A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement Paperback – November 14, 2014

Coauthor (with R. Douglas Geivett) Holly Pivec wrote in the Preface to this 2014 book, “We wrote this book with two major goals in mind: first, to give people an idea of the sheer size and reach of NAR; and, to systematize NAR’s key teachings and practices and evaluate them on the basis of Scripture and careful reasoning… Some critics have linked NAR with mainstream Pentecostalism and charismatics. We do not do this. In fact, it’s our contention that NAR deviates from classical Pentecostal and charismatic teachings. This movement has emerged out of independent charismatic churches and thus has gained a foothold in many of those churches to varying degrees. But we do not argue for cessationism… Whether the miraculous gifts are ongoing or not has no bearing on the arguments of our book.” (Pg. xiv)They explain in the first chapter, “The movement is called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). It’s ‘apostolic’ because its leaders claim they’re restoring the lost office of apostle to the church---an office endowed with astonishing authority, miraculous powers, and divine strategies for establishing God’s kingdom on earth. It’s a ‘reformation’ because proponents say the movement will completely change the way church is done, and its effects will be as great—or ever greater than---the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.” (Pg. 1) They continue, “With the biblical government of the church in place again, the apostles and prophets can raise up God’s end-time army… The NAR will also cash in on the ‘Great End-Time Transfer of Wealth,’ a divinely orchestrated redistribution of the world’s wealth from the wicked to the righteous. The result of these awe-inspiring activities will be a global revival. More than a billion souls will be saved---more than at any other time in world history.” (Pg. 2)They explain, “During these early years of the movement, Wagner coined the name ‘New Apostolic Reformation.’ This name took hold and is now used widely as a general term for the movement examined in this book… Wagner and many other NAR leaders freely admit that they key teachings are similar to those that defined the Latter Rain movement and had largely been repudiated. They think that the problem with the Latter Rain movement was not its key teachings, but rather denominational leaders who rejected those teachings out of a desire to protect the status quo; that is… the leaders’ doctrine of democratic church government.” (Pg. 6-7)They observe, “In addition to NAR churches that are governed directly by apostles and prophets, a substantial number of churches in the Pentecostal denominations (such as the Assemblies of God, the Foursquare Church, and the International Pentecostal Holiness Church) and independent charismatic churches… have in fact embraced those teachings.” (Pg. 11)They wonder, “If apostles sit at the top of church government, then how are they kept from abusing their authority? To whom are they accountable? [NAR leader C. Peter] Wagner allows that the issue of apostolic accountability is tricky… Wagner’s hope is that overseeing apostles will voluntarily develop accountability relationships with other overseeing apostles. But this remains experimental.” (Pg. 40)They explain, “NAR leaders frequently look to the authority and functions of the Twelve as examples of the authority and functions of present-day apostles… The major exception made ty NAR leaders is that present-day apostles don’t have the authority to write Scripture, as did the Twelve. But it does appear that NAR leaders allow for new revelation that is treated on a par with Scripture---despite denials to the contrary… One major Wagner uses to support the present-day office of apostle is a pragmatic one. He notes that churches led by apostles are the fastest-growing churches in nearly every region of the world. Since growth in these churches is accelerating, they must have the ‘blessing of God’ on them.” (Pg. 50)They summarize, “we disagree with the NAR position that an office of apostle---a formally recognized position in church government---exists today. First, the fact that NAR churches are growing quickly is not necessarily a sign of God’s approval of them. All church growth isn’t necessarily healthy growth… Second, there’s no indication from Scripture that today’s ‘apostles’ hold formal, governmental offices… Finally, Ephesians 2:20 also does not prescribe ongoing offices as NAR leaders often claim. This verse says nothing about governing offices. Furthermore, it is speaking about the time period at the beginning of the church, when it was founded by first-century apostles and prophets. So it cannot properly be used to teach that there is an ongoing office of apostle. Indeed, there is no attempt to replace the Twelve after their deaths… Evidence of a hiatus in the stream of apostles of Christ is evidence that there are no longer apostles of Christ.” (Pg. 79-80)They assert, “mere claims to have performed physical healings do nothing to support claims of extraordinary authority. Alleged miracles must be spectacular and they must be verifiable. The miraculous signs that were performed by the Twelve and Paul were not easy to miss. Their aw-inspiring works included raising the dead and healing the paralyzed… No one was expected to settle for merely taking the apostles of Christ at their word.” (Pg. 88)They point out, “This teaching---that genuine prophets can err---is promoted by many NAR leaders…Despite their high office, prophets may still make mistakes… Though NAR prophets can err, NAR leaders teach that they will do so less and less as the days go by. A common NAR teaching is that the accuracy of prophets will increase.” (Pg. 114) Later, they add, “In support of this teaching, NAR teachers sometimes point to respected theologian Wayne Grudem, who agrees that New Testament prophets are not expected to be one hundred accurate in their prophecies. But this is an egregious misunderstanding of Grudem. Grudem maintains that New Testament prophets … need not be one hundred percent accurate since they do not have the same level of authority as the Old Testament prophets and do not hold a formal governing office in the church.” (Pg. 139)They say, “NAR leaders do not seek just any kind of unity. They seek a specific type of unity under the leadership of present-day apostles. Peter Wagner calls it ‘apostolic unity.’ Apostolic unity occurs when the Christians in a given city unite under the leadership of apostles to transform their city… Apostolic unity is based on the premise that apostles---not pastors---are the true ‘spiritual gatekeepers’ in a city. For cities to see transformation, Christians living in those cities must submit to the leadership of the local territorial apostles…” (Pg. 173-174) Later, they add, “Apostolic unity, however, doesn’t necessarily require unified doctrine Manyu NAR leaders will work with others who may clash with their views on Calvinism versus Arminianism or the timing of the rapture… In short, Wagner says NAR leaders have a ‘lighter view of doctrine’ than has been held by more traditional evangelicals…” (Pg. 177)They note, “Some influential NAR leaders teach that their followers will grow in miraculous gifting until they can overcome sickness and death and execute God’s judgments described in the book of Revelation. Here again we encounter teachings that cannot be found in Scripture.” (Pg. 200)They conclude, “This extremist view of contemporary apostles and prophets is best seen in the details of NAR teachings… the New Apostolic Reformation clearly demarcates a new development within today’s religious milieu… Discernment is needed if believers are toe understand the actual dynamics of the New Apostolic Reformation and identify where it departs from traditional teachings.” (Pg. 203)This book will be of great interest to those seeking critiques of the NAR.

