Present day Apostles And how TheY fIT Inside the Church
When I received my first call to plant a church...many moons ago...I was directed
by a church planting organization to take a spiritual gift assessment. It might of been the first i had ever taken.
But what was alarming to me emereged as the result of the test and I must admit I was extremely embarrassed and disappointed by the results.
The test came back and said that I was an Apostle?
I don't know if at that time in my life I had ever heard a modern day person called that before.
I didn't even know what an apostle was. I was not even sure I could have taken that information back to the church I was a member at.
I mean what do they do with people proclaiming to be an apostle...burn them at the stake or something?
HOLY COW...it said I was an apostle
What was an apostle and how did they fit from
our church. As far as I knew...they didn't...and might even be heresy or something to say that they did!
That was 20 years ago...and Looking back on it...I wish I had explored the idea more.
Because now I know that one identification of who I am explains alot about how I work and fit within the mission of God. Up until recently the only method I could explain my behavior and patterns in life was to refer to the Longmires as spiritual gypsy's.
My pattern as a pastor was to spend about 3 years in any one location. The whole time I was standing on my watch tower I was equipping and releasing people into minster doing everything I could to work myself out of a job. Because the call to go elseware was always so strong. Somewhere else where they needed me!!!
But during the last 18 months some of that has changed and I was lucky enough to get have my eyes opened to the opportunities within the mission of God to launch movements.
I am now seeing that there's room in today's faith for apostles again.
I am even seeing that the teachers and shepherds of the local church are searching and seeking to hear the voice of the apostles and prophets for guidance regarding how to lead their own congregations.
So to aid in this discussion I wanted to share something that I Recently read. It is among the better descriptions of an apostle that I have seen. You have to bear in mind that this is framed around the language of starting movements. Less in the language of the western church, but more of elevating the Christ among the nations.
I also took liberty to change a few phrases because the description was in response to a paper that was written about them. And without that paper the phrases would not make since.
But the reason I am posting the reason being from our church among the offices that is overlooked or not given much credence during the last few years is the role of the Apostle. I believe there is some confusion about the calling and gifting and some misunderstanding of the role.
From my own, personal expertise i have seen in which the neighborhood church really doesn't understand how to equip or release these folks inside their mist. I understand...I was there.
We were never established to have lots of apostles running around. We would never know how to give direction and focus to the calling. What we are exposed too within the local church are the Sheppard's and teachers, since they're those who are left to care and grow what the prophets and apostles started, without them, we would have an overwhelming amount of destroyed people, because the very nature of an apostle is to keep going.
Think of the work of the Apostle Paul. He was always planting, equipping, and releasing. He never stayed anywhere for any length of time, but was always starting and coaching those around him. Paul was always bringing people back to the call of the movement.
Few are wired this way and thank the Lord that they're not. But there are those who are! And unfortunately in today's world and functioning of religion, there was not always much space and place to allow them to serve outside of missions.
But when we start to see the call different, begin to see that God is about the movement or mission; suddenly the apostles have a place that they'll thrive and survive.
This is better described by John and Annette; it's this that they wrote
The Apostle is called to go where there isn't any Water. They are drawn by the Spirit and if yielded to Him there's little that will get in their way to reach that area to bring the Water.
As persons get hydrated and filled with this Water they start to overflow into others around them. Gifts start to sprout and the apostle starts to see some tiny apostles about them. While doing this they also hear of other lands that there isn't any Water and inside that desire to GO again pulls at their core.
However, because of Years of maturity/trials/and plan old learning (Even from books) the apostle will not leave until there is enough Water in the region and those that are gifted in ensuring Water continues to flow regularly.
Another way of exploring the role of an apostleAlan Hirsch described them this way.
APOSTLES extend the gospel. As the "sent ones," they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to another. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally. Yes, if you focus solely on initiating new ideas and rapid expansion, you can leave people and organizations wounded. The shepherding and teaching functions are needed to ensure people are cared for rather than simply used.
There's a reason why Apostles are the "sent ones" since there is nothing else they can do but continue going and being sent. Hope that helps place a frame around the function and role of an
Present day Apostles And how TheY fIT Inside the Church
By: phillip longmire
Not All Lawsuits Can Be Funded Does Quietus Work A Question Asked Again And Again All Relating To Titanium Alloys - The Way It Is Developed And Applied How To Deal With Bees And Wasps Nests Around Backyard Ponds My PC Shuts Down All the Time - How Can I Fix it and Make it Run Faster? Structured Settlement Quote And How To Use It Retirement Funds And Annuities Your Structured Settlements - When You Should Sell Them Irrigation of the Sinuses – Its Uses and Benefit Getting Around Dublin and its Surrounding Areas Nflx, Orcl, Evca Stock Updates - Pennytobuck.com Water Fountains: Functions, Types And Benefits Fast And Easy Photo Editing!!!