It’s time for the prophetic and apostolic! Part 1
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It’s time for the prophetic and apostolic! Part 1
Paul was right!
Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Romania, Denmark, East and West... the same everywhere. Paul’s words are of global significance: there will be no building of the Spirit-house called the church except on the apostolic and prophetic as a foundation. The church can do a lot and is achieving a lot... but there are certain dimensions, certain results, certain resources and a certain influential power which she will not even come close to, unless this foundation is built.
The pastoral and doctrinal
There is no sweeter picture of Jesus than the Good Sheperd. There is no greater teacher than him. And Israel was ruled by the teachers of the Law. My statement is that we as pastors, churches and denominations have built the church on the foundation of the pastoral and doctrinal. Basically, we have cared for people and we have taught them. When new persons gave their life to God we welcomed them in the church, cared for them and taught them. We blessed their children, prayed for a work, or a husband. We visited them in the hospital, we blessed their finances and businesses. Then we taught them about prayer, tithing, a happy marriage. And we asked them to bring their friends and neighbors to the meetings and we did everything possible to not offend them with too loud singing in tongues, too challenging preaching and too long meetings. Because we’d like them to become good church members so we could... care for them and teach them. Then we initiated some leadership training so they in turn could care for others and teach others as we have cared for them and taught them. I am sure you’ve got the picture.
Yes, we have built our congregations on the foundation of the pastoral and the doctrinal. We have scanned our membership list and we have found a person with a sweet and a big heart, always smiling, good to people, maybe a little intraverted... he will be a good shepherd. Then we find a schoolteacher or somebody a little intellectual and with a structured mind and a good concordance... and he could definitely become a good Bibleteacher. A little boring but so what... teachers are boring anyway but somebody must do it. But send him to a Bible school first. So he knows what to teach.
Is it wrong?
Yes and no.
The pastoral is essential
Jesus was the Good Pastor (read: shepherd) and he really cared for people. He loved people and touched people, he intervened powerfully in their lives, families and bodies. But no, the Bible doesn’t tell us that the church of God is to be built on the foundation of the pastors, or the pastoral dimension of Christ’s ministry.
The doctrinal is vital
A church having unclear and unhealthy doctrine will never grow strong and will develop wrong practice and lifestyles which can ultimately destroy the spiritual life of the congregation and badly harm individuals and families. Many churches of pentecostal observance, because of the lack of education of their members, feelings of intellectual inferiority, and fear of brain power have despised sound doctrine and found themselves in plain stupidity and even heresy. Remember that the 12 years old Jesus was able to nail the teachers of the Law to the ”wall”. Don’t forget that many nations’s success or disaster have been formed by somebody’s words and ideology. But no, the Bible doesn’t tell us that the church of God is to be built on the foundation of the teachers or the doctrinal dimension of Christ’s ministry.
Oh, I forgot the evangelists!
What about them? We love them... at a distance. When there are evangelists in the congregation they are tolerated. Surely because they are both energetic and zealous –which everybody is happy for and proud about - but they are also irritating... reminding the pastor and the teacher about the lack of numerical growth of the congregation. So we tolerate them because they are the hope of the church who wants to grow numerically. But evangelists can become frustrated and they start a church which will grow. But then it hits them: somebody has to care for them and somebody has to teach them. So we must find a sweet person with a big heart and a teacher-type of person. If it is not obvious then we take the whole church through a process of discovering your gifts. The problem with these ”discovering your gifts schemes” is that they tell you who you have become, not who God called you to be.
Back to the evangelists: if they don’t start a church and cannot live in the narrow-mind ed sphere of a local church their only option for survival is a Ministry. But they still need the churches –even the churches they couldn’t live in- because they need a place to recruit staff and raise finances. See, this is a tricky mess.
When there are no evangelists in the congregation the problem can easily be solved with money. A black or South American evangelist can do it! Then he heals the sick and people give their lives to God. And we love him and we pay him for the good job of bringing new people into the house and now we can... care for them and teach them! See you next year!
New races in the house...
Let me mention three: the managers, the media-people and the marketing-people. What on earth did we do before e-mail and Powerpoint presentations were invented? What did Paul and Peter do... not to mention John on the island of Patmos with no Christian TV around to record his future revelation? How could God even consider trusting a prisoner in a totally remote area with important information about the global future of the world? Was it a smart disposition? Is management important? Are medias important? Is marketing useful? I certainly believe they are all VERY important.
The managers
As the church grows, the managers are introduced. Because the pastors are not good administrators –they are good at people- the teachers have their heads into big concordances and study the Greek New Testament, and: have anybody here seen the evangelist? Of course he is out somewhere chasing the unsaved. Right, we need the managers to make some smart programs, teaching strategies, establish a good flow of information, keep a precise record of attendancy. Do we need good administration? Absolutely! But no, the church of God is not built on the foundations of good management.
The medias and marketing
God has always made sure that relevant technology was available to serve His agenda. The printing technology was discovered at the very time the Bible had been translated and made available for laity... and the priests’s control of the minds of people was broken. Anybody could read the Bible and learn to know the will of God. The priestly control of knowledge was irreversibly broken. The cassette tapes came when God released a wave of Bible teaching. Then the CD-technology came and worship rolled over the whole globe. And the list continues with the internet, e-mails, Skype and video conferences. And it surely is only the beginning. Both for good and evil. Let’s use technology for the advancement of the Kingdom!
What about marketing and ads? It’s so refreshing to see stylish Christian ads and tastefully designed church buildings after decades of ugly facilities and tracts looking like The Watchtower. Oh yes they were the effects of religious mentality and poverty thinking. Look at the environment God has created for man. How awesome! What an ad for His Kingdom and its excellence and supremacy and majesty. But no the church of God is not built on the foundation of the media and marketing experts!
The foundation of the New Testament church...
... is made by the powerful combination of the apostolic and prophetic. We must differentiate the foundation from the rest of the house.
Paul was right, totally right! So we do need some revelation triggering a revolution in our minds and creating a true reformation in our ministries. It’s not back to Luther, it’s back to Acts and Paul... and Christ!
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