New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Defined
Some think it is a powerful movement of God, others think it is dangerous, others say it doesn’t exist at all. The New Apostolic Reformation or NAR is one of the fastest growing and most influential religious movements in the church today, and most Christians have never heard of it. More than 66 million Christians in the United States have likely come into significant contact with NAR teachings. The movement is also making monumental strides in the global South.
NAR, however, is not an organization or denomination. There is no official listing of NAR beliefs, leaders or churches. Though the movement emerged out of independent charismatic churches, especially the post-World War II Latter Rain movement, NAR deviates from classical Pentecostal and charismatic teachings in a number of ways. The term “New Apostolic Reformation” was coined by theologian C. Peter Wagner. In 2001, Wagner said, “We are now living in the midst of one of the most epochal changes in the structure of the Church that has ever been recorded. I like to call it the Second Apostolic Age.”
10 Things to Know about NAR
Apostles and Prophets
NAR, however, is not an organization or denomination. There is no official listing of NAR beliefs, leaders or churches. Though the movement emerged out of independent charismatic churches, especially the post-World War II Latter Rain movement, NAR deviates from classical Pentecostal and charismatic teachings in a number of ways. The term “New Apostolic Reformation” was coined by theologian C. Peter Wagner. In 2001, Wagner said, “We are now living in the midst of one of the most epochal changes in the structure of the Church that has ever been recorded. I like to call it the Second Apostolic Age.”
Great Authority
The biggest innovation of NAR is the belief that apostles, working together with prophets, must take over governance of the church so that God’s end-time plans can be fulfilled and Christ can return. In fact, NAR leaders hold that these apostles have governing authority equal to the original apostles. According to C. Peter Wagner, these apostles get their authority directly from God.[1] Therefore, failure to submit to a NAR apostle is seen as failure to submit to God.[2] Because of their perceived spiritual authority, these leaders even exert considerable influence on the local and national voting practices of their followers. According to NAR teachings, Apostles do have limited spheres of authority. No one apostle has authority over the entire church. None of this implies that present-day apostles have less authority than the original apostles, according to Wagner.[3]
[1]C. Peter Wagner, Apostles Today: Biblical Government for Biblical Power (Bloomington, MN: Chosen Books, 2006), 25-26.
[2] Bill Hamon, Apostles, Prophets, and the Coming Moves of God: God’s End-Times Plans for His Church and Planet Earth (Santa Rosa Beach, FL: Destiny Image Publishers, 1997), 153.
[3] C. Peter Wagner, Apostles Today: Biblical Government for Biblical Power (Bloomington, MN: Chosen Books, 2006), 75.
New Revelation
NAR apostles and prophets receive new revelation from God. They establish the foundational government of the church, first, by “hearing what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches.” This new revelation is often referred to by NAR leaders as “present truth” or “new truths.” Apostles can receive revelation directly from God, or they receive it from prophets. Present-day apostles can receive new revelation that supplements Scripture so long as it doesn’t contradict it.[1] But it does appear that NAR leaders also allow for new revelation that is treated on a par with Scripture—despite denials to the contrary.[2] Prophets are not infallible, however. Unlike true prophets in the Bible, these modern prophets can make mistakes when they prophesy.
[1] C. Peter Wagner, “The New Apostolic Reformation Is Not a Cult,” Charisma News, August 24, 2011, http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/31851-the-new-apostolic-reformation-is-not-a-cult.
[2] Bill Hamon, Prophets and the Prophetic Movement: God’s Prophetic Movement Today (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 2001), 144.
Greater Miracles than Jesus
NAR proponents believe that, under the leadership of apostles and prophets, the end-time church will perform miracles that are unprecedented in terms of their grandeur and frequency. New truths will be revealed by the new apostles and prophets that are crucial to “activating” miraculous gifts among individuals. Followers of apostles and prophets will grow in miraculous gifting until they “loose” God’s judgments on earth. Even the greatness of Jesus’s miracles will be trumped by end-time miracles.[1] Rick Joyner, one of the most influential NAR prophets, declares, “Parting the Red Sea will hardly be remembered as a significant miracle after the things that will be done by those who serve the Lord at the end of this age.”[2] These miracles will contribute to the fulfillment of a popular NAR prophecy known as the Great End-Time Harvest, in which one billion people will come to faith in Christ.
