Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (13)

The bible says that the church is built on apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Corinthians 12:23). Therefore, it is important for churches to consider what it looks like to have effective apostolic and prophetic ministry.  Over the last six weeks I have been exploring a range of thoughts that could contribute to more effective and mature expression of the apostolic.

It seems that all gifts of the Spirit have varying levels of anointing and authority. We all accept that the gift of evangelist has, at one end, every believer sharing their faith and at the other, Billy Graham. In between are all types of effectiveness outworked by and through the Holy Spirit. There is a continuum. Unfortunately, when we refer to apostles rather than apostolic ministry/atmosphere we stumble to see the place and relevance of a continuum.

In number 7 of the series I observe what apostolic atmosphere/ ministry could include:

It would seem to me that in apostolic atmospheres where leaders relate in freedom and friendship, that fathers and fathers of fathers can emerge who are:

• Christ centred above being church centred in their vision;
• desirous of building a habitation for God;
• releasing the power of God and empowering others to release the power of God;
• motivated by a strong desire to see Jesus formed in His people above seeing church in a certain form;
• travailing to give birth to kingdom realities and lifestyles not just to organise a large team; and
• coming in weakness and not their own strength whilst having clear realms of authority

These characteristics can have varying levels of anointing, authority and effectiveness in different leaders. So for a church to be built on apostles (& prophets), it is not necessary to have someone like the Apostle Paul influencing the life and flow of the church.  However, each local church can be led by the Spirit to an expansion of the apostolic that will empower them to pursue their assignments.

To build with apostolic influence points to the need for ministry input from a “father” who brings wisdom and love to a group of elders who are free men who hear the voice of God.  The “fathering” relationship is not to be characterised by the ‘adult/child’ phase of fathering. Rather it is a mature adult to adult relationship.  That is there is not the controlling and permission with holding of the adult/child phase.  Instead there is a high regard for the fathers wisdom, knowing that he wants to offer love and impart on the basis of what could be best for the others.

When organising principle shifts from fathering to structural and functional relationships monitored by policies to ensure that the “advice” of the overseer is followed what happens to the apostolic atmosphere/ministry?

Until next time may you be blessed with God’s favour and life.

 

Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (12)

Today’s post follows directly on from the previous one.  The following is a further quote from my book Above the Line.  It is presented in the context of explaining whether there is a place to recapture our commitment to fathering, and therefore authority, in ways that pursue mutual submission, respect for the freedom Jesus won for us and honour that considers the value of all.

The second descriptor of honour is “to glory in and promote”.  This means that people are esteemed and the desire is to associate with them.  1Peter 2:17 says, “Honour all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the king.” Nero, the king of the day was an atrocious leader yet he is to be esteemed.  Clearly honour has nothing to do with agreement, being honourable or earning/deserving it.  Exodus 20:12 calls for fathers and mothers to be honoured.  Yet these are people we are close to and know their short comings, how they failed and hurt us and what really goes on in their hearts.  To honour those we are, or have been, in close relationship with can may be difficult because we feel they don’t deserve to be.  Honour flows out of who you are.  When you are an honouring person no one else’s behaviour controls or changes the honour you give.

The third descriptor of honour is “to give prestige”. Only wealthy, high ranking people can give more social or cultural honour to others.  When they give prestige they are giving access to resources, opportunities and experiences that otherwise would not be available.  To honour all men requires us to be attentive to how behaviour, language and attitudes are resourcing others.  Nothing another person does or says should change the way we resource them.  Relationships are no longer determined by agreement, obedience and rules but a heart attitude.  Honour (and love) protects a relationship where there is disagreement.  We show honour by sharing power and control in our relationships.  We need to be OK no matter what others do.  I will stay in charge of my honour.  I will not put others in charge of my honour.  I will not allow anything to be more important than my relationship with another.

The fourth descriptor of honour is “to respect; to admire”.  When I respect you I refuse to disempower you.  When I respect you my heart is connected to your heart.  My decisions are designed to protect our relationship.  I steer myself to protect another’s heart.  I will not tell you lies by avoiding conflict.  I will either extend forgiveness, recognise I can let it go or I will show you your responsibility.  I will not let your sin scare me so I will have no need to control you.

