Why Some Young Leaders are Rejecting the Apostolic and Prophetic by Mark Pfeifer
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Recently, I was on a call with an ICAL member who I have known for several years. He named four or five pioneers in the apostolic/prophetic movement whose spiritual and biological sons have taken over their churches.
In each of the four or five cases he mentioned, these young leaders have rejected the apostolic and prophetic in their local churches.
Why?
Before you say anything...
...it might be easy for mature leaders to find fault with these and other young leaders. It’s hard for us to imagine why they don’t embrace the things we paid such a heavy price to obtain.
We found apostolic and prophetic possibilities new and exciting in our day…
…but that was 30 or 40 years ago...
...and a lot has changed since then.
So, what went wrong?
▶︎ Maybe we’re victims of our own success. It’s possible for one generation to achieve so much that the next generation takes it for granted. There’s a presumption that can develop when a person grows up in an apostolic and prophetic environment. They don’t know how special it is. They don’t know what it’s like to languish week after week in dead religion.
▶︎ Perhaps these young pastors aren’t much different than we were at that age. Nicki and I walked a different path than our foreparents did. We moved into an entirely different stream of Christianity. We were warned by older saints who loved us. But it made no difference. We had to walk our own path.
▶︎ Maybe they’re reacting to what they saw in their parent’s as excesses and extremes in the revival movements in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Perhaps they saw a certain kind of conduct at church and another at home. They cannot connect the dots on how extreme manifestations at church translate into a solid marriage, successful careers, and a peaceful homelife.
Regardless, there seems to be a disconnect between some apostolic mothers and fathers and their biological and spiritual children.
Let’s take a deeper dive into this subject based on the roundtable dialogue conducted in USCAL Region 12 in Whittier (LA), California on March 18-19, 2024.
Here’s a synopsis…
WHAT THE APOSTOLIC AND PROPHETIC PIONEERS MIGHT HAVE GOT WRONG
It’s easy to look back on history with a critical eye. This seems to be a cultural pastime in the West these days.
That’s not what we want to do in this conversation!
However, we would be amiss if we did not at least try to find some basis for the reasons why some younger leaders are rejecting apostolic and prophetic dimensions in their churches.
Why? What did they see or not see in the previous generation to make them believe that apostolic and prophetic things are unnecessary?
Irrelevant?
Even dangerous?
Here are three thoughts on the subject…
1. Pioneering apostles and prophets fought hard for their titles to be reintroduced into the church, but many went no further.
They were reintroducing the roles of apostles and prophets in the body of Christ and felt like they had to emphasize their function by using the titles that describe them.
Who can blame them? This seemed like a necessary step for the inclusion of these two gifts in the common Christian lexicon alongside teachers, pastors, and evangelists.
Unfortunately, that’s as far as many leaders went.
Perhaps that’s all the further God needed them to go.
Regardless, some of their spiritual sons and daughters saw the apostolic and prophetic as only a title for people using it to climb the ecclesiastical ladder.
These young leaders are not interested in continuing that kind of spiritual lineage.
2. Many first generation apostles built networks according to the only model they knew – Denominational.
They built mini-denominations and operated them accordingly...
...but without the incumbrances of boards and committees!
It was a one-man show.
Some apostles seemed to enjoy the power they garnered from sitting atop the empires they built.
The same young leaders who saw apostolic and prophetic ministry displayed through titles, also witnessed the hierarchies that were built this way.
Now that these leaders have taken the reins of the church, they want to build different way. Their value systems are far more relational, casual, and egalitarian. They want to lead churches that reflect these values.
Someone said in our gathering, “Young leaders aren’t rejecting the church, they are rejecting the systems of the church.”
And in many cases, they are reinventing those structures in what may be a purer and more scriptural apostolic and prophetic dimension than did their spiritual mothers and fathers...
...without even realizing it!
3. There is a lack of clear teaching on how apostolic and prophetic ministry can help the local church.
Many pioneering apostles and prophets defined their ministries apart from pastors and teachers. This separated them from the local church.
Many of these pioneers were struggling against old wineskins and moved as far away from them as possible.
Then came a younger generation who wanted to return to some of the more traditional expressions of local church.
These young leaders have a renewed interested in establishing strong local churches. They are returning to places abandoned by many apostolic and prophetic fathers in the past.
Younger leaders have a hard time seeing how apostles and prophets can actually help them grow their churches both qualitatively and quantitatively.
WHAT YOUNG LEADERS WANT FROM APOSTOLIC AND PROPHETIC LEADERS
Next, we turned our attention to what younger leaders want from those who are older.
1. Young leaders are looking for spiritual fathers and mothers.
They are looking for leaders who truly care for them, those with whom they can build a close relationship. They don’t want to be patronized with lectures and platitudes.
They want a personal relationship with a spiritual father/mother who is real, vulnerable, and transparent.
Young people growing up without both parents in the home present our biggest challenge and greatest opportunity!
The good news is that young leaders yearn to be fathered and mothered.
The bad news is that many of them don’t know how to be a son/daughter. It doesn’t come natural for them.
They have what many people call an orphan spirit. This can be overcome, however, when mature leaders become true fathers and mothers to them…
…without the titles and hierarchies!
2. Young leaders want a relationship, not an institution.
Institutions can often use people to reach their goals, then discard them when the mission is complete. This can leave people feeling empty and rejected when the objective of the institution has been reached.
Many times, unfortunately, that objective is for the sole benefit of the man/woman at the top.
3. Young people need to be parented, first.
Someone in the Roundtable said, “Before you have a soldier on the battlefield, you must have a son/daughter in the home.” This is an excellent statement!
