Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions

by Jack Deere

The overwhelming majority of biblical examples of both godly ministry and passionate devotion are drawn from the lives of the few, special, and exceptional characters who became prominent in salvation history. It is impossible, therefore, to justify logically or biblically a hermeneutical principle that (1) is primarily based on the observation that only a few in the Bible possess or do certain things, and (2) functions to justify the cessation of these things. Paul is the only significant church planter in the New Testament, and most of the apostles seem to stay in Jerusalem rather than going out to plant churches. Does that mean that only the few were intended to plant churches, and that when Paul died, church planting also died? Even though the observation is correct, the conclusion is false, because it contradicts New Testament commands to evangelize and disciple the world (Matthew 28:18–20; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8).