As you may have read, the title of my previous blog post was “Don’t Give Up!” On Sept 18th, we launched 
a sermon series from the Book of Acts, and it is still going. After reading through Acts, we’ve discovered there were radical supernatural activities (healing, demonic deliverance, dreams, visions, trances, angelic visitations, the audible voice of God, prophesies, tongues, etc…) in every single chapter of Acts, except for chapter 17. Rather than merely “talking about” this incredible stuff… we’ve decided to “get out of the box,” and ask God to do whatever He wants to do… Right here… Right now…
Since Sept 18th, we’ve experienced two major physical healings, visions, prophesies, tongues, interpretations, and even a demonic deliverance (not during a Sunday service). However, from Sept 18th – Oct 23rd, a large group of people stopped attending our Sunday services for various reasons… 
but I think the most common reason people left is because I was making some poor decisions in regards to asking people to work in the gifts “as they felt led”… opening up the floor to everyone throughout the entire auditorium. Not only that, but we were allowing many of our services to go really, really long! 
Both my super-spiritual and my not-so-super-spiritual friends will say “Amen” to that… but for different reasons! BUT, before I go on, I want to make clear that I TRULY APPRECIATE every single person who stepped out in faith to share. Some AMAZING things happened, including miracles. I LOVED what every single one of you did, because you were brave! However, not everyone is as excited about this process as our pastoral team is! 
Since writing my last blog post (Oct 25th), we’ve learned a few things. Just as we won’t allow “anyone who feels led” to give the sermons on Sundays, it’s not a good idea to invite “anyone who feels led” to share publicly what they believe they are hearing from God. Hearing from God is meant for everyone! BUT, it can be quite confusing… especially at first. So, “church service” is not a good time to “practice” hearing from God, because there is such a variety of people present on Sunday mornings, including skeptics, people who don’t follow Christ, and even long-standing Christians who have their own ideas what “should” be happening.
There is a vast difference between hearing from God and saying “whatever comes to our minds.” To our knowledge, nobody said anything that was false… however, much of what was said was probably not miraculous. Therefore, if we allow “inferior words” to be given by people in our congregation, we will risk leading people away from the true power of God. In a sense, people who are new to hearing from God and working in the supernatural gifts need to “practice.”
“Practicing” hearing from God is extremely important, but this should happen in group settings where the people who are attending are the people who want to be there to patiently wait on God… and are enthusiastic about enduring the failed attempts of others as they seek to hear from God. Failure is always part of the process. Always!
During our Sunday night prayer gatherings we give space for people to try to hear from God and exercise their spiritual gifts, and God does some incredible work among us! Once people identify their gifts and grow in them, then they may be ready to hear from God and utilize their particular gifts during a Sunday service.
All that being said, since Oct 25th, many more people have been joining Ekklesia, and we have experienced Jesus Christ in abundance!!! We’ve seen God work through people’s spiritual gifts, but we don’t come for a “show.” We come to “Be disciples” and to “Make disciples.” We come to grow in our own personal relationships with Christ and to help others follow Him. However, spiritual gifts play major roles in God’s Kingdom. Every disciple of Jesus Christ has at least one supernatural gift: including YOU, if you are trusting in Him! If you haven’t discovered them, I pray you do very soon. BTW, we’re here to help you! 
YOU are invited to attend our bi-weekly prayer gatherings. Email John Pop with questions/comments (John@EkklesiaDetroit.com).
I thank God that not only did you and I NOT give up… but we are going deep into the Kingdom of God!
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Chris, as you said, failure is part of the process. It’s OK that you (the pastoral team) tried something that didn’t go as planned. We are excited that you’re trying at all!
We’ve missed a couple weeks from Ben being sick, but we’re glad to hear that Ekklesia is pressing on, hoping, praying, and seeking God’s face!
As the great Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. I’m sad that we lost some folks because we stepped out in faith and tried something radical, but if as a church we learned from the mistakes that were made, then we grew as disciples, and that’s what it’s all about.
It’s hard to transition from being a church that believes all these things are still for today… but somehow they never quite happen, into being a church that truly expects God to move… but still has discernment over what is and isn’t truly from God. I think that the recent correction has been important and necessary; I also think it’s great that we haven’t just turned around and hidden from the miraculous.
I would counsel anyone who feels that they may have a prophetic gift to study carefully 1 Corinthians 12-14, especially chapter 14, and also to read the Old Testament prophets. We learn best how God speaks by drinking in what he has spoken before.
And for anyone who feels left behind because you don’t feel that you have a miraculous gift, check out the “gift lists” in 1 Cor 12:8-10, Rom 12:6-8, and Eph 4:11-12. The gifts that don’t look miraculous are just as God-empowered and just as important as the ones that do look miraculous. It’s the same God empowering them all, and they’re all necessary for the Body of Christ to function properly.
After some time to think about it, I am glad we’ve learned to pull back a little bit on Sunday mornings since the new or non-believer might not be ready to see, what some would deem, failures.
Though in my opinion I would rather focus on 1 successful healing than the 20 “failures.” Praise God I get to focus on 2 successful healings
I’ve been waiting for a miraculous healing for my own issues and though it has yet to come, seeing that God still heals in very real and instantaneous ways is very encouraging.
Again I’m happy we’re pulling back some, but I am a little disappointed because I am looking forward to our prayers shaking the building like it shook in the book of Acts. It’s all good though, it’ll just happen now at the Sunday night prayer gatherings.