Challenging times lie before the church. Steward revival fire, and see the greatest harvest of souls in history. There have been many revival seasons in the history of the church. Some have had a lasting impact and generational fruit, but many have died out and only impacted a small region or generation. Although the difference in their success has many factors, one of those is the way we father those born in them.
If we are to see generational revival ignite, then we need more than generals in the faith, more than CEOs, commanders, employees and workers. We need fathers! Without true spiritual fathers, we are stuck in a broken system of hirelings in the church instead of disciples. If we allow our churches to mirror the business world instead of the kingdom of heaven, we will never sustain revival.
He who finds a father finds a future. It’s time for spiritual fathers to stand up and take their place in committing to raising up strong sons for the kingdom. In a season of revival, without fathers, we run the risk of creating an entire generation of new spiritual orphans. Or worse, having our spiritual sons cleave on to false fathers. Joseph, rejected by his brothers, was accepted by Pharoah; he gave him a ring, a title and a name. Joseph kept his faith, but many in those situations do not.
There are churches today that are one heart attack away from closing their doors and seeing legacy leave. We have pastors and leaders producing good fruit but who have never produced another plant. All healthy organisms reproduce. If a leader is truly healthy, he will not just grow his church, he will grow spiritual offspring. I have nine acres of land that has been invaded by blackberries. Every time I mow, I find new shoots of blackberries I have to cut down and hold to the fence line. They want to take over my yard. Each vine doesn’t just produce fruit, it spreads with each new seed it produces. If left unchecked, it would take over all of my land. I see a time when our churches are spreading with this kind of persistent fervency. Marching forward, taking the land and raising up another generation to do the same. Revival can be fathered and last for generations if we will commit to raising up sons and daughters.
If we don’t father, we open the door to the “bastard spirit.” This fowl thing longs to attach itself to fathers that then take identity and purpose away from those they lead. They reduce them to orphans and destroy destiny. The worst part is many of these sons were called to be the next generation of leaders, and now, wounded and discarded, they will likely abort their assignments.
In my new book, Breaking the Bastard Spirit, you will learn how to embrace your role as a leader (spiritual father or mother) and discover how to mentor the next generation of spiritual sons and daughters. Read the first chapter now.
Trisha Frost says, “This book will span the time of longevity and become an instrument in the hands of a generation who will break this spirit.”
Reverend Joanne Moody says, “Fatherlessness and orphan-hearted thinking is responsible for almost all our societal ills and the disunity within the body of Christ. Pastors Ren Schuffman and Terry Cuthbertson tackle this worldwide epidemic with wisdom, sound biblical principles and solutions to healing of all troubled hearts.”
For powerful and practical insight on how to let the supernatural power of God loose in your life, listen to Ren Schuffman on DNA of a Dangerous Church on the Charisma Podcast Network.{eoa}
Pastor Ren Schuffman is the senior pastor of Freedom Fellowship Church in Mustang, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. He flows in a strong healing and prophetic anointing and is a church planter, musician, international speaker, author and revivalist.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.