# A New Apostolic Reformation? A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement **Authors:** Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett **Publisher:** Baker Books (Evangelical, non-NAR; cessationist-leaning) **Tradition:** Evangelical / cessationist critique **ASIN:** B07HCVBLP7 **Readwise source:** `3. Resources/Readwise/Books/A New Apostolic Reformation.md` --- ## Summary Pivec (journalist; NARWatch.com) and Geivett (philosopher, Biola University) wrote the definitive evangelical-cessationist academic critique of the New Apostolic Reformation. The book argues that NAR's core claim — that God has restored the governing offices of apostle and prophet, with authority equal to the biblical originals — is without scriptural support and creates structural conditions for spiritual abuse. The authors maintain distinction between legitimate gifts (ongoing) and formal governing offices (not ongoing). They critique NAR from within conservative evangelicalism, not from a mainline or progressive standpoint. (Source: `Readwise/Books/A New Apostolic Reformation.md`) --- ## Defining NAR Pivec and Geivett offer the most widely cited working definition of NAR: > "The one thing all participants in NAR share in common, in our view, is the controversial belief in the present-day offices of apostle and prophet." (Location 273) NAR is not an organization or denomination. It has no membership rolls, no official statement of beliefs. It is a theological movement defined by this one shared conviction: that the church has been missing its two foundational leadership offices and that their restoration is now underway. This definition is essential for wiki analysis — it explains why NAR is hard to map (no denominational boundary) and why it spreads across charismatic congregations without formal affiliation. (Source: [[New Apostolic Reformation]]) --- ## Key Theological Claims Documented and Critiqued ### Apostolic Office and Authority The NAR apostle is not a missionary or church planter in the historic sense. C. Peter Wagner's definition: > "An apostle is a Christian leader gifted, taught, commissioned and sent by God with the authority to **establish the foundational government of the Church** within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the expansion of the Kingdom of God." (Location 867, emphasis added) The governance implication is direct: > "Presently most Protestant churches and ministries are not led by apostles. They're led by pastors, elders, and denominational administrators, who, in the NAR view, are mere foot soldiers, bereft of fresh revelation and supernatural firepower." (Location 732) And the compliance logic: > "**Failure to submit to a NAR apostle is seen as failure to submit to God.**" (Location 911) > [!contradiction] **NAR vs. UCC polity.** UCC congregational polity places authority in the gathered congregation, with clergy as servants of that community. NAR apostolic authority is structurally opposite: authority flows downward from apostle to pastor to congregation. There is no congregational veto. See [[Apostolic Authority]] and [[United Church of Christ]]. ### Accountability Gap The book raises a structural question that NAR cannot answer: > "If apostles sit at the top of church government, then how are they kept from abusing their authority? To whom are they accountable?" (Location 914) The answer within NAR is horizontal accountability — overseeing apostles provide "covering" for other apostles. But Pivec and Geivett identify the structural problem: > "Since overseeing apostles wield far-reaching authority that extends to multiple other apostles — each overseeing their own network of churches and ministries — what will prevent these overseeing apostles from joining up with other overseeing apostles, ultimately leading to the emergence of one apostle with pope-like authority?" (Location 1652) The apostolic network financial structure reinforces dependence: > "The apostolic network HIM expects churches to make a monthly donation and recommends that the donation be between 5 percent and 10 percent of their monthly gross income." (Location 903) This directly feeds the [[DARVO]] pattern: when criticism arises, the apostle invokes divine authority and the submission requirement to deflect accountability. (Source: [[DARVO]]) ### Prophetic Office and New Revelation NAR prophets receive new revelation from God: > "Present-day apostles can receive new revelation that supplements Scripture so long as it doesn't contradict it." (Location 1070) But Pivec and Geivett argue the actual practice goes further: > "It does appear that NAR leaders allow for new revelation that is treated on a par with Scripture — despite denials to the contrary." (Location 1084) The Assemblies of God draws a sharp line here: > "The Assemblies of God view is summed up this way: 'We affirm that there are, and ought to be, apostolic- and prophetic-type ministries in the Church, **without individuals being identified as filling such an office**.' … The Assemblies of God disapproves of using the title of prophet in churches." (Locations 805, 1984) NAR rejects this Assemblies of God position: > "NAR leaders — in contrast to Assemblies of God officials — believe that today's prophets hold a formal office. In the NAR view, it's essential that prophets govern, for these prophets must direct the church to adopt their new strategies." (Location 1989) > [!question] **Does SJUCC's tradition have an analog?