A PRACTICAL THEOLOGY FOR CHARISMATIC MINISTRY

A Paper
Presented to
Dr. James Barber
Graduate School of Theology and Ministry
Oral Roberts University

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
PRM 660 Theological Reflection on the Practice of Spirit-Empowered Ministry

By
Eric von Atzigen
November 3, 2014

Practical Theology for a Charismatic Ministry

Ministry, much like parenting, is the act of guiding Gods children to grow in Gods
grace. Effective ministry is initiated by the Holy Spirit and developed through active
cooperation with the continued work of the Holy Spirit. Essentially, all ministry is charismatic
ministry, as it exists as an extension of Gods gift of grace to the church. Each congregation
must decide, however, to what extent they will embrace the various gifts of Gods grace and
implement them into active discipleship and ministry.
The Holy Spirit is Gods gift to the church. When Jesus ascended to the Father forty days
after the resurrection, He promised He would not leave His followers as orphans. The biblical
foundation for charismatic ministry originates from Jesus instruction to His disciples in Luke
24:48-49, You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has
promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.1 Jesus
intended for the ministry of the church to be gifted by the Holy Spirit. Before engaging the
world with the message of the Gospel, He purposed that His disciples would experience the
empowering of the Holy Spirit to prepare them to fulfill their commission. This empowering
moment marked the birth of the church and stands as a model for the Christian experience of life
and ministry.
Three words from Lukes record of the great commission offer profound insight into Jesus
concept of charismatic ministry. Luke notes the disciples are to stay until they are clothed with
power. This is not a passive statement. Rather, it demonstrates the primary pursuit of those who
would seek to minister in Jesus name. Charismatic ministry flows from an understanding and
application of the words: stay, clothed, and power.
1Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references in this paper are to New International Version

(NIV) (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984).

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Jesus first command in Luke 24:49 is to stay. At first glance it can appear
contradictory for our Lord to instruct His disciples to stay as part of their commission. But, upon
further exploration, the significance of this command becomes evident. The word stay in the
Greek is kathidzo. Its foundational meaning is to sit or to cause to sit, but kathidzo has a deeper
context as well. It also means to settle into a place or to be placed in a high position.2 The
waiting which Jesus commanded of His disciples was a purposeful time through which they
would begin to discover and settle in to their identity in Christ. Before a believer can effectively
engage in the action of ministry, he or she must discover the beauty of being. This concept is
what Dr. Mathew often refers to as the incarnational presence of ministry.
Following this time of staying and discovering their identity in Christ, Jesus states the disciples
will be clothed with power. The Greek word for clothed, enduo, literally depicts a person being
dressed by another or dressing oneself.3 The clothing in which the disciples would be dressed
was not a typical garment. Jesus states they were to be clothed with power, the Greek word
dynamis, which means ability, power, miraculous power, or rule.4 Robert Heidler notes the
significance of this description not only for the first disciples, but for all who minister in the
name of Jesus as he states, The empowering of the Spirit is an experience that equips you with
supernatural resources to accomplish the work of God.5
2 James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New

Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

3 James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New

Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

4 James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New

Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

5Robert D. Heidler, Experiencing the Spirit (Ventura, CA: Renew Books, 1998), 85.
3

By describing the disciples as clothed with dynamis, Jesus was depicting the supernatural
strength through which they would engage in ministry to their world. Oral Roberts affirms the
necessity of the power of the Holy Spirit for Christian life in ministry as he asserts, And we
shouldnt settle for anything less than His strengthening power in our total man spirit, soul, and
body!6 Charismatic ministry, then, is to be understood as that which is commissioned by Jesus
and empowered by Him for the development of disciples throughout the world.

Personal Application of Charismatic Ministry

For the past 13 years, I have enjoyed the privilege of cultivating and implementing my personal
approach to charismatic ministry at Emmanuel Fellowship Church in Sweetwater, Texas. When I
first began to pastor Emmanuel Fellowship it was a young church plant, approximately three
years old with a small, close-knit congregation. Over the next several years, the church slowly
grew in attendance until it reached a plateau. During that season of plateau, I began to
prayerfully consider the effectiveness of our current ministry expression in reaching our
community. As I was processing this personal evaluation, I was challenged with a simple
sentence from an apostolic father in the faith. I heard Dr. Morris Sheats share this statement at a
local conference, In some way, what we do on a Sunday morning needs to make sense to
people. That simple phrase began to guide the reinvention of the ministry of Emmanuel
Fellowship Church. We arrived at a point of realization that, as Oral Roberts observes,
Principles do not change. Methods do.7 Taking Dr. Sheats phrase to heart, we began to explore
6Oral Roberts.

