Purifying the Prophetic: Breaking Free from the Spirit of Self-Fulfillment [Paperback]

R. Loren Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

The Church's sure foundation: Are we watching it crumble? The Western Church is slowly slipping away from her biblical moorings, warns prophetic pastor Loren Sandford. And by doing so she is sinking

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Church's sure foundation: Are we watching it crumble?

The Western Church is slowly slipping away from her biblical moorings, warns prophetic pastor Loren Sandford. And by doing so she is sinking into a culture repelled by the demands of biblical truth.

- Genuine spiritual experience is being displaced by the need for ongoing excitement.
- Selfless life and ministry are shifting into a personal prosperity gospel.
- The prophetic voice too often caters to the perceived needs of the people.

God planned a different culture for His people, explains Sandford, one that lives the message of Jesus and His cross. Join those who embrace a vision for cleansing the prophetic stream; who are rediscovering miracles, healings and demonstrations of power; and who are rebuilding a firm foundation.

About the Author

R. Loren Sandford (M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of New Song Fellowship in Denver, Colorado. He speaks internationally and is a past director of Elijah House, an international ministry of counseling founded by his parents, John and Paula Sandford. An author who has released ten CDs of original music, Loren and his wife, Beth, have three grown children and six grandchildren and live in Thornton, Colorado.

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Chosen Books; Reprinted edition (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800794001
• ISBN-13: 978-0800794002
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #579,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BIO FOR R. LOREN SANDFORD

R. Loren Sandford grew up a preacher's son in the Congregational Church in Illinois, Kansas and north Idaho. As a teenager he played rock music professionally over three states and two provinces of Canada before leaving to attend the College of Idaho. In 1973 he completed a B.A. degree in music education, then moved to California and attended Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, earning a Master of Divinity degree in 1976.

Since 1976 Loren has served four churches full time, successfully planting two of them himself, including New Song Fellowship, Denver, Colorado where he remains the senior pastor. In 1979 and 1980 he co-directed Elijah House (an international ministry in Christian counseling and counselor training) and continues to be in demand internationally primarily for teaching but also for leading worship. Initially ordained in a mainline denomination where he served on the national board for the charismatic renewal group within that affiliation, he has since served in the Vineyard and now is affiliated with Partners in Harvest, a new association of churches associated with the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship and the renewal centered there. He has been a member of the International Input Council for Partners in Harvest, oversees the western region for that family of churches and is a recognized prophetic voice within the movement.

In 1991 he was the worship leader for the first Promise Keepers mass men's meeting at the CU Event Center in Boulder, Colorado and has released eleven CDs of original music, most of it for worship. In addition to the music, Loren is the author of "Purifying the Prophetic: Breaking Free from the Spirit of Self-Fulfillment", "Understanding Prophetic People: Blessings and Problems with the Prophetic Gift", "The Prophetic Church: Wielding the Power to Change the World" and "Renewal for the Wounded Warrior: A Burnout Survival Guide for Believers" and as of May, 2012 "Visions of the Coming Days: What to Look for and How to Prepare".

Married to Beth since 1972, they have 3 grown children and 9 grandchildren as of 2012. Loren is also a member of the Osage Nation, a Native American tribe centered in Oklahoma.

Loren can be contacted by email at [e-mail]. Visit the New Song Fellowship website at www.newsongfellowship.org or call 303-430-8100.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here are some endorsements:, November 18, 2005

By 

Loren Sandford - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Purifying the Prophetic: Breaking Free from the Spirit of Self-Fulfillment (Paperback)

"In Purifying the Prophetic, Loren challenges us to uproot and overthrow some of our culturally acceptable New Testament traditions and errors. He pleads passionately for the Church to experience God's love to such a degree that the kingdom of self is displaced with a culture of honor, purity and love. The results? A fatherless generation will be drawn home to the Father's house."--Jack Frost, author, Experiencing Father's Embrace; cofounder, Shiloh Place Ministries

"This is the first time I have read a book that is speaking correctives into the prophetic movement, as well as into other areas of popular Christian culture. It has the benefit of being written by a highly prophetically gifted leader. The book is forthright in its message and may offend some people. If it is read in the light of the spirit intended, however, it will bring desperately needed correctives into today's Church and into the wonderfully God-wrought ministering gift of prophecy. Loren has been a friend of mine since 1995. At that time he prophesied life, future and hope over me during a very difficult period of my life. I recommend Purifying the Prophetic to all who move in prophetic ministry already, to all who want to move in prophetic gifting in the future, and to all those who are about to give up on prophetic ministry because of the problems associated with it."--Fred Wright, international coordinator, Partners in Harvest

"This timely book will enable you to keep the scriptural mandate to 'despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good' (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). This is a much-needed work."--John Arnott, senior pastor, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship

"Loren Sandford's book Purifying the Prophetic is an in-your face, gut-checking, heart-wrenching, reality-based review of current prophetic paradigms that need serious adjusting. It would serve the reader to be warned beforehand: reading this book could cause your blood pressure to rise."--John Paul Jackson, founder, Streams Ministries International

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shift from Self to Service, November 9, 2008

By 

mjmcc61 "mjmcc61" (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purifying the Prophetic: Breaking Free from the Spirit of Self-Fulfillment (Paperback)

Although the initial chapters of this book do address the prophetic ministry of the church, its message is much broader. Loren Sandford addresses the influence of western, and particularly American, culture on the people of the church and how it has blocked us from realizing God's purpose.

This materialistic culture of self-fulfillment, personal prosperity and focus on our own desires affects our worship, ministry, relationships with leaders and our health - emotional, physical and spiritual. The blunt, challenging and loving message that the author prophetically speaks is to renounce the ways of the temporal world and to serve others sacrificially. In short, it is a call to love as God does.

Shifting our focus away from ourselves and towards serving the needs of others would not only purify the prophetic, but also purify those who seek to follow Jesus.

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Purifying the Prophetic - a word for the emerging church of our times, September 28, 2005

By 

Denise L. Detwiler (Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Purifying the Prophetic: Breaking Free from the Spirit of Self-Fulfillment (Paperback)

What I love about this book is that it encapsulates the exact and specific point of failure in the things addressed. It defines and verbalizes the failure (and the true solution) in simple,clear,and accurate measures.

The solution being: embracing and living in the true Spirit of Christ. This book clearly defines and identifies the elements of living out true Christ life minus extra clutter and agendas.

What a word for our times and for the true church! What a call to BE the true church! Of course scripture contains all this truth however we have been subverted from the true meaning of it and through repetitive wrong teaching or preaching missed these VITAL truths in it.

I will be getting more copies for giving away. I already know of a few who would be greatly encouraged and helped by it as I.

Purifying the Prophetic could become a manual for the emerging true church in this time we are coming into. It supersedes any outward circumstances and so, whatever the end of all that's going on the stuff in this book is useful across economical, natural, and even I daresay cultural boundaries (even tho it is focused toward Western culture)