** UCC theology has no doctrine of ongoing prophetic offices. But the tradition does affirm ongoing prophetic witness (social justice, speaking truth to power). How does that differ structurally from NAR prophetism? The distinction is: UCC prophetic witness is tested by the community and by Scripture; NAR prophetic authority is personal and self-authenticating. ### Five-Fold Ministry The scriptural anchor is Ephesians 4:11: > "On the NAR interpretation, Jesus, at his ascension, gave the church five ongoing governmental offices: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. This is where the term fivefold ministry comes from. These five offices are also commonly called ascension gifts." (Location 1108) The metaphor NAR uses: > "The church today has limited influence because it does not yet exhibit appropriate regard for all five offices. When the majority of Christians accept all five present-day offices, the church will become God's powerful hand to advance his kingdom." (Location 1117) Pivec and Geivett counter that the New Testament evidence shows the apostolic role was understood as **temporally bounded**: > "The apostles of Christ understood that their role in governing the church was temporary. As they aged, and in preparation for their departure, they appointed elders to govern the church (Titus 1:5; 1 Peter 5:1–3; Acts 14:23) rather than ordaining any new apostles of Christ to succeed them." (Location 1588) See [[Five-Fold Ministry]] for the full three-tradition comparison. ### Soaking Music and Worship Practices > "Soaking The purpose of this practice is to experience greater intimacy with God by soaking in His presence… Soaking often involves elements such as finding a place of solitude, praying in one's native language, speaking in tongues, and waiting upon God to manifest his presence. This presence may be mediated by dreams, visions, trances, out-of-body experiences, angelic visitations, or being 'transported in the Spirit'… **The production of 'soaking music' to aid people in their soaking practices has become an industry within NAR.**" (Location 3520, emphasis added) This is directly relevant to the worship-theology standards conversation. Soaking music is the soundtrack for the apostolic-authority encounter. Its production is embedded in NAR networks (Bethel Music, IHOPKC, Elevation). Congregations using soaking music aesthetics may be importing the theological frame along with the sound. (Source: [[Praise and Worship Theology]], [[Musical Sacramentality]]) ### Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare > "NAR apostles and prophets claim to have revealed divine strategies for advancing God's kingdom. Many are related to an overarching strategy known as **strategic-level spiritual warfare** — the attempt to cast out high-ranking demonic spirits that are believed to rule over cities and nations." (Location 3150) The dominionist application: > "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." (Location 3296) > [!contradiction] **Spiritual warfare vs. social justice.** Progressive mainline theology addresses systemic evil through structural analysis (racism, poverty, militarism as systemic sins requiring structural change). NAR addresses systemic evil through spiritual warfare (demonic territorial spirits requiring apostolic authority to cast out). Both address the same social realities through incompatible frameworks. See [[Dominionism]], [[Christian Nationalism]]. ### The Passion Translation > "NAR has gained so much momentum that its community now has its own Bible version, The Passion Translation, produced by the apostle Brian Simmons of Stairway Ministries." (Location 353) The Passion Translation (TPT) is a NAR in-house Bible that embeds NAR theological commitments (apostolic authority, prophetic imminence, spiritual warfare) into the text. This is directly relevant to the worship-team standards conversation: if a song cites "The Passion Translation," it is drawing from a theologically committed NAR source text. ### Destiny Image Publishers > "Destiny Image Publishers is a NAR company started in 1983 in response to visions that founder Don Nori said God gave to him, showing him the need for a company that would 'publish the prophets.' Destiny Image has since become a major producer of books written by NAR apostles, prophets, and teachers, including **Bill Hamon, Bill Johnson, Ché Ahn, James Goll, and Jonathan Welton.