Questions & Answers By Joel M. Killion Website, fsos.com
I greatly appreciate the questions that have been sent in to us. I'm sorry it has been so long since I have been able to answer them. Please understand that I do have many personal duties and responsibilities. However, I really love getting these questions from you. They are not only stimulating, but they help me to understand what key issues are on the hearts of many Christians, how our materials are being received and understood, or in some cases misunderstood.
Thanks for sending them in, and thank you for your patience.
For those of you who have further questions, please consider the following:
Please include your name, email address, or some way to contact you with your questions.
Please be brief and to the point.
This is a format for sincere questions, so please do not try to use this as a format for sharing your own opinion or position.
The overwhelming majority of questions that we receive are great. However, when the tone of a question is angry, hard, demanding or bitter, at the least, I do not take it as being from a source that is mature enough to respond to at that time, and will therefore discard it.
Again, thanks for your patience, and I really do appreciate real questions that are asked sincerely. I do hope to be able to start addressing some again very soon.
Q: Why did you start FrontLines School of the Spirit? Do you think the existing church leadership in your local area is not doing their job?
A: Actually, I never had the existing church leadership in mind when I started FSOS.
I founded FSOS for two reasons: Out of obedience to the Lord and out of an increased awareness of the need for a place that would restore, equip and launch the saints for the work of the ministry, in the home, on the job and in the local communities and churches.
As for whether or not the existing, local church leadership is "doing their job," I simply cannot say for sure as I really have no idea. I do not believe it is my job to point the finger at anyone on the basis of what I think or believe. We are all individually accountable to the Lord when it comes to the area of personal stewardship in life and ministry. I do believe that many churches and ministries fall far short of the fulfillment of Ephesians 4:11-13 and this can be clearly seen by the lack of the fruit that is clearly mentioned in this passage of Scripture; but I am not here to critique anyone; I am here, in the earth, to do my part, in direct obedience to Father. If others are not "doing their job," that is between them and the Lord. I must follow Christ.
The bottom line is that I started this ministry because the Lord asked me to; I should say He backed me into the corner and gave me an ultimatum: "Joel, start the ministry or I'll give it to someone else." For more details on "how" it all started, click here.
For more details on Frontlines School of the Spirit, go to www.fsos.us.
Q: Is FrontLines School of the Spirit an accredited school?
A: No, it's not. It's a School of the Spirit where the saints are being restored, equipped and released by the Lord to their rightful place in Him, where He accredits them with His own, personal approval, as He wishes, in His timing.
With the oversight of the Holy Spirit and the mutual-accountability of His people, we provide practical instruction and interactive ministry opportunities, within and outside the FSOS building, where the people of God can exercise their spiritual muscles. I call it OJT or On the Job Training. This kind of environment, when mixed with the grace and mercy of God, is a perfect means by which to train and release His army, in short order.
FSOS is a place where people can come and "be with Jesus" so that when they stand before men, it is said of them, "Where did these people get their understanding? Where did they acquire this supernatual power?" In time, they'll be known as those who've "been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).
Q: Are you using FrontLines School of the Spirit to "steal sheep"?
A: No. Absolutely not!
First, FSOS is not a "church" or "sheep fold" used to "steal sheep" to.
Second, we have scheduled the FSOS gatherings to take place during non-traditional church times so that it does not distract or detract God's people from their home churches. We only wish to provide additional spiritual nourishment and stimulation for those who have a larger-than-normal appetite for the things of God. Our hope is to provide a place that will serve and compliment what the Lord is doing in Wilson County and beyond.
On a more personal note, I am cautious about people joining us from other churches in our locality. I do not want to deny them the right to move in the purpose of God; and yet, at the same time, I want to make sure that it is in the purpose of God and not a mere reaction to personal "emotions," good, bad or indifferent.
Of course, I do understand that many people have been misused, abused, controlled and rejected by some leaders and ministries. Therefore, I do not wish to deny them a place of healing and deliverance. However, they must be willing to eventually forgive, get healed, delivered and move on in the dream of God.
On another note, I want what I believe the Lord wants: To take His love and power out of the four walls of "churchianity" into the streets to reap many harvests of fresh souls. Transfer growth isn't all it's cracked up to be. Besides, there are thousands of people in Wilson who don't know the Lord and we're going after them. Like Jesus, we want the souls in the streets. And so, as I recently heard, it's "better to have fresh fish than someone else's kippers."
Some have asked me if we have a "church membership" system or program. The answer is NO! Everyone can come and go as they please.
In conclusion, please understand, FSOS is not an elite group of holier-than-though Christians. We are simply a small rag-tag, Heinz-57-variety group of believers who just want "more" of God in our lives. We just want to make ourselves available to Him, to use us as He pleases, whenever He pleases, however He please. Like Moses, we want to grow in the knowledge of His ways so that we can know Him much better than we do right now.
All are welcome to come as they feel led by the Holy Spirit.
Q: What do you believe is the greatest need today in the Christian Church?
A: This a very good question and I believe the answer is very simple:
I believe the number one, most important thing that is needed in the Church is for every single member of Christ's flock to learn and become much more sensitive (responsive) to the voice of their Shepherd over and above every other voice.
Jesus, the Pattern Son of our Father, said He only spoke what He heard His Father saying and only did what He saw His Father doing. If this is how the Son of God lived, how much more should we live like this? What if every believer lived like this? Jesus was not governed by the opinions or beliefs of men because He never sought the praises of men. He sought only to say and do those things that pleased His Father. What would happen if we lived this kind and quality of life? What would happen if we got our eyes off of one another, off of our pastors and preachers and bishops, off of our churches and off of our seminarian professors and, like Jesus, simply set the eyes of our hearts upon the Father?
