Hearing God "Speak"
Several years ago I sat in a “vision” service of a local church and heard the pastor declare to his listeners that while he was hanging out in the woods recently God “spoke” clearly to him and revealed to him a 2020 vision for the church – in other words what their church would look like by the year 2020. The pastor was clear that his vision was “without a doubt a clear word from God.” Of course, this “God-given” vision included larger attendance and giving numbers, more campuses in surrounding cities and bigger influence locally and globally. I even remember vividly the pastor suggesting God informed him they would reach a certain numerical attendance goal based on some type of misguided “tithing” principle where God would give them 10% of the number of people who lived in the specific cities where they planned to launch campuses. I was somewhat shocked by the confidence with which the speaker made his declarations based on the premise “God spoke” these promises to him. I aske