Voices That Mesmerize, Lives That Do Not Match
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 2 min read
A leader speaks with great authority. People weep. Words of prophecy fall like rain. Then the stories begin to travel.
Professor Gary Maxey names this pattern directly. In his book on why revival tarries, he writes that over the past thirty years many pastors and church leaders have mesmerized the church with so-called words of prophecy. On closer examination, he says, their lives include lustful relationships with the opposite sex. They show carnal anger when contradicted or when they are not given the honors they demand. They are full of jealousy. Yet we listened to them as if they were bringing messages directly from God.
His observation about sound
He adds a sharp note. We have heard these men thunder from the pulpit. Out of the pulpit, he says, we sometimes cringe at the amount of jealousy and anger they spew out. We have watched them display what looked like healing power, knocking people flat with a touch of a finger.
Why this matters for revival
Professor Maxey has already said that revival depends on conviction of sin. A church whose leaders look spiritual but live otherwise is trained to measure holiness by performance. That is the shift from moral fullness of the Spirit to the charismatic display of gifts that he describes as a revival killer.
What he asks of the congregation
He does not tell the congregation to stop trusting every leader. He does ask us to re-think how we measure the Spirit-filled. His standard is the one William Seymour gave at Azusa Street: no tongue, however many, replaces the fruit of the Spirit.
What he asks of leaders
Leaders must be accountable, as he writes elsewhere in the same book, with someone who has the right to ask hard questions. And leaders must ask themselves whether their private life matches their public voice.
For each reader
If you are a member, learn to ask not only "Was it powerful?" but "Is the fruit in this life?" If you are a leader, find a trusted person this month and give him permission to ask you the hardest question about your private life.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.
