As this "Special Issues" is included it appears it is for possible reconsidering as well.
I would suggest this statement be reconsidered.
Special Issues
CONCERNING PROPHESY, we believe that both the manifestation of the Gift of Prophesy and the office of the prophet are active in the church today. We also believe that the prophetic can come from any believer and is manifested in several ways, from a message of edification and exhortation to cautions regarding future events. Regardless of the type of prophetic word, our measuring line is the Word of God.
The gift of Prophecy is for edification, exhortation and comfort. 1 Cor. 14:3
This gift may come from a believer as the Spirit wills, but does not speak of future events.
The Office of the Prophet is a "called" office by God and when speaking of future events is a manifestation of the word of knowledge and/or word of wisdom.
We do not want to get into discussions of whether someone is called to be a prophet or not. That is not within the purview of staff. That's why prophecy can be such a concern... because there are no checks and balances on it on the Web like there would be in a RL church community.
That being said, you make a very good point. Is the definition of prophetic word in this guideline too broad? Is it important that we narrow it by removing the mention of future events? Or is the fact that we include that it must be check against Scripture enough of a framework?
__________________ Many people think that the question should be: have you made Jesus your Lord? Have you invited him unreservedly into your heart? Have you completely dedicated every part of yourself and your life to him?
The trouble is that when we are truthful, the answer must always be "No." So let's ask the question a different way.
Has Jesus given everything for you? Has he dedicated his whole life to you? Has he invited you into his heart? And the answer to that is a glorious and gracious and conscious, freeing, comforting YES!
(paraphrased from Pastor Wolfmueller, Table Talk Radio)
I have some concerns. The link i'm going to post is just an example. Un-based accusations and veiled threats and subtle intimidation are no place for a 'helping' thread that is said to be started to assist in healing those with serious problems and are in a vulnerable state.
I happened to be reading the thread and i was thrown through a loop that post-ers, merely attempting to clarify what the Bible says, were accused of debating and de-railing the thread...and it was insinuated that anyone that asks a question, no matter how benign, is seen as a trouble-maker and/or debating, and it was understoods that those post-ers posts would be removed, no questions asked, by moderators.
I posted a 2-word statement, asking for clarification. I got the same response.
That is part of the concern that got us started looking at the FSGs. The problem in that particular thread is that it was designated "no debate" and then people posted doctrinal ideas that others disagreed with but were not allowed to discuss.
The main point of this draft FSG is that the "no debate" option will go away. Doctrinal statements will be open for discussion, and if they get into debate, they will be moved to the debate subforum. No one should be able to make a statement that cannot be questioned, discussed, or looked at in the light of Scripture. So you will no longer have the option to mark your thread "no debate".
That being said, we need to craft the FSGs to explain what DOES happen to discussion/debate threads, since the current FSGs date from before the creation of the debate subforum. Thus, this draft FSG discussion.
__________________ Many people think that the question should be: have you made Jesus your Lord? Have you invited him unreservedly into your heart? Have you completely dedicated every part of yourself and your life to him?
The trouble is that when we are truthful, the answer must always be "No." So let's ask the question a different way.
Has Jesus given everything for you? Has he dedicated his whole life to you? Has he invited you into his heart? And the answer to that is a glorious and gracious and conscious, freeing, comforting YES!
(paraphrased from Pastor Wolfmueller, Table Talk Radio)
I think prophesy is open to the same abuses that we saw in the deliverance and spiritual warfare forum, and dont think it should be allowed.
Whats to stop some noob who wants to take a person down a peg or two PMing them an unsolicited "thus sayeth the Lord" nastiness
You make a good point, Tenebrae. However, these FSGs are dealing primarily with public posts and threads, not with PMs. Even if we limited prophecy threads even more than we do, it would not stop PMs.
As always, a member receiving a nasty PM has the option to report it. THe support staff (who review PM reports) are pretty good about seeing through veils and cloaks to see flames and attacks underneath.
__________________ Many people think that the question should be: have you made Jesus your Lord? Have you invited him unreservedly into your heart? Have you completely dedicated every part of yourself and your life to him?
The trouble is that when we are truthful, the answer must always be "No." So let's ask the question a different way.
Has Jesus given everything for you? Has he dedicated his whole life to you? Has he invited you into his heart? And the answer to that is a glorious and gracious and conscious, freeing, comforting YES!
(paraphrased from Pastor Wolfmueller, Table Talk Radio)
I guess this is a conversation to be had elsewhere, but I never considered Pentecostals as guests since they agree with the FSG's. They agree in the gifts of the spirit for today. Just like charismatic catholics or any other spirit filled person of any denomination.