Seed-Faith 2000. (United States of America, 1999), 158.

7Oral Roberts, The Ultimate Voice: God's Still Small Voice, the Clearest and Loudest Voice

You'll Ever Hear (Tulsa, Okla.: Pengold Garrett & Assoc., 2008), 29.
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the sensible methods by which we could communicate the timeless principles of the charismatic
faith in our community.
After a time of processing Dr. Sheats observation, we arrived at a mission statement for our
congregation. We determined the fundamental purpose of Emmanuel Fellowship was to Bring
faith to life for families in west Texas. This central statement began to guide our methods for
ministry.
Application of this statement would mean that we desire for the church to serve as an
intersection of real faith and real life for those who are searching for spiritual answers in our
community. We would also seek to be a place where the spark of faith could be ignited in
peoples hearts, where the lost and broken could, as Jesus states in John 5:24, cross over from
death to life. We determined the message of faith must have a practical application which
connects to the present context of the church. As Dr. Thimell observes, Its not just about
ancient history, about what God did in Bible times. Its about what God is doing today. His
power and grace are available in the present, in the Now.8
Another essential aspect of our vision statement is that we desired to become a church which
provided ministry and spiritual growth to the whole family. With this in mind, we directed a
great deal of energy and resource into developing a high quality childrens and youth ministry
which would meet the needs of local families. We also intentionally focused much of our adult
ministry toward developing healthy marriages and cultivating parental skills.
It is imperative that a mission statement be partnered with a vision expressing how the
mission will be accomplished. This vision answers the question, What practical steps are
necessary to bring faith to life for individuals and families in our community? We determined
8Daniel P. Thimell, Charismatic Faith and Ministry, 2nd ed. (Acton, Mass.: Copley Custom

Pub., 2002), 53.

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to accomplish our mission through the implementation of four key action steps as we seek to
make disciples of Jesus Christ through a church that loves, mends, trains, and sends. Each of
these verbs define a core value of our church and outline the methodology of our ministry.
Love is the foundation of all ministry at Emmanuel Fellowship. As Paul notes in 2
Corinthians 5:14, The love of God compels us. We believe love should be an outward
directed action. While there are many opportunities for love to be expressed through fellowship
within the Body of Christ, as a church we seek to show love to the lost and hurting in our
community.
Our decision to demonstrate love to our community is expressed primarily through
vibrant and welcoming Sunday services, friendly and encouraging Lifegroups hosted in homes
throughout our community, and intentionally focusing on the needs of first time guests in our
congregation. Dr. Mathew keenly observes, A healthy church is a caring community.9 We
desire to demonstrate caring and love within the Body of Christ and project Gods love into the
greater context of our city and region.
The love of God always reaches people where they are, but it is not content to leave them
in their same situation. For this reason, we are also prepared to mend those who come into our
congregation. Healing was a hallmark of the ministry of Jesus. We seek to demonstrate the
same healing power of Jesus in our community as well. We believe healing can occur in the
church on a physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational level.
Healing is experienced through many facets of participation in church life. The weekly
celebration service offers opportunity for healing ministry through prayer and the laying on of
hands. The message and church experience are also designed to bring spiritual and emotional
9Thomson K. Mathew, What Will Your Tombstone Say? Reflections of a Modern Pilgrim On

Church, Ministry, Healing and Life (Longwood, Fla.: Xulon Press, 2008), 28.
6

healing to participants. Inner healing can also be experienced through attendance of Spiritual
Freedom Retreats and Bible based pastoral care and counseling opportunities. We firmly believe
Dr. Thimells assertion, His power is available today, to heal, to restore, to deliver, to move us
to deeper consecration and greater godliness,10 and chose to actively engage our church family
in opportunities to experience the healing grace of our King.
An essential call of the church has always been to train and equip disciples. Much of the
work of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers is directed toward this endeavor. We believe it is
important for the church to provide effective teaching that allows a persons head to keep pace
with what God is accomplishing on a heart level in their life. All behavior is learned and
reinforced through life experience. Training must occur within the church to teach believers the
culture of the Christian faith and reinforce the godly behaviors which will bring health to their
heart and home.
Dr. Mathew observes, We get more training in riding a bike than in being married.11 We have
determined to provide opportunities for training which connect to the real life needs and
experiences of our congregation. The majority of training occurs in the small group setting of
our lifegroups. These are a place where participants experience what Christian Schwarz refers to
as The transfer of life, not rote learning of abstract concepts.12 We also provide training

10Daniel P. Thimell, Charismatic Faith and Ministry, 2nd ed. (Acton, Mass.: Copley Custom

Pub., 2002), 68.