I’m a Christian but I’m open to the possibility of post-biblical revelation. I’m sorry, but nothing in the Scripture precludes this so if we are honest we need to be open to the possibility. However, we also need strong verification of such revelation, whether it be presented as equal to Scripture or not. (I don’t believe any NAR--New Apostolic Reformation--teachers or prophets ever claim that their teachings or prophecies are equal to Scriptural revelation.) It needs the strong verification of Deuteronomy 18 (the fulfillment test) and 13 (the non-contradiction or orthodoxy test) (see ch.14 in the book). What the book should have added is a list of fulfilled and failed NAR prophecies. Many of us would like to test the prophets. And that means we need more than just fulfilled prophecies which have some feasible probability of occurring without divine intervention.I think the strongest argument against contemporary apostles is the fact that the NT (New Testament) apostles never anointed apostles to follow them. If anyone would have known that there should continue to be apostles throughout the Church age, it would have been they. I would think that the only possible way the NAR teachers could respond to this problem would be to say that God intended the Church to be in this perfect place with apostolic leaders only at the beginning and end of the age. Thus the need for a future apostolically led Church was kept from the first apostles. This is not a completely unreasonable argument but it does seem a bit forced. But even if we accept this argument, the big question remains, Will the new apostles and prophets pass the tests the Bible has for them? Will prophets pass the fulfillment, orthodoxy, and life-style tests mentioned in ch 14? And true apostles must pass even harder tests, test which surely must include working miraculous signs along with confirmation by verified prophets.I am ambivalent about how dangerous a movement this is. On the one hand there is the very great danger that some people would unconditionally submit themselves to these apostles and prophets. This is one of the greatest dangers of many of the cults. Even the NT apostles did not require obedience over that which is stated in the Bible. They could not order any believer to do anything which the individual knew was not given in Scripture (such as they had at the time) or in any given apostolic teaching. (E.g., Paul could not order Apollos to go to Corinth though he wanted him to do so, 1 Cor 16.12.) Obedience to any spiritual leader, elder, pastor, apostle, etc. must never go beyond this limit. Their biblical authority is only to reprimand those in sin and to admonish and encourage believers to follow biblical teaching, to endure temptation, to grow in the faith, and to do the work God has given them. (Spiritual leaders today and in the past also have or have had the authority to dictate the working of the Church—Acts 6.1-7—whether that be a local church or an extended church such as a denomination. Spiritual leaders today might include presbyters or members of the congregations. Notice that there were never any NT churches which had only one local leader, there was always a plurality of elders. This does not mean that there may not be single leaders over more than one church.)The big danger is in obeying or submitting to ANY spiritual leader beyond the limits I’ve mentioned, whatever such leaders call themselves. This also includes believing what they teach if their teaching goes beyond clear biblical teaching. If someone claims to have apostolic authority to dictate new spiritual truth, they need to fulfill the strong tests Geivett and Pivic bring up which I mentioned in the first paragraph. Otherwise, each believer must test any given teaching by one’s own examination of Scripture and by seeking the leading of God’s Holy Spirit.On the other hand, if one is not in danger of submitting to any such claimed apostle or prophet, one might profit from their teaching and ministry. As one reviewer (Mike Horn) has pointed out, many people have indeed profited from their ministry. There are many spiritually gifted individuals associated with NAR who do not accept their authoritarian and other dubious teachings and practices who have been greatly used of God in the NAR ministry. Also, the book points out that many NAR leaders reject some of the more questionable teachings that other NAR teachers advocate. If we start with a discerning and critical mind and spirit, there may be much good that we can glean from the NAR ministries and (some) NAR teaching.I do find it interesting that some NAR critics (such as in some of these reviews) consider this a heresy which cannot be considered just another Christian opinion. They think this is not a view with which one may agree to disagree. But think about a similar issue. We are finally reaching a stage in Christian history in which Protestant evangelical Christians are accepting Roman Catholics (RC) as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Many of us feel that this acceptance is far too late in coming. Yet have you noticed that the NAR view is not that different from the traditional RC view? I reject both for their authoritarianism, yet I will never say that their views should keep me from having fellowship with them or keep me from considering them to be biblically acceptable. As much as we may disagree with NAR teachings (and RC teachings) we do need to accept each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord when our theological differences are this close.Some reviewers in this thread appear to have been deeply hurt by church splits caused by NAR followers. It is one thing to simply evaluate NAR teachings; it is quite another when NAR followers seek to take over a church. For those who have been hurt, this book should be seen as a valuable resource for refuting bad NAR teaching. Nevertheless, the book does sometimes offer very bad or at least weak arguments or claims. I’ll just mention two or three.(1) Their argument that “new revelation is to be anticipated in earlier revelation” (91) and the claim that prophecy has ceased (app A) are both very weak. The early Church had prophets like Agabus, most of whose words never made it to the NT. They did not provide revelation that all believers need to know. Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth indicates that prophecy should be a normal part of the Church praxis and he gave no indication that it would ever end before Christ’s second coming.(2) “Soaking music,” the use of worship music privately or in groups to wait on God and to enter deep worship, is very valuable for deepening Christian devotions. Yet the book’s association of this practice with NAR will drive many to associate the two and to miss out on a valuable resource for Christian devotions (22n12). Most of my other criticisms of the book are very minor, so I’ll end here.A good book, probably the best currently available for exposing errors in the NAR movement, with only minor errors and shortcomings.