Honour is not asking another to submit to my power, position or authority.  This is dishonour.  When national governments do this to their people it is called oppression.  When I honour you I will never ask you in an active or passive way to surrender to me.  When I honour you I admire you and have wonderment  about you.  I look for your uniqueness and seek the gold in you.  I will give you the benefit of the doubt.  I will ascribe to you the highest motives.

Until next time may you be blessed with God’s favour and grace.

Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (11)

I really appreciate the comments that are being offered as I explore the possibility of discovering a deeper appreciation for and understanding of the place of the apostolic in the way the Kingdom of God works.  My pursuit is not based on criticisms of  past or current models.  Rather, I am interested in, through observation and reflection against the word of God, discovering whether we can co-labour with God more effectively.  I long to see heaven on earth displayed in much greater measure in the life of local churches in the western world.  I am convinced that there has to be more of the presence, power and glory of God that can be released through communities of faith.

Among the themes I am exploring is that of the apostolic and authority.  I’m wondering if/proposing that our views of authority have been too strongly influenced by a mixture of cultural, organisational and mixed theological persuasions.  The net result, in simplistic terms, is an understanding and application of authority as a “top down” expression of power and control.   I think there is a place to recapture our commitment to fathering and therefore that authority in practice pursues  mutual submission, respect for the freedom Jesus won for us and honour that considers the value of all.

In my book Above the Line – Reshaping relationships and community in the 21^st century church I offer some thoughts about honour that help in the consideration of  how authority is exercised.

The first way of describing honour is To elevate the status of another.

When Jesus said to the disciples:   “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15 NASB) he elevated their status.  When we are born again our status is elevated from sinner to child of God. (Romans 8:15 – 17)  We are fellow heirs with Jesus so that we can become like Him as a man who lived in intimate relationship with God.  All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. (Matthew 28:18)  He has invited us to now co-labour with Him in releasing that authority so that the Kingdom of God, including the church, can be established on earth.

God has honoured believers in Jesus by elevating their status to become like Jesus when He was on the earth.  Even when believers sin, God does not lower their status. (Romans 11:29)  God has declared that both He and believers in Jesus are powerful.

Fellow heirs, co-labouring together for the glory of the King.  People running with the Holy Spirit sharing the status of Sonship in the relationship.  Even when we disobey (disagree), fail in our assignments or make poor choices (sin) the status of Sonship is not removed.  He never disempowers the believer.  Mercy triumphs over judgement.  The sin of a believer does not scare God so He has no need to either protect Himself or exert control.  He takes responsibility for His part in the relationship and asks the believer to do likewise, promising to make decisions that value and sustain the relationship.  These relational characteristics are totally different to those where rules, obedience and unequal power are the order of the day.

Until next time may you be blessed with God’s favour and grace.

Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (10)

So…how is authority aligned to and/or within the organising principles of fathering and organisational structure when apostolic growth occurs??

Within church history when an apostolic atmosphere emerges large teams are allowed to grow and are often pursued.  These large teams then inevitably end up being organised around hierarchical structure, with functional relationships between leaders and policy makers who create the basis around which leaders and churches must conduct themselves.  Unfortunately, history shows that this approach opens the way for power and control and often results in conformity and the effort of men reliant on their gifts and temperament to get things done.

When the concept and reality of authority are introduced into this scenario its expression is often couched in themes of obedience, loyalty (read agreement) and knowing your place.  Authority is not only linked (appropriately) to matters of doctrine it is also tied to accepting being told how to build and develop a ministry.  The notion of dialogue is assented to but in reality the system and its architects are empowered to rule.  I’m not sure I can see authority reaching into this arena in the New Testament.  I have heard the story of the centurion drawn into this debate.  However, his understanding of authority and its value was commended in the arena of faith and release of spiritual power.

Cultural issues also seem to significantly influence how God’s people and leaders engage with authority in relation to organisational structure.  When a culture already endorses the expression of authority on the basis of position, gender and/or age, followers of Jesus will relatively unquestioningly accept the “appropriateness” of authority in the context of structure.  However,  I’m still not sure this is an endorsement for something that is difficult for me to see in scripture.  Just because something works in a cultural setting doesn’t make it biblically sustainable or correct.