11Thomson K. Mathew, What Will Your Tombstone Say? Reflections of a Modern Pilgrim On

Church, Ministry, Healing and Life (Longwood, Fla.: Xulon Press, 2008), 43.
12Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of

Healthy Churches (Carol Stream, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996), 32.

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through age-based classes, weekend seminars, and short term classes designed to address specific
topics which relate to our congregation.
The highlight of the Christian faith is the awareness that the experience of salvation is not an end
unto itself. Christianity is an invitation to partner with God in His loving redemption of the
world through the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To this end, the fourth focus of the
vision of Emmanuel Fellowship Church is to send believers back into their sphere of influence
and out into the world as ambassadors of Christ. As a pastor, I consistently reinforce this aspect
of our vision by sharing with my congregation my two personal goals for each church member:
first, that they would lead a lost person to Jesus in their own living room and, secondly, that they
would know the privilege of sharing the Gospel on foreign soil. The focus of loving, mending,
and training is that we might prepare a congregation which is ready and willing to be sent out
with the glorious message of Jesus Christ.
Schwarz states, The role of church leadership is to help its members to identify their
gifts and to integrate them into appropriate ministries.13 We desire to continually create outlets
for sending our church members into practical ministry. The primary ministry vehicle of our
church is the perpetual development of new leaders for our lifegroups. Within the lifegoup
structure, church members are consistently equipped and invited to engage in new levels of
ministry within the church. We also utilize volunteer work in age-based ministries and
participation in outreach events as opportunities to connect our church members with ministry
opportunities. Short term mission trips are also an essential part of our sending philosophy as we
equip our church to fulfill the call of Luke 24:48-49.

13Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of

Healthy Churches (Carol Stream, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996), 24.

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Over the past two decades, I have experienced the privilege of leaving my parents household and
establishing my own home with my beloved wife. Recently, I have begun to understand the
significant transitions which occur in each decade of life. In my twenties, we began our home
and welcomed each of our four children into our family. In my thirties, our children grew and
thrived under our loving care. Now, at forty, I have faced the realization that each of my children
will leave my home in this decade and begin their own families. I look with great anticipation
toward my fifties, when they will begin to bring grandchildren into our lives. Pastoring a
growing church reflects an accelerated journey through each of these stages of life.
Determining to make disciples of Jesus Christ through a church that loves, mends, trains,
and sends has ignited a west Texas revival in our small town as disciples have begun to share
their faith and make more disciples. In the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are experiencing Dr.
Mathews definition of revival, In true revival, the revived themselves usually become signs and
wonders!14 In the momentum of ministry, we continually refer back to the guidance of our
mission statement and simple application of our vision. Gary McIntosh correctly observes,
Lead pastors must learn to keep the current ministry going while at the same time building a
new dream for the future.15 A practical application of our charismatic theology has brought us
this far, and, by His grace, it will lead us further.

14Thomson K. Mathew, What Will Your Tombstone Say? Reflections of a Modern Pilgrim On

Church, Ministry, Healing and Life (Longwood, Fla.: Xulon Press, 2008), 49.
15Gary McIntosh, Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You

There (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2009), 59.

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Bibliography

Heidler, Robert D. Experiencing the Spirit. Ventura, CA: Renew Books, 1998.
The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.
Mathew, Thomson K. What Will Your Tombstone Say? Reflections of a Modern Pilgrim On
Church, Ministry, Healing and Life. Longwood, Fla.: Xulon Press, 2008.
McIntosh, Gary. Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You
There. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2009.
Roberts, Oral. The Ultimate Voice: God's Still Small Voice, the Clearest and Loudest Voice
You'll Ever Hear. Tulsa, Okla.: Pengold Garrett & Assoc., 2008.
________. Seed-Faith 2000. United States of America., 1999.
Schwarz, Christian A. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of
Healthy Churches. Carol Stream, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996.
Swanson, James. Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New
Testament). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.
Thimell, Daniel P. Charismatic Faith and Ministry. 2nd ed. Acton, Mass.: Copley Custom Pub.,
2002.

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