Of our three-emphasis curriculum, the first and most important pier is “Spiritual Development and Supernatural Ministry.”
Spiritual Development is the process of drawing closer to Jesus, which we’ll foster by obedience to the Bible and through the development of healthy spiritual habits. We’ll spend a great deal of time in the practice of bible study, prayer, meditation, worship, solitude, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines in a guided environment.
Spiritual development will express itself outwardly through evangelism, discipleship, and the development of small groups. Students will be provided with training and given opportunities to put their study to work in the community.
It’s important that our writers’ hearts, minds, souls, and bodies are firmly embedded in the life and love of Jesus, grounded in the Word of God. As powerful ministers of the Lord, these writers will face opposition from the enemy, and they will face ridicule and persecution from their peers for the risks they take. They must stand on a firm foundation.
Supernatural Ministry is the practice of the miraculous work of God to minister to those around us. That could include providing prophetic words of encouragement, miraculous healing, and deliverance from demonic spirits, among other supernatural and miraculous ways that God can move, as He chooses. These amazing encounters with God provide opportunities for evangelism and confirm the gospel, provide good gifts from our heavenly father for His children, and build up and encourage the body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit does the miraculous, it’s our students’ job to be willing vessels through which He can work.
In the context of our school, Supernatural Ministry will primarily express itself through one-on-one relational encounters with strangers in public (i.e. stopping to pray for a stranger on the street), but will also be practiced in small or large group settings.
But what does Supernatural Ministry have to do with writing?
Supernatural Ministry accomplishes three important objectives for our writers in training:
1. In the words of John Wimber, Christians “do the stuff.” If we’re raising up Christian leaders, it’s important that they do the things that Jesus said they would.
Jesus Said “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” [Mark 16:15-18]
These are the words of Jesus, he said these are the things his disciples will do. It would be disingenuous to raise up ministers to preach the good news without any expectation that they will see the other activities Jesus affirms. If these are the words of Jesus, how could we fathom to raise up ministers who aren’t seeing these things happening?
Further, signs and wonders will confirm to the people that these writers are not just men and women of eloquent and persuasive words, but the almighty God of the universe goes in front of and behind them.
2. Our first duty is to the people in front of us. As we raise up writers to influence culture en masse, we must remember that our first duty is to love the one we’re with. If our writers are motivated by love to partner with God in healing, prophecy, teaching, and deliverance for our neighbors, our friends, our families, and our local communities, then they will be mature and prepared to deliver God’s word on a larger stage.
Sometimes it requires greater boldness and trust in God to minister to a man on the street than it requires to publish a book or a blog post that will be read by thousands of faceless strangers. We will not raise up writers who are bold behind the veil of the page, but spineless to confront the devil in their own neighborhoods.
3. We’re raising up writers to hear the voice of God and to relate His words to the people through story, persuasion, and media of all types. Supernatural Ministry is a natural training ground for hearing the voice of God.
When you’re praying with someone and you take a risk to say, “I think God is telling me about an abusive relationship you were in when you were 15, and he wants to heal your heart,” the person you’re praying with will either say “yes, that’s exactly right” and they’ll give glory to God, or they’ll look at you like you’re crazy. Either way, you’ll learn whether that thought, idea, voice or picture you saw was from God. In either case, the instant feedback will gradually refine your ability to hear from God.
When we hear from God to produce media, we don’t have the same opportunity to immediately test the results. A writer may hear from God to embark on a project that will take years to complete before any results can be seen. In order to take those leaps of faith, these writers will first need to confidently hear from God in the small things. Supernatural Ministry provides a way to take risks in real time and to learn from our mistakes, to refine our ability to clearly and consistently hear God’s voice.
We’re not just teaching writers “how to write.” We’re building complete disciples of Jesus, firmly embedded in the living God and his Word, eager and capable to minister however they’re called. Whether they encounter a broken leg, a broken heart, or a broken sexual culture, whether these conditions are found in a single relationship or in a social group ten million strong, these ministers will be ready to step up to the call and provide healing and encouragement, and to partner with the Almighty God for the restoration of our friends and neighbors.
A community of believers is rising up and partnering with God to bring the School of Kingdom Writers to life. Join the movement.