**" (Location 565) This confirms the publisher identification made in [[2026-05-19 Bethel's Book Platformed a Wolf]]. Destiny Image books are a reliable signal of NAR theological content. ### NAR's Scale > "NAR accounts for much of the phenomenal growth of Christianity taking place in the Global South — Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It's part of the fastest-growing segment of non-Catholic Christianity worldwide, a segment researchers call the Independent, or Postdenominational segment, with more than **369 million participants.** Only the Protestant segment is slightly larger." (Location 373) > "Though the Assemblies of God and other Pentecostal denominations officially disassociate themselves from key NAR teachings, many of their churches — which have considerable freedom to govern themselves — have in fact embraced those teachings." (Location 402) --- ## Five Criteria NAR Apostles Cannot Meet Pivec and Geivett identify the NAR's own implicit criteria for apostolic legitimacy and show that present-day NAR apostles fail them: 1. They must have literally seen the resurrected Lord 2. They must have received a specific commission by Christ in the fashion of the first apostles 3. They must perform miracles that attest their authority 4. New teachings must be supported in Scripture 5. They must exhibit exemplary virtue and the highest level of integrity (Location 1723) Criterion 5 is particularly pointed given the documented abuse patterns at IHOPKC (Bickle) and Welton Academy. See [[Mike Bickle]] and [[2026-05-19 Bethel's Book Platformed a Wolf]]. --- ## Tradition Analysis This source represents the **evangelical-cessationist** critique of NAR. It argues: - Apostolic and prophetic *gifts* may continue (cessationism is not the authors' position on gifts) - Apostolic and prophetic *offices* with governmental authority do not continue - The church is governed by elders, not apostles - New revelation that supplements Scripture is not available This differs from the **progressive mainline critique** of NAR, which: - Does not primarily argue from cessationism - Focuses on power dynamics, harm, DARVO, and democratic ecclesiology - Prioritizes the DEIB analysis of who is excluded or harmed Both critiques identify the accountability gap. Only the mainline critique foregrounds the harm to women, LGBTQ+ people, and racial minorities as theologically central. > [!contradiction] **Cessationist vs. progressive-mainline critique.** Pivec and Geivett argue from Scripture and cessationist premises. They share NAR's assumption that Scripture is the final authority. Progressive mainline critique adds: the hermeneutical question is also which interpretive community gets to say what Scripture means. NAR's apostolic authority claim is also an authority-over-interpretation claim. See [[NAR Worship Critique Traditions]]. --- ## Connections to Existing Wiki Pages | Page | Connection | |------|------------| | [[New Apostolic Reformation]] | Primary subject; expand with Pivec/Geivett definition | | [[Apostolic Authority]] | Governance structure, submission logic, accountability gap documented | | [[Five-Fold Ministry]] | Eph. 4:11 three-tradition reading; Assemblies of God contrast | | [[Fallible Prophecy]] | New revelation claim; Assemblies of God distinction | | [[DARVO]] | Accountability gap as structural precondition for DARVO | | [[Dominionism]] | Strategic-level spiritual warfare; territorial apostles; seven mountains | | [[Christian Nationalism]] | Scale of NAR as political-theological force | | [[Praise and Worship Theology]] | Soaking music as NAR worship practice | | [[Musical Sacramentality]] | Soaking music industry; presence-mediation claims | | [[C. Peter Wagner]] | Wagner definition of apostle quoted directly | | [[Mike Bickle]] | Five-criteria test; accountability failure | | [[Bethel Church]] | Destiny Image publisher network; Bill Johnson named | | [[2026-05-19 Bethel's Book Platformed a Wolf]] | Jonathan Welton / Destiny Image overlap confirmed | --- ## Pages to Update Based on This Source - [[New Apostolic Reformation]] — add: Pivec/Geivett definition as definitive working definition; Passion Translation as NAR Bible; Destiny Image as NAR publisher; 369 million global participants figure; Assemblies of God divergence - [[Apostolic Authority]] — add: submission-to-apostle = submission-to-God quote; financial structure of apostolic networks; accountability gap argument - [[Five-Fold Ministry]] — add: cessationist counter-argument from apostle appointment of elders (Titus 1:5, 1 Peter 5:1–3, Acts 14:23) --- ## Source Gaps - Pivec and Geivett argue from evangelical-cessationist premises. A full picture requires NAR primary sources (Wagner, Johnson, Simmons) and progressive-mainline sources (Du Mez, Matthew Taylor). The Readwise vault has *The Violent Take It by Force* (Taylor) — only 1 highlight currently. - No direct engagement with the DEIB analysis of who is harmed by apostolic authority structures. That analysis must come from womanist, feminist, and liberation theology sources.