Main questions to ask yourself: Are there aposles today? If so, what do they do? What do they teach? How do they justify their existence, Biblically? Geivett and Pivec do not shy away from giving their views on the NAR. They do it by making statements based on the words of the NAR leadership and based on the Bible. They do not come across as mean-spirited, bitter or negative.There are 567 footnotes in this book-most are annotated and many are live links to websites, to articles on the internet. Very thorough and easy to understand research. I would say to buy the book just for the footnotes and bibliography.What this book did for me is move me to do my own research. And exegesis of the three major Bible passages studied: Ephesians 4:11-13; Ephesians 2:20; and 1 Corinthians 12:28. Having been in NAR churches, I just went along with the crowd and accepted teachings without being objective and yes, was deceived. What caused me to leave a decade ago were practices, not teachings that were extreme and out of order, IMO. In reading Geivett and Pivec, I have felt and needed my mind to be cleansed with the truth. I am thankful for their hard work in pulling so many writings together and comparing and contrasting them.One tremendous find was another resource-a dissertation written by an Anglican priest (U.K.) on apostles:'Apostles Today: Making Sense of Contemporary Charismatic Apostolates: A Historical and Theological Appraisal"by Benjamin McNair Scott. Amazon kindle book. Talk about research-this book is gold! It has well over 800 footnotes (I love them all) and extensive bibliography. He interacts with Wagner and others and arrives at conclusions very hard not to accept. In line with Geivett & Pivec.

In the UK the New Apostolic Reformation movement is little known, but individuals and groups embedded in it and associated with it are much better known as teachers, speakers and authors with books on the shelves of many Christian book shops.A useful introduction to the New Apostolic Reformation - what it is and what its people are about. Clearly written, free of the bitterness and aggression sometimes seen on the Internet. A well laid out, Biblical case for caution.If anyone finds this review because of my review of the "Passion Translation" it's well worth reading to understand the odd theology that lies behind it, why it is being promoted in NAR circles and why this worries me.

The NAR is a rapidly growing movement. The authors of this book review the writings of its proponents, contrasting them with generally accepted teaching from cessationist and non-cessationist churches before evaluating them in the light of Scripture. For someone like myself who attends a church that has decided to change its teaching and practice to align with the NAR it brought together all the material I had been trying to collect. The book is very convincing and I now have at my disposal all the information I need to justify rejecting the move my church is making. I recommend every Christian read this book so as to be aware of what the NAR is really about.

This book, and the other book, Counterfeit Kingdom, are both excellent books to read and point out how to stop the signs that a church heading down the N.A.R path.

A clear description of the disconcerting influence of the NAR movement on a global scale. A robust reference to scripture to debunk the movement's core heresies.

Excellent book, clearly written. It gives a fair treatment to the NAR movement, comparing it to scripture and mainstream charismatic churches. The outcome is clear - the NAR is a dangerous set of teachings, including several heresies. Reading this book will help you protect yourself and your church.