John Kelly has often said his greatest mistakes have been, “Acting like a general when I should have been a father and acting like a father when I should have been a general.”
There is an appropriate time for both.
…but family must come first!
The military is concerned with rank, order, and obedience. These are some of the main qualities displayed by some apostolic and prophetic fathers/mothers towards their spiritual children…
…and no wonder! They were fighting a war with old wineskins and religious spirits. This was the only way they knew how to lead.
The problem is that these pioneering generals never moved away from military mode. The structures they built were meant for war and created an ethos of command and control throughout the organization.
This caused many young leaders to associate the apostolic with being domineering and dogmatic. For a person already struggling with an orphan spirit, this looked a lot like exploitation.
4. Young leaders reject titles and hierarchies that deny them access to their leaders.
Social media has given a generation of people unprecedented access to their favorite people. This aligns with their values of realness, genuineness, vulnerability, and authenticity.
If leaders appear aloof and unapproachable, young people would rather walk away than becoming another cog in an institutional machine.
5. Young leaders value what older leaders were told not to portray.
Vulnerability, authenticity, realness, honesty, being down to earth and casual are all values younger leaders embrace. Ironically, those are some of the same qualities older leaders were told not to show.
“Never let ‘em see you sweat” was the popular moniker given to older leaders by the men and women who fought two world wars and endured a depression.
This has made some of the apostolic and prophetic pioneers seem hard to get to know. They hide their feelings. They are closed off. They project a carefully crafted image of strength and resolve.
But this comes across as fake and phony to many younger leaders. It turns them off and drives them away. They would rather know an individual over an image.
HOW CAN APOSTOLIC/PROPHETIC LEADERS RAISE UP HEALTHY SPIRITUAL CHILDREN?
One of the best examples of this in the Bible is Elijah and Elisha. Theirs was a relationship developed as Elijah gave time and attention to Elisha as his protégé.
Paul told the Corinthians that they had many teachers but not many fathers in I Corinthians 4:15. Connecting this with the story of Elijah and Elisha brings up an interesting point of discussion…
…True apostolic ministry may be smaller in number compared to the people teachers, pastors, evangelists, and prophets can attract.
Four of the Five-fold Ministry Gifts can execute their mission with dozens, hundreds, thousands, and even millions of followers.
However, apostolic parents can only father/mother a few key leaders at a time. This means that apostolic ministry could be the smallest ministry numerically among the Five-fold Gifts.
But wait!
What about Paul and his ministry in places like Iconium, Lystra, Derby, Antioch, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, and Ephesus? In these places he drew large numbers of followers.
True, but one could make the case that Paul was functioning as an evangelist in such cases and later shifted into apostolic mode as other pastoral leaders were set in place within those churches.
This would explain why Paul called for only the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:17 and not the whole congregation of believers in the church.
In terms of fathering, there were a select number of people Paul fathered. Timothy, Titus, and Luke were most prominently among them. Paul understood the long-term value of being a true apostolic father.
In order to raise up the next generation to have a positive opinion of apostolic function, apostolic leaders must become a true spiritual parents to a select number of sons/daughters without measuring their success by the numbers of people they attract.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROCESSES OF RAISING UP APOSTOLIC/PROPHETIC SONS & DAUGHTERS?
Although the process of raising up sons and daughters cannot be reduced to a recipe, to communicate the information and understand the nature of the process, we offer the following insights that may be helpful:
((( NOTE: These qualities are specifically applied to Apostolic Leaders and not necessarily to all Prophetic Leaders )))
1. It takes one to know one.
The truth of this common phrase certainly applies. This is how Apostolic Leaders are going to be most successful in reproducing themselves in others. Start with the same “raw material” as the leader, himself/herself.
Apostolic Leaders must see themselves in the person they are raising up.
2. Build a relationship.
What is a relationship? Someone answered that question by saying: “A relationship is simply a series of conversations.”
If this is true, building a relationship with a spiritual son/daughter takes time and honest communication.
About what?
All things!
Everything from sports to food; politics to doctrine; families to vacations; movies to quantum physics. It’s all good! It knits the hearts of fathers to children and paves the way for a prosperous future.
When you give a person your time in conversation, you’re giving them yourself!
3. See with eyes of the Spirit.
There must be a prophetic dimension to spiritual parenting. The young person may be anointed but not appointed.
This means that a spiritual parent must be wise in seeing the son/daughter in the Spirit. This keeps them keenly aware of their spiritual development without either overestimating or underestimating their abilities and potential.
4. Look for natural the qualities of an Apostolic Leader.
Among the natural qualities to look for, these were mentioned:
✔️ builder,
✔️ Strategist,
✔️ Team leader,
✔️ Self-starter,
✔️ Curiosity,
✔️ Forward thinker,
✔️ Thick-skinned.
All of these are natural qualities of an Apostolic Leader.
5. Look for spiritual qualities.
Among these spiritual qualities, these are important:
✔️ Love of scripture,
✔️ Passion for the presence of God,
✔️ Love for God’s people
✔️ Spiritual maturation,
✔️ Prophetic gift of vision and discernment,
✔️ Spirit of courage and boldness.
We hope these guidelines help in the process of raising up the next generation of Apostolic Leaders.
No doubt they will look different than the previous generation of leaders. But ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who is shepherding the church, and He will finish that which Jesus and the Apostles of the Lamb started 2,000 years ago.
In the meantime, we suggest that all the leaders reading this article stay connected to the younger generation and do your best to stay relevant with the times without cynicism and unnecessary judgment.
Work with them.
Learn with them.
Spend time with them.
And parent them.
Until they become a true spiritual son/daughter!
THE END
© 2024 Mark Pfeifer
