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He studies Scripture with the same spirit. Every day he reads on his knees. It's a physical discipline reminding him that every word addresses him, so he must constantly ask, "What does this have to do with me?"

While Hayford encourages accountability groups and structures, he warns pastors that only accountability to God can protect them.

"Ultimately it's the only thing that will make me accountable to anyone else—my wife, my congregation, even myself."

Always, not far from his mind is the heavenly assembly, praising God around his throne. The kingdom of God is present in Van Nuys, California, even while creation waits for "the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19). And always somewhere within Hayford's awareness are the words, "Tell me the truth, Jack, in the presence of Jesus."

Tim Stafford is a CT senior writer.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More about Jack Hayford's ministry—including news and events, radio and TV, books, the school of pastoral nurture, is available on his website.

The Church on the Way has more information about Hayford's ministry, along with online spiritual resources.

International Church of The Foursquare Gospel has Jack Hayford's blog, more information about the denomination, and its news service.

Listen to Hayford's sermons at CT's sister online publication, PreachingTodayAudio and at OnePlace.com.

More recent Christianity Today articles on Pentecostalism include:

Hand-Clapping in a Gothic Nave | What Pentecostals and mainliners can learn from each other. (March 11, 2005)

Christian History Corner
The Roots of Pentecostal Scandal—Romanticism Gone to Seed | The sexual stumblings of prominent ministers point to a hidden flaw in Pentecostal spirituality. (Sept. 17, 2004)

Christian History Corner
Romanticism Gone to Seed—Part II | Have the holiness and Pentecostal movements really been "hyper-vertical" and "anti-domestic"? (Oct. 01, 2004)

God's Peculiar People | Historian Grant Wacker explains why Pentecostals survived and even flourished. (March 18, 2002)

Are Pentecostals Sex-Crazed? | John Steinbeck and Robert Duvall have portrayed them that way, and such criticism even came from inside the movement. But was it ever warranted? (Sept. 11, 2001)

Christian History Corner
Explaining the Ineffable | In Heaven Below, a former Pentecostal argues that his ancestors were neither as outlandish as they seemed nor as otherworldly as they wish to seem. (Aug. 31, 2001)

Should We All Speak in Tongues? | Some say speaking in tongues is proof of 'baptism in the Holy Spirit.' Are those who haven't spoken in tongues without the Holy Spirit? (March 6, 2000)

A Peacemaker in Provo | How one Pentecostal pastor taught his Congregation to love Mormons. (February 7, 2000)

Christian History & Biography devoted an issue to The Rise of Pentecostalism. More on Pentecostalism from CT sister publications include:

Whither Pentecostal Scholarship? | The overlap between "people with the Spirit" and "people with Ph.D.'s." (Books & Culture, May/June 2004)

El Espiritu Santo | Exploring Latino Pentecostalism. (Books & Culture, May/June 2004)

A Global Pentecost | The fastest-growing religious group? (Books & Culture, March/April 2002)

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July 2005, Vol. 49, No. 7