Paul’s pursuit of grace, mercy and love with a Hebrew commitment to family first sees his understanding of authority, in relationship to managing growth, expressed differently to the approach seen through church history.

I would love to hear your perspectives.

Until next time…may you be blessed with God’s favour and grace.

Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (9)

A recurring theme in my musings to date is that of “the organising principle”.  I am proposing that the organising principle of the New Testament for the growth that comes with apostolic atmospheres was smaller teams of fathers and fathers of fathers.  These “apostles” encouraged free men, who heard from God, to relate on the basis of heart to heart commitments.  They understood humility, honour and mutual submission to be powerful tools in building love based communities of faith.

On the other hand, it appears to me that the organising principle of church history is to allow large teams to grow with organisational structures that are administered by policy makers.  Relationships gravitate to being functional and at times lived out in the context of power and control.  Often in this environment the place of honour is focussed towards those above you in the organisational chart and mutual submission and humility are present but excused when compliance is required.

In the light of these observations I would like to tackle how authority should be viewed.  So here are some foundational considerations.

1.  Authority can be expressed towards spiritual powers, for territory that the Lord wants taken, in human relationships and as faith.

2.  Authority can be seen in the context of heart relationships (family and disciple making), being an army for God (exercising spiritual power and faith), and organisationally on the basis that we are God’s building.

3.  In the New Testament we see the centurion was commended for his understanding of authority, however it was for the purposes of releasing faith not as an organising principle for growth.  We see Paul exercising clear authority on matters of doctrine and relational authority on matters of pastoral advice.  I struggle to see examples in the New Testament of structural authority on the basis of an organisational chart.

4.  If my proposition that heart to heart relationships (fathering) are the key organising principle of the New Testament our understanding of the expression of authority on pastoral matters will be strongly influenced by our understanding of family relationships.  For example, authority in a patriarchal society is expressed and responded to differently than in a society that pursues equality or friendship in family.  These cultural influences will also affect the expression and application of concepts like honour and respect.

I will endeavour to draw these ideas together next time.  Until then, let me know your thoughts and may you be blessed with God’s favour and life.

Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (7)

Unfortunately my last post was published out of sequence…this post should have preceded #8

In my first post on this topic I wrote:

My beginning point is that church leaders are free men in Christ, who hear from God and can be (maybe should be) in fathering relationships. There are two consequences that flow from here. The first is that church leaders then want to gather together for mutual encouragement and support to pursue their visions from God. The second is that there are fathers in the Kingdom of God  who produce sons, who become fathers and so now they are fathers of fathers.

In the subsequent five posts I  am focussed on conversation around the first consequence.  Today, I want to begin exploring the consequence of fathering.

It appears to me that fathers in the kingdom of God have arrived at a place of sanctified freedom in that they display genuine humility resulting in a listening ear to God and others.  They are prepared to embrace authority but can resist coming under a culture of denominational directives because they feel suffocated and in a place of subtle control and coercion.

It would seem to me that in apostolic atmospheres where leaders relate in freedom and friendship, that fathers and fathers of fathers can emerge who are:

• Christ centred above being church centred in their vision;
• desirous of building a habitation for God;
• releasing the power of God and empowering others to release the power of God;
• motivated by a strong desire to see Jesus formed in His people above seeing church in a certain form;
• travailing to give birth to kingdom realities and lifestyles not just to organise a large team; and
• coming in weakness and not their own strength whilst having clear realms of authority

What is your opinion?

Until next time…may you be blessed with God’s favour and life.

Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (8)

I have already described in part two the realities that accompany the growth when true apostolic atmospheres emerge.  Throughout church history it appears that growth has resulted in an organising principle where structure and policy makers create varying degrees of uniformity and a range of unintended results. (See parts 2 – 6)

Proverbs 22: 28 commands us:

Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.

