Jack Hayford - Living the Spirit-Formed Life: Growing in the 10 Principles of Spirit-Filled Discipleship

P astor Jack began influencing my life years before I met him. The first time I heard him speak was at a Bible conference in the early 1980s. He spoke on the beauty of a spiritual language. As a young Baptist minister, I had not heard anything like it. But Jack had a very nonconfrontational way of humbly presenting Scripture. He did not try to defend or argue a position; he simply presented his belief. He did not say, This is the only way. Either Im right or youre wrong. His presentation, mannerism, Christlikeness and humility, not to mention his knowledge of Scripture and theological soundness, caused me to open up to him and his Pentecostal background. He caused me to start thinking about Scripture differently, and I began reading his books and watching him on television.

In 2001, a year after I began Gateway Church, I went to a small pastors gathering to hear Pastor Jack share about how we could help Messianic Jews. I met him in the parking lot and told him how much he ministered to me and how much I appreciated him. He was very kind and gracious. He took an interest in me and asked about the church.

A couple of years later, I sent him an invitation to come speak at our first pastors conference. When he arrived, it was like being with family. As we spent time together and got to know one another better, I fell in love with his character and his fatherly nature, and he seemed to fall in love with me as a teachable son he could pour into. A spiritual father/son relationship began to develop, and we started spending more and more time together.

As Gateway grew, we realized we needed more apostolic counsel. So in 2010, we asked Pastor Jack to join us as one of our apostolic elders. It was an easy choice to ask Jack, because he is a spiritual father to me and a spiritual grandfather to the Church. I can always reach out to him for guidance. I can call him anytime and ask, How did you do this? How did you work through this? How did you help? What did you do? How did you handle it? He has so much wisdom and shares it freely.

I once heard someone say that for years the Church has been over-mothered and under-fathered. Mothers nurture us. They are the ones we run to when we fall off our bikes and scrape our knees. It is not that fathers are not nurturing, but it is the fathers responsibility to call out the destiny of God in our lives. A father will say, Get over it! Get up! Lets do it again! I know you fell and scraped your knee, but get up. Lets go for it again! We need more fathering in the Church today. Jack is a tremendous example of a father who not only is loving and nurturing but also will encourage you and call out your destiny.

In 2 Kings 2:810, Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of the spirit that was on him. And Elijah said, If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you. He was saying, If youll stay with me to the end. We need to stay with our spiritual mothers and fathers until the end. They have something to contribute to the Kingdom, and they have something to teach us. They have impartations and anointing for us. I have experienced the benefit of that by spending time with Pastor Jack, and I have seen the results in Gateway Church as well as around the world.

Paul told the church at Corinth, For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers (1 Corinthians 4:15). We are blessed today with many wonderful teachers and instructors but just a few spiritual fathers, and even fewer Jack Hayfords.

No one has been more of a spiritual father to our generation than Pastor Jack Hayford. He has helped us to understand what it means to fully believe in the work of the Holy Spirit by unashamedly yielding to Him. In fact, it was during Pastor Jacks weeklong school of pastoral nurture with about forty other pastors when I first began to grasp this. As he poured into each of us, I realized that in addition to his vast knowledge of theology, he had a practical pastoral wisdom every person could apply. It was the first time I had heard anyone use the term Spirit-formed life, and when he said it, something in me began to go off like rockets. I understood how to live a Spirit-filled life, but to think about the Spirit of God forming my life was exciting to me! I discovered that living the Spirit-formed life is when I allow the Holy Spirit to set the structure for my life and get my life organized, under control and disciplined.

That is what this book is about. On the following pages, Pastor Jack speaks as a spiritual father to the Body of Christ and explains how you can allow the Holy Spirit to bring order, structure, balance and fullness to your life. When you apply the spiritual disciplines outlined in this book, you can live a victorious life every day. I pray you will allow the revelations in this book to permeate into your heart and soul.

Get ready for an exciting adventure with the Holy Spirit as you rediscover Him in a new way.

Robert Morris, founding senior pastor, Gateway Church, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas