annual Meeting, Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, March 10, 2005.

Updated: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 2:25 PM