It seems to me that the New Testament expression of the apostolic set boundaries that honoured the idea of groups of churches that related to a father, for example Paul who then raised up sons to be fathers and thus became a father of fathers.  When you move this boundary stone to organise around a structure that imposes supervisory relationships in order to maintain and propagate a group of churches, it seems that the value of heart to heart relationships in the father/son model can be rapidly eroded.

The erosion that occurs not only affects the fathering nature of the New Testament apostolic it also begins to limit what is fundamentally important.  For example, my observation is that the travailing to give birth to kingdom realities is eroded in favour of organising a large team.  Similarly there is an erosion of the strong desire to see Jesus formed in His people that makes way for an emphasis on seeing the church in a certain form.  When church leaders gather together in fellowship, the topic of their conversations can reveal that which is most important to them.  Is it mostly about Jesus and proclaiming His testimonies or is it primarily about measurement, growth, structure and models of leadership?  I don’t think that there is a deliberate attempt at erosion. It seems to be a consequence of allowing organisational structures and policy making to replace the original beginning point of fathering.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time…may ou be blessed with God’s favour and life.

Apostolic Atmospheres & Ways (6)

Organisational structure, policies and goals that are superimposed over apostolic atmospheres can have unintended results.  These results can contribute to a “brand” of the apostolic emerging that is not as mature as we see in scripture.  When the Spirit becomes constrained by human power and authority structures is it possible that human effort to achieve the supernatural is masked because performance is rewarded?

There is a human need in all of us to be accepted, approved of and to have significance.  This need should be primarily met by God as we realise how much He loves us because we breathe.  God’s love for us is based on who He is not what we do.  However, the performance bias in our culture can lead us to engage in a process of finding our acceptance, approval and significance in what we achieve.

Organisational structure and policies that are goal orientated can have the unintended consequence of leaders looking too strongly to other men to find acceptance approval and significance.  If we overly rely on man for our approval and significance, leaders can end up looking OK on the outside but be insecure and unhappy on the inside.  These emotions can drive a leader to self effort and/or a reliance on their gift(s) more than the gift-giver.  If performance is necessary to have significance, a fear of failure and rejection can create faulty foundations.  When we are responding to the need “to do something” there is the possibility that it has become “law” for us.

Many great companies and organisations have been built on giftedness and self effort.  Church leaders long for God to  supernaturally to build the church.  However, it seems that the pursuit of goals can create a performance driven response particularly where a leader is looking too much for acceptance, approval and significance outside their relationship with Jesus.  Is it possible that where performance is rewarded an unintended consequence is a reliance on human effort to achieve what should be supernaturally released?

Jesus plus anything equals nothing.

Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

Until next time…may you be blessed with God’s favour and life.

Apostolic Atmospheres and Ways (5)

There are some unintended results of the way the apostolic functions when the imperative of policy makers becomes the organising principle for groups of church leaders who are pursuing their visions from God.  The desire for a network, movement or denomination to expand can begin to dictate and supersede a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s timing.  Should this occur an unintended outcome is that organisational thinking will impose itself over organic life

The book of Acts points to apostolic leaders who have an acute and constant awareness of submission to the powerful and personal presence of the Spirit.  Like Jesus, they were leaders who lived as servants of the Spirit and the people they were leading.  They made decisions under the leading and guiding influence of the Spirit.  Rather than creating policies to form an organisation they laboured together with churches to see Jesus formed in people. (Galatians 4:19)

When an apostolic atmosphere emerges, growth will occur. This is how God builds His kingdom.  I am suggesting that the leaders who emerge in the light of an apostolic atmosphere need to pay attention to how they “organise” the growth.  Organisational thinking and policy making seem to lead to a door being opened to human effort and control.  A theology of delegated authority and oversight has been established to mask the place of human effort and control.  I believe this is a time to re-evaluate this theological perspective as I am not convinced it is biblical.  Anything that leads to hierarchical leadership structures, institutionalised expectations and politicisation of decision-making will work against free men, hearing from God living in fathering relationships.

I wonder if we have created a “brand” of the apostolic that has the unintended outcome of the Spirit being constrained by human power and authority structures.  Is it possible that in this environment leaders are making decisions on behalf of the Spirit more than being led by the Spirit.

What is your experience?

Until next time…may you be blessed with God’s favour and life.