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Is that you God?

Hopefully you don’t subscribe to the view that leadership is all about receiving instructions from God, like Moses received the Ten Commandments. Christian leadership is typically to be plural and consultative. There may be times when God  gives an individual a particular vision of course but, the New Testament Christianity is a million miles from the ‘Moses on the mountain’ experience that  which was special for a different day and generation.But does this mean that you never expect to hear from God? Are we assuming that your experience, and maybe shared wisdom from your co-leaders is going to be all that you need?

For many years I believed that if you want to know what God says, then you go to the Bible: God’s current address for messages,  and you shouldn’t expect a whole lot more. If you believe that you are hearing from God, it is probably time to see a shrink.

But thankfully that period in my life did not last too long. I kept meeting people who had heard from God outside of Scripture, and their insights seemed utterly God-given.  I also found that the Bible itself suggested that not only was it possible to hear from God – it was utterly consistent with a God who speaks. Why would he confine Himself to words he inspired within a particular time frame and a particular culture, when He by His Spirit indwells all who have faith in Christ?