If we want to make this explicit in the FSGs, we can always add a link to the Pentecostal forum. Maybe something like this:
Pentecostal/AOG believers and Charismatic Catholics are welcome to post in this forum with their Spirit-filled brethren, or they may prefer to post in the Pentecostal or Charismatic Catholic forums. For the purposes of this forum, Charismatic/Spirit-filled is defined as follows:
__________________ Many people think that the question should be: have you made Jesus your Lord? Have you invited him unreservedly into your heart? Have you completely dedicated every part of yourself and your life to him?
The trouble is that when we are truthful, the answer must always be "No." So let's ask the question a different way.
Has Jesus given everything for you? Has he dedicated his whole life to you? Has he invited you into his heart? And the answer to that is a glorious and gracious and conscious, freeing, comforting YES!
(paraphrased from Pastor Wolfmueller, Table Talk Radio)
[quote]The Office of the Prophet is a "called" office by God and when speaking of future events is a manifestation of the word of knowledge and/or word of wisdom.[/QUOTE]
Originally Posted by synger
We do not want to get into discussions of whether someone is called to be a prophet or not. That is not within the purview of staff. That's why prophecy can be such a concern... because there are no checks and balances on it on the Web like there would be in a RL church community.
That being said, you make a very good point. Is the definition of prophetic word in this guideline too broad? Is it important that we narrow it by removing the mention of future events? Or is the fact that we include that it must be check against Scripture enough of a framework?
The portion of the fsg's that I copied here is actually a matter of interpretation. Some, but definitely not all, well recognized SF/PC groups would agree with it. Others would say that office of prophet, when speaking, may be operating in not only word of knowledge/word of wisdom.. but also possibly in the gifts of prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues/interpretation, etc.
I'm not sure who/when that was added in, but personally, I think it is far too narrow in it's scope.
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The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.Psalm 34:7-8
Do you have broader wording that you would like to suggest that might cover it better?
__________________ Many people think that the question should be: have you made Jesus your Lord? Have you invited him unreservedly into your heart? Have you completely dedicated every part of yourself and your life to him?
The trouble is that when we are truthful, the answer must always be "No." So let's ask the question a different way.
Has Jesus given everything for you? Has he dedicated his whole life to you? Has he invited you into his heart? And the answer to that is a glorious and gracious and conscious, freeing, comforting YES!
(paraphrased from Pastor Wolfmueller, Table Talk Radio)
We do not want to get into discussions of whether someone is called to be a prophet or not. That is not within the purview of staff. That's why prophecy can be such a concern... because there are no checks and balances on it on the Web like there would be in a RL church community.
That being said, you make a very good point. Is the definition of prophetic word in this guideline too broad? Is it important that we narrow it by removing the mention of future events? Or is the fact that we include that it must be check against Scripture enough of a framework?
We have one thread - Prophetic Practice / Prophetic Edification Thread where this issue has already been addressed. We have additional rules re: prophecy in that thread. Perhaps they should be included for all of SF/C
This thread is for mutual edification and encouragement… please make sure that your posts reflect this.
Please do not use this platform to bring directional prophecies… ie. those which will result in major change for the person involved. For example, it is fine to say,” I think God may be moving you on in some way.” It is NOT Ok to say “God says sell your house and move to …”
It is never permissible to accuse any individual or group, specifically or generally, or being demonized. Nor is it permissible to pray for or prophesy deliverance. These are issues which CANNOT be addressed on a message board! If you feel that someone needs such help, please contact the recovery team, who will put them in touch with real-life ministries.
The usual forum rules apply – no baiting, flaming, and above all – think of the effect your words may have on others!
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Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
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That being said, we need to craft the FSGs to explain what DOES happen to discussion/debate threads, since the current FSGs date from before the creation of the debate subforum. Thus, this draft FSG discussion.
Synger, can you help us understand the difference between discussion and debate especially when the discussion contains differing points of view?
Originally Posted by synger
If we want to make this explicit in the FSGs, we can always add a link to the Pentecostal forum. Maybe something like this:
That would be great.
__________________
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God ain't my crutch. He's my wheelchair! _______________________________
I had used that terminology because even though Pentecostals have their own forum, they may also post in the SF/C main forum as part of the overarching Spirit-filled community. Do you think that they would feel disenfranchised if they were not specificially mentioned, or do you think that "Spirit-filled and Charismatic believers..." includes Pentecostals by definition? (as in "All Pentecostals are SF, but not all SF are Pentecostals" or something like that)
I'd agree with this. Personally, I think there is no harm in continuing to include the term Pentecostal in the title. It's just a little redundant as they are spirit-filled/charismatic by definition.
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"The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion." -John Wesley
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