[1] Rick Joyner, “Abiding in the King Produces Kingdom Authority—The Path of Life, Part 31,” MorningStar Ministries, Week 38, 2012, http://www.morningstarministries.org/resources/word-week/2012/abiding-king-produces-kingdom-authority-path-life-part-31#.Uwpg0oV6V8o.
[2] Rick Joyner, The Apostolic Ministry (Wilkesboro, NC: MorningStar Publications, 2004), 42.
They have their own Translation of the Bible
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 (Wichita, Kansas). Now NAR teachings can be supported by pointing to chapter and verse, further strengthening the impression that NAR enjoys explicit biblical support. But in a review for Themelios, Andrew G. Shead concludes that Simmons abandons “all interest in textual accuracy, playing fast and loose with the original languages, and inserting so much new material into the text that it is at least 50% longer than the original. The result is a strongly sectarian translation that no longer counts as Scripture; by masquerading as a Bible, it threatens to bind entire churches in thrall to a false god.”[1]
[1] Andrew G. Shead, “Burning Scripture with Passion: A Review of The Psalms (The Passion Translation),” Themelios, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/burning-scripture-with-passion-a-review-of-the-psalms-passion-translation/
You can Take a Class to Learn to Perform Miracles
Schools of the supernatural have been formed at apostolic churches, many associated with Bill Johnson’s Bethel Church in Redding, California, where anyone can learn to do supernatural miracles (for a cost of course). Bethel runs a ministry training center called the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM). The school says that what makes the academic instruction at BSSM unique is that it “is taught by apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.” The school says, “Students will learn how to read, understand, and ‘do’ the Bible, how to practice His presence, to witness, heal the sick, prophesy, preach, pray, cast out demons and much more.”[1]
[1] https://bssm.net/school/academics/
Unity is Found in the Apostles, Not Doctrine
NAR leader Bill Johnson, senior pastor of Bethel Church, sums up well the teaching that apostolic leadership, rather than doctrine, is the foundation of true unity.[1] Wagner says NAR leaders have a “lighter view of doctrine” than has been held by more traditional evangelicals. Instead, apostolic unity occurs when the Christians in a given city unite under the leadership of apostles to transform their city.[2] Apostles are viewed as the generals in the great spiritual war that is being fought. As John Kelly and Paul Costa write in their book “End-Time Warriors,” “The apostle is the one who will unify the Church into a fighting force.”
[1] Bill Johnson, “Apostolic Teams—A Group of People Who Carry the Family Mission,” The Elijah List, November 21, 2008, http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/7083.
[2] C. Peter Wagner, Changing Church (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2004), 157.
Seven Mountain Mandate
Many NAR apostles and prophets claim that God has revealed a new strategy for advancing God’s kingdom — a strategy they call the Seven Mountain Mandate. According to this revelation, the way to take dominion is by taking control of the seven most influential societal institutions — called “mountains” — which are identified as government, media, family, business, education, church and the arts. These institutions are presently dominated by secular humanists and other opinion leaders who do not share God’s values.[1] The Seven Mountain Mandate ties a number of NAR spiritual warfare strategies together. For example, to cast out the territorial spirits that rule over societal institutions, teams of individuals might conduct prayer walks at locations associated with those institutions.[2]
[1] Johnny Enlow, The Seven Mountain Prophecy: Unveiling the Coming Elijah Revolution (Lake Mary, FL: Creation House, 2008), 43–44.
[2] Clinton E. Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1997), 187.
Spiritual Warfare
According to NAR leaders, the way to advance God’s kingdom is not just through the historical means of evangelism and world missions. Rather it’s through the implementation of divine strategies that have been revealed by NAR apostles and prophets for this purpose, and to the authority of which the church is required to yield. This view is known as dominionism or the Kingdom Now view. Examples include strategic-level spiritual warfare wherein powerful evil spirits that are believed to rule specific geographical regions, cultural groups and societal institutions are confronted.[1] Spiritual mapping is the practice of researching a specific city or nation to discover the names of the territorial spirits that hinder the spread of the gospel in that particular geographical region. This is because many NAR leaders believe that knowing the proper name, or functional name, of a demon gives Christians more power over that demon.[2]
For a more detailed look into the NAR check out “A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement” by Holly Pivec and Douglas Geivett.
Justin Nash, “What is the Apostolic Reformation?,‘” The Advent Christian Witness, Summer 2021