To use another analogy - What would happen if every atom in every cell of Christ's Body surrendered to and received direct signals from the "one place" they should ever be getting their signals, the Central Nervous System (the Brain), Christ Jesus Himself? Think about it. The normal, fully-functioning human body works as it should when every body-part (every muscle, tendon, organ, nerve, artery, vein, etc.), all the way down to the atomic-cellular level, stays connected and works in tandem with the Central Nervous System of the Brain in the Head. If the "set-order" of this prearranged system is altered or tampered with, in any way, shape or form, the Body will mal-function, on a number of levels.
Today, a large percentage of Christ's Body is not in "order" because they are not aligned with (surrendered to) the Head of the Church. Sure, they may be going to church every time the doors are open; they may be submitted to their pastor or bishop; they may be paying their tithes and doing all the right things that every "good" Christian "should do" but the question must be answered in all honesty: Are we fully surrendered to the eternal Lordship of Jesus Christ, Whom we "call" Lord?
Think about it: If someone says, "Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior," but are not deliberately hearing and obeying Him, they are really saying, by their choices and the results of those choices, "Jesus Christ is my Savior, but He is not my Lord." In other words, it's possible to be saved by Christ and yet not be obedient to Him.
But those who are His sheep, hear His voice and they follow Him because they know His voice and the voice of another they will not follow. But this begins with every sheep knowing the Shepherd on a personal, intimate, one-on-one basis, without a middleman. The quality of our relationship with the Lord is directly effected by the quality of our communication with Him and vice versa.
Q: What is your "style" of leadership?
A: First of all, let me just say that I do not see and have never seen myself as a leader; rather, I see myself as a facilitator. My job is to create what John Maxwell calls an "Eagle Environment" where everyone is empowered and released into cooperative, supernatural, leadership ministry with the Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words, to put it simply, my "style" of "leadership" goes like this: Restore, equip and launch every born-again, Spirit-filled saint into divine service and then get out of the way. According to the Gospels, this is the style Jesus Himself preferred. He loved to raise up others to be just like Him and even wanted them to excel beyond Himself (see John 14:12).
There are two words that I hold as very dear to my heart when it comes to the subject of "leadership": "Empowerment" and "Delegation" or "Shared-responsibility." I like this much better than the alternative: The "one-man-show." Every saint must be restored, equipped and launched into their purpose so that they can be mutually-responsible, alongside those who have restored them, for bringing the Kingdom of God into our present world. As for me, I have no interest in developing a "following"; I wish only to raise up leaders, and get out of the way, so that they can go beyond me.
Personally, I am very laid-back in my style of leadership. Some get a little put-out with me when I do not intervene as they "think" I should, based on their prior experience in the church. But I'm a strong believer in giving the Lord the first chance to iron things out, His way, in His timing. If He wants to use me to work things out, wonderful. But I'm not one to presume that I'm wise enough to micro-manage every little thing. I only want to say and do what His wisdom leads me to say and do. Without His leading, I can only stand to make things worse.
Q: Does your ministry receive "Tithes and Offering"?
A: This is a great question. Our M.O., as it relates to receiving monetary gifts or donations, is very simple: We only ask everyone to "pray and obey" the Holy Spirit - to us, there's no other way. We have never and will never "beg for bread." We refuse to manipulate or obligate anyone to fund what God has called us to do; He'll take care of what He calls us to do.
There are some who have felt led to give their tithes and offerings to the ministry on a weekly or monthly basis; there are others who only give what they feel led to give, when they feel led to give it; and there are some who do not give at all. We do not favor or frown on any one of these groups. We simply trust the Lord to guide His people, His way, in His timing, according to His will, not ours.
Q: Is FSOS affiliated with Rick Joyner's MorningStar Fellowship Church and Ministries? A:Neither Frontlines School of the Spirit (FSOS) nor Inner Life Ministries is affiliated with MorningStar Ministries, MorningStar Fellowship Church or any of their related ministries. While Joel Killion, founder of FSOS and Inner Life Ministries is a graduate of MorningStar School of Ministry (MSM) and has been (and is currently) a member of the MorningStar Fellowship of Ministries (Level II), no other affiliation with or endorsement of Frontlines School of the Spirit or Inner Life Ministries, or of Joel Killion by MorningStar Ministries or MorningStar Fellowship of Ministries is implied or intended. Mention of the name MorningStar Ministries, MorningStar School of Ministry, or any other MorningStar entity is only in relation to attendance at conferences, seminars, schools or other events offered by them or our personal recommendations of materials or events offered by them.
While we appreciate MorningStar's ministry to us personally and to the body of Christ at large, we wish to make it clear that our ministry and theirs are very separate entities.
Q: Who or what is FSOS' "covering"?
A: FSOS is a subsidiary of Inner Life Ministries, which was founded by Joel M. Killion in 1998. Joel and his wife, Lauren, were ordained by Wade E. Taylor of Parousia Ministerial Fellowship (www.wadetaylor.org) in January of 2004.
Q: What do you think about formal ministry training and education? Should every person called to ministry attend a seminary, Bible school, etc?
A: Those who have a “theological and ministry education” do not have or lack any privileges over those who don’t. Obedience is the key; everyone must be individually led by the Holy Spirit and be convinced in their own hearts and minds before the Lord.
For more information on Joel Killion and Inner Life Ministries, click here.